The Supreme Court is Back

The Supreme Court returns with new Justice Sonia Sotomayor.  It's nice to have a second woman again on the high court, but because of who she replaced, there won't be much of a change in the rightward direction.  That is, unless Justice Sotomayor turns out to be conservative on certain issues, in which case she may accelerate the process.

So far, the Court has accepted an employment issue on the timing of the filing of a charge of discrimination.  The case will explore the junction the Ledbetter decision, which Congress overturned, and the Ricci decision last year.  The question is when the 300 days for filing with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission starts -- when the discriminatory act first takes place, or when its effects are felt? 

Maryland New Laws Take Effect on October 1

Besides the well-publicized ban on texting while driving, the State's new laws also include a tough new law on employee misclassification.  See my blog post about it here.