Employers Win Weekly Wage Suit. A Cumberland County Superior Court justice ruled in November that employees who sued six large Maine employers have no right to damages for the companies' violation of the weekly wage payment statute.

Last year, employees brought separate suits against Burger King, McDonald's, Holiday Inn West, Newark Group, Harper Hotels and Wal-Mart Stores, claiming that all of the employers violated Maine law by paying them biweekly instead of weekly. Justice Robert E. Crowley rejected the employees' argument that "late" wages are necessarily "unpaid wages." Instead, he ruled that employees could recover damages for unpaid wages only if their employer failed to pay them on or before their next scheduled payday or, in the case of terminated employees, within two weeks after the employees demand payment.

Justice Crowley also rejected the employees' claims that civil forfeitures of up to $500 for each violation could be ordered paid to them personally. The Court held that only the attorney general and the Department of Labor have the power to seek such civil forfeitures. The plaintiffs' counsel has indicated his intent to appeal the decision to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.

Wal-Mart was represented in the matter by Michael Messerschmidt and Matthew LaMourie of the firm.
No-Fault Attendance Policy Upheld.  A York County Superior Court justice has rejected a discrimination case filed against a Biddeford hospital that terminated a certified nurse's assistant (CNA) for violations of the facility's no-fault attendance policy. The CNA exceeded her annual quota of absences by July of the calendar year but alleged that at least some of her absences were due to ovarian cysts. Conceding that the Americans with Disabilities Act did not protect such temporary conditions, the plaintiff attempted to argue that the Maine Human Rights Act has a broader definition of "disability," and proposed an interpretation that would have required an employer to accommodate every illness or medical condition that contributes to excessive absenteeism. The Court rejected the claim.
The defendant, Southern Maine Medical Center, was represented by Michael Messerschmidt and Elizabeth Olivier of Preti, Flaherty, Beliveau, Pachios & Haley, LLC.