Consider the situation faced by an employer that does not, typically, allow employees to work remotely. Then consider what happens when an employee with pregnancy related complications is instructed by her physician to go on bedrest for the remaining three months of her pregnancy. Moreover, the employee lacks sufficient PTO to cover the anticipated leave. She now requests permission to work from home, claiming that the request is a reasonable accommodation for her disability.
A recent case from the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, Maryland underscored the growing trend by courts across the country to limit the application of non-compete and non-solicitation agreements. These agreements, typically referred to as “restrictive covenants”, are integral to many employment agreements. Restrictive covenants in employment contracts serve as a means of assuring the employer that its employee will not use his/her familiarity with the customers of the employer to take those customers and clients to a new employer. Even though they constitute a restraint against trade, most courts will enforce them provided that the limitations are reasonable, both in terms of the length of the prohibition as well as the geographic scope of the limitation.
February 11th is a date every employer in Maryland needs to know and prepare for right now. On that day, the new Maryland Healthy Working Families Act (the “Act”) takes effect. For many businesses, it will affect the nature and details of sick and safe leave that you must provide to your employees. It will add new levels of rules that may have a big impact on your current policies. And there are consequences if you don’t comply with the timetable that the Act requires.
