Author: JGL Law

Joseph Greenwald & Laake principal Jay Holland shared his thoughts on the legal aspects of workplace affinity groups with Law360. Workplace affinity groups are forums for employees with similar interests that provide support and social functions. Examples of such groups include parents’ caucuses, LGBT caucuses, and caucuses for individuals with physical disabilities.

Holland noted that it is important to recognize the legal risks involved for employers who sponsor these groups. “One of the concerns,” he added, is that “like anything else it has to be done right.”

Yet, Holland said that the benefits of such groups can be wide-ranging and significant for businesses: an increased ability to attract individuals from diverse backgrounds, creating understanding between management and individuals from those backgrounds, improving retention, and creating pathways for group members to move into leadership positions.

Mr. Holland also noted that employers should be cautious to not run afoul of anti-discrimination laws such as Title VII when they discuss diversity with an affinity group’s members, particularly if the parties brainstorm proposals for hiring a more diverse workforce.

“While the affinity group can certainly take ideas and adopt programs in response to suggestions from the affinity groups, [employers] have to be careful about stepping over the Title VII line,” Holland said. “While it’s perfectly appropriate to encourage a more diverse workforce and reach out to different communities to make sure you have a diverse workforce … they can’t step over the line into saying, ‘We now have to hire 25 individuals of a particular race or a particular sexual orientation.’ Then you are indeed discriminating upon a prohibited classification under Title VII.”

To read the full article, please click on the Law360 logo below.

Jay Holland is a principal in JGL’s Civil Litigation Group and the chair of the firm’s Labor, Employment and Qui Tam Whistleblower practice. He is a renowned employment and qui tam litigator known for taking on tough cases and achieving exceptional results. 

A team from Joseph Greenwald & Laake won a major appellate victory on June 21 in the Maryland Court of Appeals and it has made the front page of The Daily Record’s website. The court ruling upholds Governor Larry Hogan’s right under Maryland law to reappoint Cabinet positions under recess appointments to former secretaries Dennis Schrader and Wendi Peters, both of whom he had previously nominated and then withdrawn. The Joseph Greenwald & Laake team represented both Schrader and Peters and was led by principal Timothy Maloney with associates Megan A. Benevento and Alyse L. Prawde.

According to Maloney, the Court’s ruling was a “complete vindication” of Schrader, Peters and Hogan. “Reducing a Cabinet official’s salary to zero is a blunt device for enforcing legislative prerogative,” Maloney said. “This is not the way to resolve separation of powers issues.”

The Maryland General Assembly, regarding the appointments as illegitimate, had added a section to the annual budget act that was specifically intended to prohibit payment of salaries to the two appointees, Wendi Peters of the Department of Planning and Dennis R. Schrader of the Department of Health.

But in a 4-3 opinion written by Judge Alan M. Wilner, the state’s highest court ruled that the appointments were legal and that the budget insertion fell outside the powers of the legislature. The court ruled that the state Constitution permits the Governor to nominate any suitable person to a Cabinet post, except for someone whom the state Senate has previously rejected. Neither Peters nor Schrader was rejected by the Senate.

 “The comptroller will issue the warrant and the treasurer will issue the checks and this chapter will close,” Maloney said.

To read the rest of the article, click on the Daily Record logo below.

Maloney is a preeminent trial lawyer who has obtained millions of dollars in recoveries for his clients in a wide variety of matters, including civil rights, employment discrimination, whistleblower actions and high-stakes business litigation. He is a committed advocate for the public good who has held leadership roles with many civic and charitable organizations.

 

GREENBELT, MD., June 18, 2018 — Joseph Greenwald & Laake P.A. is pleased to announce that Vijay Mani has been elected as a Senior Counsel.

“We are delighted to promote Vijay to this highly responsible position,” said Burt Kahn, Managing Director. “Among his major contributions to the firm, he has been an indispensable member of our team that works on behalf of whistleblowers and victims of wrongful termination and employment discrimination.”

Vijay Mani is a member of the Firm’s Qui Tam Litigation and Labor/Employment practice groups. He is active in the firm’s False Claims Act practice, and he frequently advocates on behalf of whistleblowers in claims against government contractors who have committed fraud. He also represents employers in labor and employment matters. He earned his J.D. in 2012 from American University’s Washington College of Law in Washington, DC, and in 2000 received a B.S. degree, cum laude, from the University of Tulsa.             

About Joseph Greenwald & Laake

For more than 40 years, Joseph Greenwald & Laake has worked with individuals and businesses in Maryland and the District of Columbia, taking on the most complex of legal issues with sophisticated counsel and a personal touch. JGL serves clients in virtually all areas of the law.

 

 

This week, Joseph Greenwald & Laake would like to recognize David Bulitt for his selection as a 2018 Super Lawyer by Thomson Reuters and Super Lawyer Magazine.  David has been named a Super Lawyer 12 consecutive years. Only 5% of attorneys nationwide receive this honor each year.

David Bulitt focuses his practice on complex family law cases, helping clients in Maryland and Washington, DC, through difficult times, including divorces, custody battles and other contentious domestic conflicts.  Clients regard David as both a skilled negotiator at the mediation table and as a staunch advocate in the courtroom.  David protects his clients’ rights through divorce while remaining passionate about the most important asset of all- the children. He is also the author of two popular books of fiction.

Click below for more on David.

In May, JGL attorneys Levi Zaslow, Maritza Carmona and Tim Maloney won nearly $260,000 in damages for their client, Mamoun “Mike” Ashkar, who faced ethnic discrimination within his community of Riverdale Park in Prince George’s County. The Washington Post has just published an article about this case as it has meaningful impact on not just the Prince George’s County town but also for broader communities.

Mr. Ashkar, a Palestinian-American, became the owner of Greg’s Towing in January of 2015. Greg’s Towing is the only tow company in the Town of Riverdale Park in Prince George’s County and, for 30 years, it was the exclusive tow service provider for the town and its police department. Once Mr. Ashkar took over Greg’s Towing, he contacted Town representatives, including the police dept., to continue the company’s long standing relationship with the Town, but he was denied the by the Town, its employees and the police department through numerous instances that included derogatory language, name-calling and discriminatory statements.

“My parents moved here because it’s supposed to be the land of the free,” Ashkar said. “It’s made up of a lot of people. We all live together and this is what makes this country up, people from all over . . . It’s a very normal life and I don’t know why they would think otherwise.”

When JGL’s Levi Zaslow was asked about proving his client’s case, he stated, “In court, the town asserted that it was their business decision to select an alternative towing company since Greg’s Towing was temporarily removed from a list of county-approved vendors as ownership was transitioning to Ashkar . . . We were able to systematically show that each purported business decision was actually a pretext.”

Joseph, Greenwald and Laake, P.A. is proud to continue its longstanding tradition of providing a voice to victims of discrimination, such as Mr. Ashkar.

To read the full story, click on The Washington Post logo below.

July 1^st marks the start of the 2018-2019 year for the Prince George’s County Bar Association and Joseph, Greenwald & Laake principal Jerry Miller has officially renewed his position as a member of the Board of Directors. The PGCBA has been dedicated to representing the legal profession and promoting justice and professional excellence in Maryland since its foundation in 1902. The PGCBA also affords its members extensive networking opportunities so Maryland-based lawyers can share their expertise and experiences with legal professionals from around the country.

Jerry Miller is a principal in JGL’s Business Services Group. For nearly 30 years, Jerry has guided clients through the legal challenges of owning and operating a business. He has helped both starting entrepreneurs and experience business professionals with a wide array of issues, ranging from selecting the proper corporate structure to helping entrepreneurs pass their businesses to succeeding generations.

In the 2^nd week of June, numerous Joseph, Greenwald & Laake attorneys joined fellow Maryland legal professionals at the 2018 Maryland State Bar Association (MSBA) Legal Summit and Annual Meeting. The summit was held in Ocean City, MD. and featured prominent guest speakers and workshops for attendees.

The meeting commenced with presentations by former US Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez and former US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara. Alberto, who also served as White House Counsel to President George W. Bush, discussed his work in creating national security policy within the Justice Department, while Bharara discussed his time prosecuting insider trading that resulted in The New York Times calling him one of “the nation’s most aggressive and outspoken prosecutors.”

After introductions, attorneys from Joseph, Greenwald & Laake were able to discuss their specific areas of expertise with their colleagues in small groups as well as general topics regarding how to improve law firms. Topics included increasing diversity and inclusion, ethics and women’s leadership.

Joseph, Greenwald & Laake enjoyed the summit to its fullest and enjoyed the opportunity to take part in a community-strengthening event.

Joseph Greenwald & Laake attorneys sponsored and attended the 2018 Prince George’s County High School Baseball/Softball Awards Event on June 13. The event, which recognized outstanding student athletes and community leaders, took place at the Kentland Community Center in Landover, Maryland. The event program featured guest speaker Jim Coleman, the president/CEO of Prince George’s County Economic Development, as well as a presentation of the Glenn Harris Lifetime Achievement Award to G. Steve Proctors, the president/CEO of G.S. Proctor & Associates, Inc.

JGL is proud to have sponsored this successful event. Over 95 percent of the honored student athletes chose to attend college, and many of these players are proud, first-generation college attendees. Honored athletes were selected based not only on athletic ability, but on academics and community service involvement. The program also honored community members who have contributed to youth development, allowing the student athletes to meet with individuals who can assist in internship and employment opportunities.

Joseph Greenwald & Laake principal Brian Markovitz recently shared his perspective about a U.S. District Judge’s ruling in a whistleblower case filed against Medtronic Inc. with Bloomberg Law’s Pharmaceutical Law & Industry.  

One of the key issues before the judge was whether to toss out the lawsuit under a doctrine known as the public disclosure bar, which prevents a whistleblower case from going forward if the information that he or she provides is already publicly known. In this case, the judge declined to dismiss the lawsuit on that basis, finding that the whistleblower provided considerable new information in addition to what was already known.

Markovitz is in agreement with this ruling. From his perspective, the whistleblower in the Medtronic case “was able to show she was an original source because she got policies, dates, and names.” Markovitz also says that the ruling is ‘‘definitely a win’’ for whistleblowers because, in his view, the judge was saying that a defendant facing broad allegations cannot just use the public disclosure bar to get additional allegations by new plaintiffs dismissed. ‘‘If the court follows this, cases are going to move forward,’’ Markovitz says. ‘‘That means a lot more money being returned for the taxpayers.’’

To read the article in its entirety, please click on the Bloomberg Law logo below.

Brian Markovitz is a principal in JGL’s Labor and Employment and Civil Litigation practice groups, and focuses on helping victims who have suffered severe injustices in the workplace. He represents individuals in complex employment litigation and appellate matters involving wrongful termination, retaliation by employers in response to reporting fraud or misconduct and discrimination on the basis on race, gender, age and sexual orientation.

Earlier this week Jay Holland, Joseph Greenwald & Laake principal attorney, was a speaker at an event sponsored by the Maryland Employment Lawyers Association (MELA) and the Maryland Association for Justice (MAJ). The event’s topic was “Proving Emotional Distress.” The two organizations partnered together to bring this important discussion to both members and non-members. Holland, along with other speakers, shared personal success stories in proving emotional distress in the courtroom. The presentation was held at the MAJ headquarters in Columbia, MD.

“It was great to be part of this session since emotional distress damages are often at the core of sexual harassment and discrimination cases,” said Holland.

Jay Holland is a principal in JGL’s Civil Litigation Group, and the chair of the firm’s Labor, Employment and Qui Tam Whistleblower practice. He is a renowned employment and qui tam litigator known for taking on tough cases and achieving exceptional results. 

Pro football player Colin Kaepernick has filed a grievance against the National Football League and Jay Holland has shared his opinion about it with Law360. Kaepernick claims that team owners schemed to keep him off the football field because of his protests against the national anthem, not his football ability.

Kaepernick’s legal team is reportedly expected to seek federal subpoenas in the next few weeks in order to get President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence to testify in the case.

Holland, known for his experience in employment law and civil litigation, said, “There are some significant hurdles even if it were an ordinary case with ordinary witnesses,” said Jay Holland, employment and civil rights attorney with Joseph Greenwald & Laake PA. “Obviously, this is an extraordinary case with extraordinary witnesses.”

“Just what is in the public domain, it seems pretty clear that the president, along with the vice president, sought to embarrass and politically damage the players who were engaging in and kneeling in protests during the national anthem and at times singling out Colin Kaepernick,” Holland said.

To read the full article, click on the Law360 logo below.

Jay Holland is a principal in JGL’s Civil Litigation Group, and the chair of the firm’s Labor, Employment and Qui Tam Whistleblower practice. He is a renowned employment and qui tam litigator known for taking on tough cases and achieving exceptional results.

 

Joseph, Greenwald & Laake principal Jay Holland was quoted in a Law.com article about the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. The Court held in favor of a bakery owner who declined, on religious grounds, to provide a cake for a gay couple’s wedding. When asked what are the takeaways of this case for employment attorneys, he said, “I could see the tables being turned to say that in a parallel situation, where a plaintiff brings a discrimination case and a commissioner or judge shows hostility because of who they are and their claims,” Holland said. “At the least the Supreme Court recognized and determined in this case that an individual was entitled to a fair and unbiased hearing as it pertains to their claim of discrimination.”

To read the full article, click on the law.com logo below.

Jay Holland is a principal in JGL’s Civil Litigation Group, and the chair of the firm’s Labor, Employment and Qui Tam Whistleblower practice. He is a renowned employment and qui tam litigator known for taking on tough cases and achieving exceptional results.