On April 23, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order (“EO”) entitled, “Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy,” with one of its purposes being to target regulations and enforcement by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) on claims premised upon disparate-impact liability. See https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/restoring-equality-of-opportunity-and-meritocracy/. The EO seeks to implement equality of opportunity, as opposed…
The Supreme Court rendered an Opinion in the matter of Attorney Grievance Commission v. Gregory Wayne Jones, AG No.: 1, September Term 2021. In that Opinion the Court expounds at length on the propriety of engagement fees, or as more appropriately defined by the Court, general Retainer Agreements; the use of flat fees; and, the…
Earlier this month, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released a draft of its strategic plan for fiscal years 2022-2026. The plan is still under review and subject to approval by the full commission before becoming final. The strategic plan serves as a framework for achieving the EEOC’s mission through the strategic application of the…
The Superior Court of the District of Columbia recently announced revisions to the General Mediation order for Civil Cases. According to Presiding Judge, Anthony Epstein, the main changes fall into three categories: Clarification of the procedures that lawyers and self-represented parties should follow Elimination of the requirement that parties must resubmit the Confidential Settlement Statement…
New Law Bans Forced Arbitration in Sexual Assault and Harassment Cases The House and Senate passed the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021 (The Act), which will go into effect once signed by the President. The law will ban forced arbitration and class action waivers for all claims regarding…
On May 13, 2021, Eccleston and Wolf attorney Steve Cornelius, along with an esteemed panel of Maryland attorneys and judges, presented a virtual CLE for the Maryland State Bar Association (MSBA) Negligence Insurance and Workers’ Compensation Section on “2021 Hot Tips in Workers’ Compensation.” Steve’s presentation dealt with Medicare and lien compliance, including attorney ethical responsibilities…
In Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co. v. Shilling, 468 Md. 239 (2019), the Court of Appeals of Maryland recently clarified that the statute of limitations applicable to a claim for underinsured motorist benefits does not begin to run until the insurance carrier denies the insured’s demand for benefits. What is Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage? Drivers…
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently proposed methods to calculate monetary penalties for group and non-group health plans that fail to comply with Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) reporting requirements. These civil money penalties, or CMPs, will be imposed on group health plans (GHPs) or non‑group health plans (NGHPs) as a strategy to…
On February 18, Al Frederick, among others, presented a program to the Baltimore County Bar Association (Estate and Trust Lawyers) on risk management and the aging population. The program focused on suggestions and issues posed by clients who may be under a disability as well as the use of retainer agreements as a risk management…