Maryland Archives - Ferguson, Schetelich, Ballew, P.A.

January 31, 2018

Paid Leave Is Now Maryland Law

Earlier this month, the Maryland Senate voted to override Governor Hogan’s veto of the Maryland Healthy Working Families Act. As a result, that legislation is poised to take effect on February 11, 2018. The Act’s most notable provision requires that employers with 15 or more employees provide full time employees at least 5 days of paid leave per year. For employers with fewer than 15 employees, the leave can be unpaid. Employees who regularly work 12 hours or more per week are also to receive 1 hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked. Paid leave may be used…

January 4, 2018

Tolerance is Most Meaningful When it’s Mutual- Supreme Court Arguments in Masterpiece Cakeshop

The developing law concerning religious freedom and same sex marriage was argued before the United States Supreme Court on December 5, 2017 in the case of Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. The case concerns Jack Phillips, a Colorado baker and the owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, which he opened in 1993. In 2012, David Mullins and Charlie Craig, two gay men intending to get married, came into his bakery and asked him to design a cake for their wedding. Mr. Phillips declined, based on his Christian faith and his religious conviction that marriage was between a man and…

December 16, 2016

Church’s “Public Accommodation” and Gender Identity

The question of churches and gender identity have again come to the forefront of the news. The recent events in North Carolina and the recent joint guidance provided by the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice have raised issues of religious freedom and civil rights. Churches have expressed questions on (i) whether church buildings and services are required to comply with the recent joint guidance provided by the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice, (ii) whether churches are exempt from this joint guidance and/or state law, and (iii) if compliance is mandated, what liability do churches face in failing to…

October 7, 2016

A Consumer’s Guide to Automobile Insurance in Maryland

A CONSUMER'S GUIDE TO AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE IN MARYLAND1 Peter J. Basile, Shareholder Ferguson, Schetelich & Ballew, P.A. © 2018 Introduction We represent many clients who have been involved in car accidents, whether they are asserting claims for serious injuries or are being sued for causing injuries to others. Often, after hearing our assessment of their case, our clients remark, “But I have full coverage.” They, like many others, mistakenly assume that having “full coverage” means that they are adequately insured. We have been involved in many cases where our clients’ lives have been adversely affected because they lacked adequate insurance…

August 1, 2016

Dissociative Amnesia Does Not Toll the Statute of Limitations

Note to reader: This blog does not name any of the parties in the lawsuit, even though the reported opinion does. During a hospitalization in January, 2014 at an inpatient trauma disorders unit for depression and suicidal ideation, R.A. remembered the sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her father during her childhood, which was between 29 to 47 years earlier. This, in turn, triggered a similar reaction in R.A.’s two sisters, both of whom also allege that they were sexually abused as children by their father. In February, 2014, the three sisters reported the alleged sexual abuse to…

May 5, 2016

Robert Ferguson Honored as a “Leader in Law”

On May 5, 2016, The Daily Record presented Ferguson, Schetelich & Ballew’s President, Robert L. Ferguson, Jr. with its “Leadership in Law” award at a banquet in Annapolis. The award honors “active mentors, fostering strong, future generations of professional and community leaders.” Recognizing Mr. Ferguson’s significant and ongoing commitment to the Maryland legal community, as well as a number of other honorees, the Daily Record’s Suzanne Fischer-Huettner said in a press release that honorees “work tirelessly to uphold high legal standards and improve communities throughout Maryland.” The Leadership in Law Award required significant support from the legal community. In support…

July 6, 2015

What Impact Will the Supreme Court Decision on Same Sex Marriage have on Maryland Churches?

On June 26, 2015 the United States Supreme Court ended the national debate over same sex marriage in its 5 – 4 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. The majority opinion authored by Justice Anthony Kennedy, found that states which prohibit marriage to same sex couples deprive them of their liberty, contrary to the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The Court ordered that all States recognize and sanction marriages between same sex couples “on the same terms and conditions as marriages between persons of the opposite sex.” The case has generated legal, moral, and religious controversy. Many Maryland churches…

February 16, 2015

Maryland and DC Employers Required to “Think Outside the Box” or Rather Ban it Altogether

Many people like to use the cliché “think outside the box.” In most instances the phrase is used to encourage someone to be creative and look for ideas outside of what is common or the norm. New laws in three localities in Maryland and in the District of Columbia are not simply encouraging employers to think outside the box, but requiring them to “Ban the Box” entirely. The penalties for failure to do so are significant. These laws have been termed “Ban the Box” legislation because, in addition to other provisions, the new laws ban employers from having a box…

February 4, 2014

The Historical Roots of Maryland Church Law

Maryland’s law concerning Churches and Religious Corporations grows out of the State’s history of religious freedom, which is the oldest such tradition in the Nation. The General Assembly of Maryland, meeting in St. Mary’s City, adopted The Act of Toleration (formally “An Act Concerning Religion”) on April 21, 1649. This Act secured religious freedom for all Christians “inhabiting, residing, trafficking, trading or commercing within this Province.” The Act established both policy and protection for religious worship: And whereas the enforcing of the conscience in matters of religion hath frequently fallen out to be of dangerous consequence in those commonwealths…

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