With the presidential election less than a month away, it is more important than ever that employers proactively manage their work environment to protect against the potential pitfalls that can arise when political...more
On June 28, 2018, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed a law affecting all employers in the Commonwealth by creating a paid family and medical leave program funded by a state payroll tax, increasing the state minimum...more
6/29/2018
/ Employee Benefits ,
Employee Contributions ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Governor Baker ,
Medical Leave ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently ruled in Mui v. Massachusetts Port Authority that payment for accrued, unused sick time is not a “wage” under the state wage act, M.G.L. c. 149, s. 148, and therefore a...more
2/12/2018
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Earned Sick Time ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Local Ordinance ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Popular ,
Sick Pay ,
Wage Act ,
Wage and Hour
As 2017 starts to wind down, Massachusetts employers should start reviewing and revising their employment policies and practices so they are prepared for the Massachusetts Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which goes into...more
Short of a successful (but highly unlikely) appeal, the Obama-era overtime rule is now officially no longer. That rule would have required employers to pay employees a little more than $47,000 annually to qualify under one of...more
9/1/2017
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Lack of Authority ,
Minimum Salary ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Obama Administration ,
Over-Time ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Summary Judgment ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
A recent decision by Massachusetts’ highest court provides another reason why employers should carefully review their employment practices liability insurance (EPLI) policies. Unless the policy expressly covers counterclaims,...more
As all HR professionals and employment lawyers know (even those currently living under rocks), the Department of Labor’s final overtime rule is scheduled to go into effect on December 1, 2016 – less than two weeks from now. ...more
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently entered the Browning-Ferris saga, filing an amicus brief in support of the new joint employer test articulated by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in...more
Recently, the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) published guidance on gender identity discrimination, which the Massachusetts Fair Employment Practices Act (commonly known as “Chapter 151B”) has...more
In the final weeks before the end of the legislative session, the Massachusetts House and State both addressed major pieces of labor and employment legislation. However, although the legislature passed S.2119, an Act to...more
8/11/2016
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Credit Checks ,
Equal Pay ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Governor Baker ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Pay Equity Act (PEA) ,
State and Local Government ,
Transgender ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Theft
Relying on its precedent, the First Circuit Court of Appeals held for the second time this year that the Federal Aviation Administrative Authorization Act of 1994 (“FAAAA”) preempts application of the Massachusetts...more
As a recent federal appellate decision confirmed, the Americans with Disabilities Act does not require employers to always accommodate a disabled employee. Instead, it is the employee’s burden to first show that he or she...more
Last Thursday, Uber settled two closely-watched class actions contesting Uber’s classification of approximately 385,000 drivers in California and Massachusetts as independent contractors as opposed to employees. While the...more
As a general principle, an employee alleging employment discrimination has an affirmative obligation to mitigate his or her lost wages by making a good faith effort to secure alternative employment. The employer however,...more
An unaccepted Rule 68 Offer of Judgment for complete relief does not moot a plaintiff’s individual and class action claims said the Supreme Court on Wednesday. The decision in Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez is welcome news for...more
1/23/2016
/ Campbell Ewald v Gomez ,
Class Action ,
Class Representatives ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Injunctions ,
Mootness ,
Offer of Judgment ,
Rule 68 ,
SCOTUS ,
Settlement Offer ,
TCPA
Non-disparagement provisions are commonplace in today’s settlement and separation agreements, with employers often seeking the broadest protection against disparagement. A recent decision from a New York federal court,...more
A recent Colorado federal court decision serves as a good reminder to employers on how not to obtain a release of claims from a terminated employee. For starters, don’t tell the employee her job is being eliminated and then...more
11/4/2015
/ Age Discrimination ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fraudulent Inducement ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Ads ,
Popular ,
Release Agreements ,
Severance Agreements ,
Termination
A U.S. Department of Labor final regulation prohibiting third-party home care agencies and other third-party employers from taking advantage of the Companionship and Live-In Domestic Worker minimum wage and overtime...more
10/6/2015
/ Companionship Exemptions ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Domestic Workers ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exemptions ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Home Health Agencies ,
Home Healthcare Workers ,
Minimum Wage ,
Over-Time ,
Third-Party ,
Wage and Hour
In a sign of the growing trend of states enacting statutes protecting employee privacy, Maine became the latest state to prohibit employers from requiring employees and job applicants to provide passwords to their personal...more
Can an employer escape a treble damage award under the Massachusetts Wage Act where it makes a late payment of final wages to a fired employee after the employee filed a wage complaint with the state Attorney General but...more
As a major national company learned recently, employers cannot shirk their obligations to investigate employee complaints of a hostile work environment simply because the identity of the harasser is unknown. Failure to...more
7/14/2015
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Appeals ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Due Diligence ,
Duty to Investigate ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Good Faith ,
Harassment ,
Hostile Environment ,
Race Discrimination ,
Remand ,
Summary Judgment ,
Title VII ,
Vacated
Recently, Wage and Hour Division (WHD) Administrator David Weil announced that the DOL would issue an “administrator interpretation” letter early this summer on how an employer can best address whether an individual qualifies...more
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear two cases during its Fall 2015 term that could further transform the wage and hour class action landscape. We briefly discuss those two cases below.
Gomez: The Effect of Rule 68...more
6/29/2015
/ Campbell Ewald v Gomez ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Genesis Healthcare Corp. v. Symczyk ,
Offer of Judgment ,
Rule 68 ,
SCOTUS ,
TCPA ,
Tyson Foods ,
Tyson Foods v Bouaphakeo ,
Wage and Hour
In what appears to be a sign of things to come, a federal court in New York recently approved the use of social media to notify potential class members who were more likely to be reached that way rather than by more...more
Employers and their HR departments are faced with a host of new issues and challenges. When you’re not navigating new state, federal, and local laws and making sure systems are in place to comply with them, you’re busy...more