On July 31, 2024, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey signed into law new legislation that requires employers with 25 or more employees in Massachusetts to include pay range in job ads. The statute requires that the posted...more
On July 26, 2022, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair Act (“CROWN Act”) into law, making Massachusetts the 18th state to enact legislation aimed at protecting...more
The Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Insurance has announced that the Massachusetts COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick Leave (“MEPSL”) will expire on March 15, 2022, and employers have until April 29, 2022 to file their...more
On December 17, 2021, the highest state court in Massachusetts held that an employer may not terminate an employee solely for exercising his right to file a rebuttal to be included in his personnel file....more
On December 13, 2021, the highest state court in Massachusetts ruled that the proper test for determining joint employer status under the state’s wage and overtime statutes is the “totality of the circumstances” test formerly...more
On December 13, 2021, the highest state court in Massachusetts ruled that the proper test for determining joint employer status under the state’s wage and overtime statutes is the “totality of the circumstances” test formerly...more
Last week, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed legislation providing for COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick Leave for Massachusetts employees. Governor Baker vetoed an earlier version of the bill in April. The revised bill,...more
The Massachusetts Appeals Court, in a slip op opinion issued on January 20, 2021, decided that at-will employees can be terminated for submitting rebuttal letters pursuant to G.L.c. 149, §52C (“Section 52C”), and cannot avail...more
For Massachusetts employers, or employers with Massachusetts-based employees, Paid Family and Medical Leave (“PFML”) has been on the horizon for nearly two years. By now, you have notified your workforce about benefits and...more
On June 11, 2020, the Department of Family and Medical Leave (“DFML”) will hold a virtual public hearing on its recent proposed amendments to the final regulations pertaining to the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave...more
On Monday May 18, 2020, Governor Baker announced the first phase of his administration’s much-anticipated plan to reopen Massachusetts (the “Plan”), nearly eight weeks after first ordering non-essential businesses to close...more
5/19/2020
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Certification Requirements ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Governor Baker ,
Non-Essential Businesses ,
Operators of Essential Services ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Quarantine ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Sanitation ,
Shelter-In-Place ,
Social Distancing ,
Tourism ,
Workplace Safety
The Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave (“DFML”) has posted the much-anticipated final regulations regarding Massachusetts’ Paid Family and Medical Leave law (“PFML”). The final regulations come on the heels...more
Required withholding now begins on October 1, 2019, rather than July 1. When the PFML takes effect, employers will be required to withhold PFML contributions for covered individuals, and must remit their contributions through...more
On May 8, 2019, Massachusetts’ highest court held that retail salespersons who are paid entirely on a commission or draw basis, may nevertheless be entitled to additional overtime or pay for work on Sundays. The Supreme...more
5/13/2019
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
MA Supreme Judicial Court ,
Minimum Wage ,
Over-Time ,
Pay Rates ,
Retail Sales ,
Sales Commissions ,
Salespersons ,
State Labor Laws ,
Sunday Pay Laws ,
Wage and Hour
As the Department of Family and Medical Leave (“DFML”) prepares to issue final regulations in coming months, the Commonwealth has begun posting a number of documents to assist employers and workers prepare for the new Paid...more
On Friday April 12, 2019, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court confirmed that plaintiffs seeking to bring class actions asserting Massachusetts Wage Act (“Wage Act”) violations must meet the certification standards set by...more
4/15/2019
/ Appeals ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
FRCP 23 ,
MA Supreme Judicial Court ,
Mootness ,
Offer of Judgment ,
Reversal ,
Rule 68 ,
Wage Act ,
Wage and Hour
Paid Family and Medical Leave is on its way to Massachusetts. In its latest update, the Commonwealth’s Department of Family and Medical Leave (“DFML”) published proposed regulations on March 29, 2019 for public comment. ...more
Editor's Overview -
We often talk about the importance of evaluating whether there are any procedural obstacles to plaintiffs pursuing their ERISA claims, particularly in complex, class actions where it may not be...more
4/3/2019
/ Administrative Remedies ,
Article III ,
Breach of Duty ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Discovery ,
Electronically Stored Information ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Harm ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
IRS ,
Notice Requirements ,
Standard of Review ,
Standing
As has been long anticipated, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently gave a green light to plaintiffs’ attorneys seeking a fee award under the Commonwealth’s Payment of Wages Act, even where an action ends in...more
On January 23, 2019, Massachusetts released draft regulations on the Paid Family and Medical Leave (“PFML”) Law, signed into law last summer (as previously discussed here) and set to begin taking effect this upcoming July. ...more
2/1/2019
/ Accrual Requirements ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Draft Documents ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Contributions ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Medical Leave ,
New Regulations ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Paid Leave ,
Small Employers ,
State Labor Laws
Massachusetts employers’ decision-making processes with regards to lateral, internal employee transfers are now subject to possible state law discrimination claims. On January 29, 2019, the SJC issued its decision in Yee v....more
1/31/2019
/ Adverse Action ,
Burden of Proof ,
Employee Transfers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Lateral Transfers ,
MA Supreme Judicial Court ,
Materiality ,
Protected Class ,
Summary Judgment ,
Vacated
On August 10, 2018, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker passed a bill making significant reforms to Massachusetts’ law regarding non-compete agreements, as well as adopting the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (“UTSA”) (joining 48...more
On June 28, 2018, Governor Charlie Baker signed “An Act Relative to Minimum Wage, Paid Family Medical Leave, and the Sales Tax Holiday” (HB 4640) into law. Last week, we covered three major changes the Act makes to...more
On June 20, 2018, the Massachusetts legislature passed House Bill 4640, “An Act Relative to Minimum Wage, Paid Family Medical Leave, and the Sales Tax Holiday.” The bill increases minimum wage, eliminates premium Sunday pay...more
In its eagerly-awaited opinion in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, the U.S. Supreme Court held on May 21 that class action waivers in arbitration agreements between employers and employees do not violate the National Labor...more
5/22/2018
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Collective Actions ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Ernst & Young v Morris ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Freelance Isn't Free Act (FIFA) ,
Murphy Oil v NLRB ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Preemption ,
SCOTUS ,
Wage and Hour