After several years of evolving guidance, the Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML) has announced that starting November 1, 2023, employees who apply for paid family and medical leave (PFML) benefits...more
In a decision that further clarifies Massachusetts law with regard to employee classification, the Massachusetts Appeals Court recently held that home inspectors working on behalf of an inspectional services company were...more
Mandatory arbitration clauses for employment disputes have received a great deal of attention in recent years. In the First Circuit, there is now more clarity regarding the factors used to determine the enforceability of...more
4/16/2021
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Misclassification ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Wage and Hour
In a joint statement issued earlier this week, Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker, state senate president Karen Spilka, and state house speaker Robert DeLeo announced a three-month delay to the contributions that will fund...more
In the second episode of this two-part series, John Stretton and Rachel Mandel discuss the complexities surrounding the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, including no fault attendance...more
5/8/2019
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Attendance ,
Best Practices ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disability Leave ,
Documentation ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Leave of Absence ,
Medical Leave ,
Opinion Letter ,
Wage and Hour
In the first episode of this two-part series, John Stretton and Rachel Mandel discuss the complexities surrounding the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, including the interplay between the...more
11/19/2018
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Best Practices ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Interactive Process ,
Leave of Absence ,
Medical Leave ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Sick Leave ,
Undue Hardship ,
Unpaid Leave ,
Wage and Hour
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker just signed into law the so-called “grand bargain” bill, which contains provisions that will have a significant effect on employers in the state. The law is a compromise designed to avoid...more
As we get closer to the July 1, 2018 implementation date for the Massachusetts Equal Pay Act (MEPA), it is time to focus in earnest on practical workplace considerations for affected employers. Although the MEPA does not...more
As many of you are aware, the July 1, 2015 effective date of the Massachusetts earned sick leave law is looming. In summary, the new law provides that employers of 11 or more employees must provide their Massachusetts...more
In April 2015, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts issued two important decisions providing guidance for employers on the scope of Massachusetts’s wage and hour laws. In one decision, the Court held that employers may...more