Seyfarth Synopsis: In important breaking news, the Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML) has changed its position and has confirmed that employers may receive approval of a private paid family or medical...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: In response to feedback from the public listening sessions held around the Commonwealth, as well as engagement efforts, the Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML) announced several...more
Tip #2: Thorny Issues with Commissions Part 1: What Happens When a Salesperson Is Selling a Drug To Herself or Her Family Member?
A key component of compensation for pharmaceutical salespeople is the sales commission, and...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: As previously announced, yesterday, the Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML) made available the online application for private plan exemptions under the Paid Family and Medical Leave...more
Tip #1: Why Pharmaceutical, Biotech, and Life Science Clients with a Massachusetts Presence Should Consider Rolling Out An Arbitration Agreement—With A Class Action Waiver -
Until recently, there has been much debate about...more
Even fair-minded employers, with sound policies, face “off-the-clock” claims. That is, employers have to defend against lawsuits in which employees argue that they worked hours for which their employers failed to pay them. ...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On Wednesday afternoon, the Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML) posted template notices for employers to provide to each Massachusetts employee and self-employed 1099-MISC contractor...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On Friday evening, the Massachusetts Department of Paid Family and Medical Leave (DFML) published its revised version of the highly anticipated proposed Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) regulations that...more
Effective July 1, 2018, the Massachusetts Equal Pay Act (the “Act”) requires employers to pay employees of different genders equal wages for comparable work unless the difference in pay is explained by the Act’s enumerated...more
Tip #1: Consider An Arbitration Agreement—With A Class Action Waiver -
Until recently, there has been much debate about the enforceability of arbitration agreements containing class action waivers. Courts disagreed as to...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: January 23, 2019, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (EOLWD) released a draft of the Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) regulations still under development for the...more
On March 9, 2018, the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (“CCC”) filed its much anticipated recreational marijuana Regulations with the Massachusetts Secretary of State. ...more
4/3/2018
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Employee Rights ,
Licensing Rules ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Cultivation ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
New Regulations ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
State and Local Government
Seyfarth Synopsis: On May 23, 2017, in Callaghan v. Darlington Fabrics Co., a Rhode Island Superior Court issued a unique decision regarding employer obligations to medical marijuana users....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On July 17, 2017, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that an employer could be liable under the Massachusetts Anti-Discrimination Act for disability discrimination by declining employment based...more
7/19/2017
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Disability ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Discrimination ,
Drug Testing ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
MA Supreme Judicial Court ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Off-Duty Employees ,
Zero Tolerance Policies
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently held that the FAAAA preempts the second prong of the Massachusetts Independent Contractor Statute as applied to certain delivery drivers. Although the...more
12/30/2016
/ Appeals ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Dismissals ,
Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (FAAAA) ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Motor Carriers ,
Preemption ,
Severability Doctrine ,
Trucking Industry
Seyfarth Synopsis: Massachusetts has voted to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. For employers that want to maintain drug-free workplaces, the new marijuana law raises a number of questions regarding employer rights...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: An employer terminated an employee for secretly searching for confidential documents on her employer’s computer system to use against the employer as part of a discrimination complaint. Massachusetts’...more
On June 1, 2015, in a 8-1 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in the religious-discrimination case of EEOC v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc. We blogged about that opinion on...more
It’s the decision the employment bar has been waiting for: on June 1, 2015, in a 8-1 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with the EEOC in the religious discrimination case of EEOC v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc., which...more