On July 21, 2023, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) announced multiple changes to the Form I-9 process. The changes narrow the circumstances in which employers may review I-9 documentation remotely....more
7/28/2023
/ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
E-Verify ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Final Rules ,
Form I-9 ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Inspections ,
Remote Working ,
Required Forms ,
Updated Forms
The Supreme Court's unanimous June 29, 2023 decision in Groff v. DeJoy rejected the standard commonly used by courts in determining whether accommodating an employee's religious beliefs would constitute an "undue hardship"...more
7/6/2023
/ Civil Rights Act ,
De Minimus Doctrine ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Groff v DeJoy ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Substantial Burden ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship ,
USPS
On September 22, 2020, President Trump issued Executive Order 13950, “on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping,” prohibiting the federal government, companies with federal contracts, and recipients of federal grants from...more
10/16/2020
/ Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employee Training ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
Race Discrimination ,
Race Relations ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Stereotyping ,
Subcontractors ,
Trump Administration ,
Unconscious Bias
Employers are considering whether to implement layoffs, furloughs or hours reductions in light of the economic uncertainty arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. This alert reviews significant considerations for employers that...more
4/1/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Retention ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Furloughs ,
Layoffs ,
Paid Leave ,
Pay Reductions ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Sick Leave ,
Tax Credits ,
Tax Deferral ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Unemployment Insurance ,
Wage and Hour
On March 7, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor released its highly anticipated proposed rule to update the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime exemptions for executive, administrative, professional, and computer employees,...more
On May 21, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the enforceability of class action waivers in employment arbitration agreements in its Epic Systems v. Lewis decision. Because private arbitration is generally viewed as a...more
5/29/2018
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Ernst & Young v Morris ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Murphy Oil v NLRB ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Savings Clause ,
SCOTUS
The Massachusetts Attorney General recently issued guidance concerning amendments to the Massachusetts Equal Pay Act, which will take effect on July 1, 2018. Employers of Massachusetts employees should prepare for the...more
..The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has determined that it may be a reasonable accommodation under the state anti-discrimination law for a handicapped employee to use medical marijuana, if certified by a physician,...more
The Department of Justice has reversed its stance and now urges the Supreme Court to enforce class action waivers in employment-related arbitration agreements. This increases the likelihood that the Supreme Court will side...more
The Massachusetts Legislature passed new pay equity legislation on July 23, 2016. Governor Baker has been reported to have said that he will sign the legislation. The new law will take effect on January 1, 2018. The...more
On May 11, 2016, President Obama signed the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016, which immediately creates, for the first time ever, a federal civil cause of action for misappropriation of trade secrets. The DTSA adds a federal...more
On June 9, 2015, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, the Bureau of Consumer...more
7/7/2015
/ Assessment ,
Board of Directors ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Equal Opportunities ,
Federal Register ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Joint Policy Statements ,
OMWI ,
Public Disclosure ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Suppliers
On June 19, 2015, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey issued long awaited regulations concerning the Massachusetts Earned Sick Time Law. The ESTL was enacted by a ballot initiative on November 4, 2014. The basic rule...more
On January 7, 2015, then-Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signed into law An Act Relative to Parental Leave (the Parental Leave Act or the PLA), which amends the Massachusetts Maternity Leave Act (the MMLA). The PLA will...more
On November 4, 2014, Massachusetts voters approved a ballot measure that will require covered employers to allow employees to earn at least one hour of paid sick time (“Sick Time”) for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum...more
The Massachusetts Attorney General recently issued an Advisory and other guidance on a new Massachusetts law, known as the Domestic Violence Leave Act (the “DVLA”). The Attorney General’s guidance confirms the basic...more
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service recently issued a Final Rule that revises reporting obligations to include aggregated veteran-related employment and hiring statistics, but excludes...more
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) recently proposed a rule that would require certain federal contractors to submit annual “Equal Pay Reports” providing summary data on...more
Last week, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick proposed legislation that would ban certain non-competition provisions in agreements with employees and independent contractors. Certain other important restrictive covenants,...more
On March 4, 2014, in Lawson v. FMR, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a public company’s private contractors can be covered under the whistleblower protections of Section 806 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The Supreme Court’s...more
OSHA has issued a proposed regulation that, for the first time ever, would require certain employers to submit workplace injury and illness data directly to OSHA in electronic format. After being submitted, the data would...more
In a decision involving the “first contact” rule with respect to non-solicitation agreements, the First Circuit, in Corporate Technologies v. Harnett, rejected a bright line application and upheld a ruling of tortious...more
The Department of Labor has issued new regulations requiring government contractors and subcontractors to engage in affirmative action for veterans and disabled individuals. Under the new DOL rules, covered entities must,...more