In its September 13, 2024 decision in Bodge et al. v. Commonwealth et al., SJC-13567 (2024), the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) ruled that an employer’s policy of denying the accrual of certain benefits to...more
9/19/2024
/ Employee Benefits ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
MA Supreme Judicial Court ,
Medical Leave ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Leave ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
On July 31, 2024, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healy, in an effort to increase transparency in pay, signed into law wage equity legislation that imposes new disclosure requirements on Massachusetts-based employers. The...more
8/9/2024
/ Disclosure Requirements ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Filing Requirements ,
Job Ads ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Reform ,
New Legislation ,
New Regulations ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
On April 29, 2024, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued its Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace (the “Guidance”). The Guidance sets forth the EEOC’s position on harassment that constitutes...more
5/7/2024
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Gender Identity ,
Harassment ,
New Guidance ,
SCOTUS ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Teleconferences ,
Title VII
On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued its Final Rule prohibiting non-compete clauses in all agreements between employers and their workers. This controversial ban comes one year and six months after...more
4/25/2024
/ Competition ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
FTC Act ,
Labor Regulations ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Proposed Rules ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Unfair Competition
On April 17, 2024, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in Muldrow v. St. Louis that rejected a heightened injury standard for Title VII claims based on job transfers and held that employees alleging discrimination...more
4/22/2024
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Discrimination ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employee Transfers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Lateral Transfers ,
Muldrow v City of St Louis ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Title VII
On February 8, 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States clarified the standard for proving causation under the whistleblower protection provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (the “Act”), easing the burden of proof employees...more
The new rule makes it more difficult under federal law to classify workers as independent contractors.
The new rule adopts the six-factor economic realities test, rather than the more stringent “ABC” test adopted by...more
On November 22, 2023, New York City’s law banning discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations on the basis of an individual’s height and/or weight went into effect. The law, signed on May 26, 2023 by...more
11/29/2023
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
City of New York ,
Discrimination ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Reform ,
New Legislation ,
New Regulations ,
New York ,
State and Local Government
On September 14, 2023, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a new law (A.836) that prohibits employers from requesting or requiring that employees or job applicants disclose the log-in information to their personal social...more
On September 6, 2023, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a new law (A6604 / S4982) that prohibits New York employers and employment agencies from discriminating or retaliating against employees who refuse to attend...more
On August 31, 2023, the NLRB released its decision in Miller Plastic Products, Inc. and Ronald Vincer, 372 NLRB No. 134 (“Miller”), in which the Board re-established a fact-sensitive totality of the evidence test to determine...more
On August 25, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a decision that significantly narrows employers’ options in contesting union organizing efforts through secret ballot elections. The case, Cemex...more
On August 7, 2023, the EEOC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking containing its proposed regulations for implementing the PWFA. The PWFA was signed into law by President Biden on December 29, 2022 and went into effect on...more
On August 2, 2023, the NLRB issued a decision in Stericycle, Inc., 372 NLRB No. 113 (2023) which adopts a new legal standard for evaluating whether employer workplace policies violate the NLRA. The decision supplants a more...more
When hiring employees, employers must verify employees’ identities and employment authorizations and record their verification on Form I-9. Federal law requires that employers complete Section 2 of the Form I-9 by physically...more
On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States revisited an employer's obligation to provide religious accommodations under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), heightening the standard employers...more
7/6/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
De Minimus Doctrine ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Groff v DeJoy ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Substantial Burden ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship ,
USPS
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s (“SJC”) decision in Mark A. Adams v. Schneider Electric USA, Inc., SJC-13352 (2023) concerned the age discrimination claim of a plaintiff who was 54 years old when he was laid off by...more
6/29/2023
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Cat's Paw ,
Discrimination ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Layoffs ,
Liability ,
MA Supreme Judicial Court ,
Summary Judgment
On July 5, 2023, the New York Department of Consumer and Workplace Protection (“DCWP”) will begin enforcing NYC Law 144, which regulates the use of AI-driven hiring tools, referred to as Automated Employment Decision Tools...more
On May 30, 2023, NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo issued a memo explaining her view that, except in limited circumstances, employee non-competition agreements violate the Act. While the memo only reflects General Counsel...more
On February 21, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or the “Board”) issued a decision in McLaren Macomb providing that employers violate federal labor law when they require employees to sign severance agreements...more
Just before noon on Friday March 10, 2023, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) was shut down by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was named as the...more
3/14/2023
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Deposit Accounts ,
Deposit Insurance ,
Depository Institutions ,
FDIC ,
Financial Institutions ,
Receivership ,
Risk Management ,
Silicon Valley ,
Uninsured Deposits
We have received a number of inquiries from clients regarding Silicon Valley Bank’s (SVB) recent shut down by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation and the FDIC being named as the receiver. This is...more
3/13/2023
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Borrowers ,
Deposit Accounts ,
Deposit Insurance ,
Depository Institutions ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Insolvency ,
Receivership ,
Silicon Valley
On February 21, 2023, the NLRB issued a decision significantly restricting employers’ use of non-disparagement and confidentiality provisions in its agreements with its non-supervisory employees. As a result of the decision,...more
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) of the U.S. Department of Labor has released a new rule that will give antitrust whistleblowers added protection against retaliation. The new rule establishes...more
2/16/2023
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Comment Period ,
Contractors ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act of 2015 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Contractors ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
OSHA ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Proposed Rules ,
Sherman Act ,
Whistleblowers
On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed two bills into law aimed at enhancing protections for pregnant and nursing parents in the workplace: the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and the Providing Urgent Maternal...more