Responding to a recent New York federal court decision invalidating certain of its regulations interpreting the paid leave provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)...more
9/22/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Furloughs ,
Intermittent Leave ,
Layoffs ,
New Guidance ,
Paid Leave ,
Remote Working ,
Sick Leave ,
Work Availability Requirement
Spurred by the uptick in remote work due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Department of Labor ("DOL") recently issued a new Field Assistance Bulletin clarifying employers’ obligations to pay hourly, non-exempt...more
On July 24, 2020, Governor Charlie Baker issued an Executive Order imposing a mandatory 14-day quarantine for travelers entering Massachusetts. The Order, which goes into effect on August 1, 2020, applies not only to...more
In a landmark ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court held on June 15, 2020 that employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is unlawful under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The ruling...more
6/17/2020
/ Altitude Express Inc v Zarda ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
EEOC v RG & GR Harris Funeral Homes ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued new guidance for employers who operate in office buildings. The CDC’s guidance provides recommendations on how to prevent the spread of COVID-19 within office...more
6/4/2020
/ Air Quality Standards ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Health and Safety ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Return-to-Work Agreements ,
Sick Employees ,
Social Distancing ,
Ventilation Systems ,
Virus Testing ,
Work Schedules ,
Workplace Safety
Since Congress’s quick passage of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) in late March, the Department of Labor has continued to issue guidance interpreting this new law. While the Department published its...more
On Wednesday, April 1, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued new formal regulations interpreting the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. Those regulations largely formalized the informal guidance the DOL has...more
As concerns about the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continue to mount in the United States (and world-wide), resulting in school and business closures and other disruptions across the country, employers are...more
4/2/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
OSHA ,
Paid Leave ,
Sick Employees ,
Sick Leave ,
Sick Pay ,
State of Emergency ,
Traveling Employee ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
On Saturday, the Department of Labor published additional guidance on the two emergency leaves available under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).
(We reported on the provisions of this new law in our...more
Late March 24, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) offered employers some important guidance on complying with the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which President Trump signed into law last week. DOL...more
On the evening of Wednesday, March 18, 2020 the President signed into law the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which provides various forms of emergency relief to directly address the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic....more
With its sole Democratic member’s term expiring as of December 16, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board issued a flurry of decisions this week in advance of her departure, including two decisions rolling back Obama-era...more
The new Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (PFMLA) came into effect on October 1, 2019, requiring employers to begin collecting payroll deductions and matching contributions to be submitted to the state...more
On September 24, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) unveiled the final version of its new overtime salary basis rule. The new rule increases the minimum salary threshold for salary-based overtime exemptions from $455...more
Department Clarifies that Law Will Not Apply to Properly Classified Independent Contractors -
On September 5, 2019, the Massachusetts Department of Paid Family and Medical Leave issued new guidance on when workers who...more
The past few days saw two major updates to the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (PFMLA) of which employers should be aware: a three-month extension of various deadlines for employer compliance and the issuance...more
On June 11, 2019, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, Senate President Karen Spilka, and House Speaker Robert DeLeo announced that they agreed to delay the required contributions to the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical...more
On May 1, 2019, the Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave announced that it is extending two deadlines for compliance with the new Paid Family and Medical Leave Act....more
Three weeks ago, we reported on the Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave’s new guide for employers on how to comply with the new Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (PFMLA). That alert can be found here. The...more
On March 26, 2019, the Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave issued a guide for employers on complying with the new Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (PFMLA). As the guide makes clear, employers will need to...more
On January 25, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board issued a decision revising the test for independent contractor status under federal labor law. In SuperShuttle DFW, Inc., the Board ruled that the test for determining...more
On May 21, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its much-anticipated decision addressing whether employers can include class action waivers in mandatory arbitration agreements that employers often require their employees to...more
5/23/2018
/ 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
On February 26, 2018, the National Labor Relations Board vacated its recent ruling in the Hy-Brand Industrial Contractors, Inc. case that had set a new standard for determining joint employer status. The action was not for...more
In an otherwise quiet week in the world of employment law, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) issued an important decision limiting the scope of personal liability under the Massachusetts Wage Act. In Andrew Segal...more
On December 14 and 15, 2017, the National Labor Relations Board issued several decisions rejecting employee-friendly rules previously adopted by the Board. The decisions, which address Obama-era Board rules on employer...more