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Massachusetts Governor Signs Law Establishing Paid Family and Medical Leave Program, Increasing Minimum Wage, and Eliminating...

On June 28, 2018, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed a law affecting all employers in the Commonwealth by creating a paid family and medical leave program funded by a state payroll tax, increasing the state minimum...more

Massachusetts Highest Court Holds Sick Pay is Not a Wage Under the Massachusetts Wage Act

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently ruled in Mui v. Massachusetts Port Authority that payment for accrued, unused sick time is not a “wage” under the state wage act, M.G.L. c. 149, s. 148, and therefore a...more

Same-Day Delivery Companies: 2; MA Independent Contractor Statute: 0. First Circuit Once Again Upholds Classification of Couriers...

Relying on its precedent, the First Circuit Court of Appeals held for the second time this year that the Federal Aviation Administrative Authorization Act of 1994 (“FAAAA”) preempts application of the Massachusetts...more

Uber Aims to Settle Two Class Actions; Approximately 385,000 Uber Drivers in California and Massachusetts to Remain Independent...

Last Thursday, Uber settled two closely-watched class actions contesting Uber’s classification of approximately 385,000 drivers in California and Massachusetts as independent contractors as opposed to employees. While the...more

Federal Court Allows Terminated Employee to Proceed with Age Discrimination Claim Despite Her Execution of a Release of Claims

A recent Colorado federal court decision serves as a good reminder to employers on how not to obtain a release of claims from a terminated employee. For starters, don’t tell the employee her job is being eliminated and then...more

Update on the Fight Over the Companionship and Live-In Domestic Worker FLSA Exemptions: Final Rule Set to Go Into Effect on...

A U.S. Department of Labor final regulation prohibiting third-party home care agencies and other third-party employers from taking advantage of the Companionship and Live-In Domestic Worker minimum wage and overtime...more

Massachusetts State Court Holds Employee Cannot Recover Treble Damages on Late Wage Payments

Can an employer escape a treble damage award under the Massachusetts Wage Act where it makes a late payment of final wages to a fired employee after the employee filed a wage complaint with the state Attorney General but...more

Federal Court Says Employer Can Be Liable for Acts of Anonymous Harasser

As a major national company learned recently, employers cannot shirk their obligations to investigate employee complaints of a hostile work environment simply because the identity of the harasser is unknown. Failure to...more

[Event] Massachusetts Employment Law Summit - May 13, Boston, MA

Employers and their HR departments are faced with a host of new issues and challenges. When you’re not navigating new state, federal, and local laws and making sure systems are in place to comply with them, you’re busy...more

The EEOC Continues to Challenge Employer Wellness Programs Through Litigation

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is taking a hard look at employers who implement employee wellness programs that condition eligibility for benefits on participation in such programs. In the past few months,...more

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not – Federal Appeals Court Confirms that Favoritism of a Paramour is Not Gender Discrimination

As one employee recently learned, a supervisor’s favoritism toward another employee because of a romantic relationship does not equate to unlawful discrimination. Additionally, a complaint of said favoritism cannot serve as...more

Employers on Either Side of Employee Poaching Should Consider Taking Some (Rather Easy) Steps to Better Protect Themselves

Recently, litigation consultant TrialGraphix Inc. sued its competitor FTI Consulting, Inc. and four former high-ranking employees in New York Supreme Court for allegedly scheming to steal its trade secrets and gain access to...more

Massachusetts Federal Court Refuses to Transform Non-Disclosure Agreement into a Non-Competition Agreement

A recent decision from the Massachusetts federal district court serves as a good reminder to Massachusetts employers that courts are unlikely to view the breach of a non-disclosure/confidentiality agreement as justification...more

First Circuit Court of Appeals Holds That Employer Can be Found Liable Under Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment Negligence Theory for...

In a case of first impression, the First Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that an employer can be held liable under Title VII for quid pro quo sexual harassment based on the discriminatory actions of a non-supervisory...more

Massachusetts Superior Court Holds that a Lateral Transfer Can Constitute an Adverse Employment Actions Under M.G.L. 151B; Affirms...

A recent decision from a Massachusetts superior court reinforces what we’ve known for quite some time – be extremely mindful of the actions you take with respect to an employee lodging a complaint under M.G.L. 151B, the...more

Employer Avoids Massachusetts Wage Claim Through the Use of Well-Drafted Employment Agreement

The importance of drafting employment agreements carefully could not be more evident in the superior court case of Boesel v. Swaptree, Inc., where the court rejected a high-level executive’s ability to bring a claim under the...more

Are Anti-Poaching Agreements Enforceable in New York? Not in the Absence of a Protectable Interest Says One New York Federal...

Anti-poaching agreements, non-recruitment pacts, no-hire contracts, whatever you want to call them, require a protectable interest to be enforceable in New York. That’s what a Southern District of New York judge in Reed...more

Thinking of Imposing a Nationwide Non-Compete on Individuals Who Never Had Any Personal Contact With Your Clients? One Indiana...

In today’s increasingly competitive world, employers understandably have a need to protect their business interests by requiring employees to enter into non-competition agreements that restrict their employees’ ability to...more

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