Seyfarth Synopsis: In the Woodward case, Justice Sisitsky of the Massachusetts Superior Court issued an outright win for employers in the first decision to apply the affirmative defense of the Massachusetts Equal Pay Act...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Proposed legislation would require many employers in Massachusetts to provide pay scales to prospective and current employees....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Two recent Department of Labor Opinion Letters addressing the FLSA’s outside sales exemption provide helpful guidance and flexibility to employers with unique business models....more
7/9/2020
/ Company Vehicles ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Direct to Consumer Sales ,
Exemptions ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Opinion Letter ,
Outside Sales Exemption (OSE) ,
Principal Place of Business ,
Salespersons ,
Trade Shows
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Second Circuit has affirmed summary judgment for the employer, Aetna, in an exempt misclassification overtime claim brought by a nurse reviewer. Agreeing that the plaintiff was properly classified as a...more
1/31/2020
/ Aetna ,
Appeals ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Independent Contractors ,
Job Duties ,
Misclassification ,
Nurses ,
Over-Time ,
Summary Judgment ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
Seyfarth Synopsis: Furthering a recent trend, a judge in the District of Massachusetts denied a motion for conditional certification because there was no personal jurisdiction over non-Massachusetts entities with respect to...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Laws protecting individuals from discrimination and harassment in the workplace are expanding rapidly at the state and local levels, while the federal landscape remains unclear regarding LGBTQ rights. ...more
6/5/2019
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Gender Identity ,
Harassment ,
LGBTQ ,
Race Discrimination ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII
Among the most common types of wage and hour lawsuits in Massachusetts are independent contractor misclassification suits. These actions arise when an individual who provides a service claims that: (1) he or she was...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Employers cannot ignore the recent amendments to state and local pay equity laws and increased attention on equal pay issues. Pay equity claims raise unique challenges, including the prevalence of...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 April 2, 2019, the Maine legislature passed a salary history ban ordinance. The law also has enhanced wage transparency provisions....more
4/12/2019
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Gap ,
Pending Legislation ,
Salary/Wage History ,
State and Local Government ,
Wage and Hour
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: The Massachusetts Attorney General’s office (“AGO”) issued Guidance on March 1 about the changes to the Massachusetts Equal Pay Act (“MEPA”) that will take effect July 1. Employers preparing to comply with...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: While employees who have recently taken leave may be terminated for legitimate reasons, establishing a non-retaliatory termination can be challenging. The timing of the termination alone can support...more
For organizations that operate in multiple state or local jurisdictions, tracking the ever-changing requirements related to pay equity can pose daunting challenges. To simplify the process, we are pleased to provide you with...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: It remains to be seen whether the Trump administration will redirect its enforcement priorities away from independent contractor misclassification issues or curtail the applicable standards in the coming...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: With the new administration and new year well underway, retail employers may be wondering what’s next for likely litigation and legislation impacting their business. Below are thoughts about five questions...more
3/7/2017
/ Arbitration ,
Browning-Ferris Industries of California Inc. ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Discrimination ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Joint Employers ,
Minimum Salary ,
NLRB ,
Over-Time ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Retail Market ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
Seyfarth Synopsis: On August 1, 2016, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed a bill that will amend the Commonwealth’s pay equity law effective in 2018. The changes will make the law one of the most stringent in the...more
8/2/2016
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Pay ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
New Legislation ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Transparency ,
Wage and Hour
The Ninth Circuit this week blessed an employer’s policy of rounding employee time punches to the nearest quarter hour, affirming summary judgment in favor of the company on an employee’s challenge to the rounding policy...more
Employers have a new tool for opposing conditional and class certification of overtime claims by financial advisors and other exempt employees—last week, a judge in the District of New Jersey denied conditional and class...more
Employees’ social media activities often play a key role in workplace investigations.
For example, an employee may complain that a coworker sent a harassing Facebook message or posted something offensive on Twitter...more
10/2/2015
/ Employee Privacy Rights ,
Facebook ,
Free Speech ,
Popular ,
Public Schools ,
Qualified Immunity ,
Right to Privacy ,
Social Media ,
Students ,
Teachers ,
Workplace Investigations