In a rare win for Massachusetts employers, the Supreme Judicial Court just ruled that employers generally have no obligation to allow employees to continue accruing benefits, such as seniority, vacation, and sick time, while...more
Uber and Lyft just reached a $175 million settlement with Massachusetts state prosecutors that permits their drivers to stay classified as independent contractors – not employees – but entitles the drivers to significant...more
When Taylor Swift revealed the track list for “The Tortured Poets Department” – a new album she’ll release on April 19 – fans immediately began theorizing about what might have inspired each song. While your #FPSwifties live...more
4/12/2024
/ Ban the Box ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Job Applicants ,
Notice Requirements ,
Recruitment Policies ,
Remote Working ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Romances
Massachusetts recently announced major changes to the Paid Family and Medical Leave Act, including changes allowing employees to “top off” PFML benefits with accrued paid time off and a sizeable increase in contribution...more
Massachusetts enacted a five-year plan in 2018 to increase the minimum wage. The plan, which resulted from a “grand bargain” between employee advocates and the business community, carried significant implications for...more
When the US Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division published a Final Rule on the regular rate in late 2019, it gave employers the freedom to more easily offer perks and benefits to their employees without running afoul...more
1/4/2023
/ Bonuses ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Contributions ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Gifts ,
Holiday Pay ,
Look-Back Measurement Period ,
Over-Time ,
Premium Pay ,
Profit Sharing ,
Rate of Pay ,
Stock Options ,
Tipped Employees ,
Vacation Pay ,
Wage and Hour
It’s never easy to make accurate predictions about what we might expect to see in the workplace in the coming year. After all:
- At the start of 2020, no one could have predicted COVID-19.
- None of us had heard the phrase...more
11/1/2022
/ Affirmative Action ,
Background Checks ,
Blockchain ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Security ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employee Retention ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Labor Relations ,
Leave of Absence ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Trade Secrets ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
Massachusetts employers should review and update their employee handbook policies and notices to ensure they accurately reflect Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) obligations. Notably, as the second year of PFML draws to a...more
As we wrote back in January, Massachusetts is in the midst of a multi-fora battle over whether gig drivers (those using app-based platforms such as Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, and Instacart) should be treated as employees or...more
5/13/2022
/ Employee Benefits ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Lyft ,
MA Supreme Judicial Court ,
Misclassification ,
Secretary of State ,
State Attorneys General ,
State Constitutions ,
Uber ,
Wage and Hour
The Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML) recently released proposed amendments to the Commonwealth’s Paid Family and Medical Leave regulations, marking yet another proposed change to the state’s nascent...more
In welcome news to Massachusetts employers, the Department of Paid Family and Medical Leave (DPFML) just provided much-needed answers to questions raised by the Legislature’s three-month delay of the nascent paid leave...more
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, along with state house and senate leadership, just announced that they had agreed to implement a three-month delay to the Commonwealth’s robust Paid Family and Medical Leave program late...more
Led by Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM), a nine-member coalition of the Massachusetts business community, along with employee and low-income advocacy groups, just requested a three-month delay to the start of...more
The Massachusetts Department of Paid Family and Medical Leave—the agency charged with regulating and enforcing the Commonwealth’s nascent paid leave program—just issued its mandatory workplace poster and guidance on the law’s...more
4/18/2019
/ Employee Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Medical Leave ,
New Legislation ,
Notification Requirements ,
Paid Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Communication ,
Written Notice
Massachusetts legislators have taken steps to immediately enhance the Commonwealth’s unemployment compensation regime for locked-out employees of gas and electric companies. In light of the 6-month standoff at National Grid,...more
12/6/2018
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Employee Benefits ,
Governor Baker ,
Lockouts ,
New Legislation ,
Public Employees ,
Strike ,
Unemployment ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
As the ramp-up towards Massachusetts’ paid family and medical leave continues, the newly created Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML) just launched its website and issued its first guidance documents. As discussed...more
11/19/2018
/ Employee Benefits ,
Employee Contributions ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Medical Leave ,
New Guidance ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Paid Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there have been an unprecedented number of changes for the past few years—and this past month...more
9/17/2018
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Background Checks ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Class Action ,
Collective Action Waivers ,
Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act (CCRAA) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Failed Legislation ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Freedom of Religion ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Gig Economy ,
Governor Baker ,
Governor Brown ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act (ICRAA) ,
Licenses ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
OFCCP ,
Opinion Letter ,
Opioid ,
Over-Time ,
Pay Gap ,
Pending Legislation ,
Portable Benefits ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Ridesharing ,
Right to Work ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Union Dues ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Injury
In one fell swoop, Massachusetts has set in motion a plan to increase its minimum wage to $15.00 per hour and create a comprehensive paid family and medical leave program as the result of a “grand bargain” between employee...more
6/28/2018
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Blue Laws ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Contributions ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Full-Time Employees ,
Governor Baker ,
Holiday Pay ,
Medical Leave ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
Notice Requirements ,
Over-Time ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Paid Leave ,
Rate of Pay ,
Retail Workers ,
Retailers ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tipped Employees ,
Trust Funds ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Schedules