A video game developer needs to hope that the Force is with it as it squares off with a union over the use of artificial intelligence in the workplace. SAG-AFTRA just filed an unfair labor practice (ULP) charge against Epic...more
5/27/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Bargaining Units ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Terms ,
NLRA ,
Popular ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unions
Love is in the air on Valentine’s Day – and according to recent research, it has likely found its way to your workplace. Even with the rise of remote work, office romances are commonplace, which illustrates the importance of...more
In a series of swift and game-changing moves, President Donald Trump summarily dismissed National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo and Board Member Gwynne Wilcox late Monday night. While Abruzzo’s...more
Just days into the newest Congressional session, a key Republican Senator shocked many employers by pushing for a law that would significantly tilt the playing field to the benefit of unions and labor advocates. Senator Josh...more
1/13/2025
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Labor Reform ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Notice Requirements ,
Posting Requirements ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Quickie Election Rules ,
Union Elections ,
Union Organizers ,
Unions ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety
Many New Hampshire employers will soon be required to allow employees to keep loaded guns in their cars parked at work, and all employers in the state will soon need to comply with new employee privacy protections regarding...more
As we close out 2024 and look ahead to 2025, one thing is clear: this has been a year like no other. From a groundbreaking Supreme Court ruling to a pivotal election result that will usher in a new administration, employers...more
12/12/2024
/ Affirmative Action ,
Agricultural Sector ,
Analytics ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
California ,
Car Dealerships ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Workers ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Foreign Workers ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hospitality Industry ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Relations ,
Manufacturing Employers ,
Mexico ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Professional Employer Organization ,
Retailers ,
Sports ,
Staffing Agencies ,
State Labor Laws ,
Student Athletes ,
Technology Sector ,
Trade Secrets ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Investigations ,
Workplace Safety
In a significant move, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) just overruled a Trump-era ruling and made it more challenging for unionized employers to make workplace changes without bargaining over the change with the...more
The National Labor Relations Board just banned mandatory employee meetings for purposes of discussing the subject of union representation – so-called “captive audience” meetings – and placed new restrictions on an employer’s...more
Now that we know Donald Trump will return to the White House as President, it’s time for employers to take a look at what they might expect during his second term in office. We have gathered insights from some of our firm’s...more
11/7/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Data Collection ,
EEO-1 ,
Election Results ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Federal Taxes ,
Foreign Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Immigration Reform ,
Income Taxes ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Relations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Minimum Wage ,
Misclassification ,
Over-Time ,
Paid Leave ,
Pay Data ,
Popular ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
Here’s a handy cheat sheet that summarizes some key points from our Essential FAQs for the 2024 Election Season. Make sure to check out the full series of FAQs to understand your rights and responsibilities....more
Voters will be deciding more than just who will capture the White House and Congress this Election Day – they’ll also be voting on a slew of state ballot measures that could change your workplace. How can you prepare? Read...more
A Japanese supermarket chain is getting attention for implementing an AI tool called “Mr. Smile” that monitors workers for the quality and quantity of their smiles when interacting with customers, raising questions around the...more
The Massachusetts Appeals Court just rendered a decision that significantly broadens when one entity may be found to be a “joint employer” of another entity’s employees under state wage laws. The June 13 decision, coupled...more
The National Labor Relations Board just ruled that a national retailer must allow customer-facing employees who want to write “Black Lives Matter” on their uniforms to do so – and may have opened Pandora ’s Box when it comes...more
2/23/2024
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Dress Codes ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
NLRB ,
Political Expression ,
Political Speech ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Uniforms
The coming election year promises to be turbulent, and your workplace will not be immune from the challenges that are sure to face us. What do you need to know about your rights and responsibilities as an employer now that...more
1/15/2024
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Rights ,
Employment Policies ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Political Campaigns ,
Political Candidates ,
Political Contributions ,
Political Expression ,
Primary Elections ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Social Media Policy ,
Voting Leave
While we respect Taylor Swift’s accomplishments for so many reasons, your #FPSwifties particularly admire Ms. Swift as an employer. From employee appreciation (those legendary tour bonuses sound really nice!) to her...more
When I reflect on the relationship that our firm has with our clients, I’m most proud of the fact that you can always count on us. That often means defending complex litigation, steering you through regulatory threats,...more
12/4/2023
/ 401k ,
Acquisitions ,
Affirmative Action ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Automotive Industry ,
Bias ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Car Dealerships ,
Chevron Deference ,
Child Labor ,
College Admissions ,
Colleges ,
Construction Industry ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Deletion ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Security ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity ,
E-Verify ,
Educational Institutions ,
EEO-1 ,
Electronic Records ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
EU ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
H-1B ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
International Labor Laws ,
Joint Employers ,
Jury Verdicts ,
L-1 Visas ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Relations ,
Labor Shortage ,
Manufacturing Employers ,
Mergers ,
Mexico ,
Name and Likeness ,
New Legislation ,
New Rules ,
NLRB ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
OFCCP ,
OSHA ,
Over-Time ,
Pay Data ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Transparency ,
Payroll Taxes ,
Privacy Laws ,
Professional Employer Organization ,
Proposed Rules ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Recruitment Policies ,
Remote Working ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Retirement Plan ,
Salaried Employees ,
Scheduling Letters ,
School Districts ,
School Policies ,
SCOTUS ,
SECURE Act ,
Severance Agreements ,
Sports ,
Staffing Agencies ,
State Labor Laws ,
State of Emergency ,
Student Athletes ,
Student Loans ,
Students ,
Tip Credit ,
Title IX ,
Trade Secrets ,
Transgender ,
Union Organizers ,
Unions ,
Universities ,
USCIS ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety ,
Workplace Violence
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
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) held yesterday that local Grubhub delivery drivers are not exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), and those workers can be compelled to individually arbitrate their...more
7/28/2022
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
GrubHub ,
Interstate Commerce ,
MA Supreme Judicial Court ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Wage and Hour
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
As cryptocurrency and blockchain technology continue their way into the mainstream, one key industry that stands out for its adoption of blockchain technology is professional sports. Professional leagues and teams have been...more
5/10/2022
/ Blockchain ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Independent Contractors ,
NBA ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Popular ,
Sports ,
UFC ,
Wage and Hour
A recent decision from the Massachusetts Superior Court held that workers at a day spa were not entitled to Sunday “premium pay” under the Commonwealth’s Blue Laws. This decision departs from the Massachusetts courts’ typical...more
In yet another gift to plaintiffs’ attorneys, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court just held yesterday that employees are entitled to automatic triple damages for late final wage payments even where the employer pays the...more
Massachusetts is one of handful of states to have adopted the stringent “ABC” test for determining whether a worker is an independent contractor or employee. That has made it one of the most fertile battlegrounds over this...more
1/28/2022
/ ABC Test ,
Ballot Measures ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Lyft ,
Misclassification ,
State Attorneys General ,
Uber ,
Wage and Hour
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu just announced the city will require proof of COVID-19 vaccination for entry into indoor dining, entertainment, recreation, and fitness establishments. Other municipal leaders in Greater Boston have...more