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
President-elect Trump surprised the business community on Friday night when he announced Lori Chavez-DeRemer as his nominee to lead the U.S. Department of Labor. Her selection was met by skepticism by some in the employer...more
11/25/2024
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Foreign Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Minimum Wage ,
Over-Time ,
Presidential Appointments ,
Secretary of Labor ,
Small Business ,
Trump Administration ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
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
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) just delivered a win for franchisor-franchisee relationships. Specifically, the court held that 7-Eleven franchisees are not performing a “service” for their franchisor, meaning...more
The controversial joint employer rule that would have made it far easier for workers to be considered employees of more than one entity is now dead once and for all – but that doesn’t mean employers should let their guard...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 Supreme Court just sided with Starbucks in a case where the Labor Board tried to force the company to temporarily reinstate workers who were fired for hosting media interviews afterhours in a closed store. Starbucks said...more
6/14/2024
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Labor Disputes ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Reinstatement ,
SCOTUS ,
Starbucks ,
Starbucks Corp. v McKinney ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Union Organizers ,
Unions
In a case before the Supreme Court, Starbucks says it fired several employees for violating valid company policies — but the National Labor Relations Board convinced a lower court to reinstate the employees while a legal...more
4/18/2024
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Oral Argument ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Starbucks ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Union Organizers ,
Unions
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
In an eleventh-hour decision, a federal court judge in Texas just struck down the Labor Board’s controversial joint employer rule right before it was set to take effect on Monday. The NLRB had aimed to make it far easier for...more
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
Many employers had trouble keeping up with the dizzying pace of new directives from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in 2023. And these changes may have prompted you to review and update your employee relations...more
11/27/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Information Sharing ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Unions
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
As we reported last month and back in January, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) was considering whether voters in the state could weigh in on a ballot initiative classifying app-based drivers (those using...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
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
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court just provided much-needed and helpful guidance on the appropriate standard for determining whether an entity is an individual’s “joint employer” in order to determine liability under...more
The recent termination of Portland Trail Blazers General Manager Neil Olshey has brought workplace culture and bullying to the forefront of professional sports’ front offices nationwide. As shown in the Olshey case, teams...more
The highest court in Massachusetts just ruled that employers may be subject to liability under the state’s domestic violence leave law even if employees don’t explicitly request such leave, creating a potential liability trap...more
9/3/2021
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Domestic Violence ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Former Employer ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Job Applicants ,
Job Offers ,
Leave of Absence ,
MA Supreme Judicial Court ,
Retaliation ,
State Labor Laws
Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee recently signed broad new pay equity legislation into law that will require you to change many common workplace practices, slated to take effect on January 1, 2023. While it might seem so...more
8/16/2021
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
New Legislation ,
Pay Discrimination ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Protected Class ,
Safe Harbors ,
Salary/Wage History ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Though sometimes overlooked given the abundance of federal and state statutory claims, employers must remember that their existing contractual obligations remain in place during the pandemic. As a review of the Fisher...more
8/10/2020
/ Breach of Contract ,
Business Interruption ,
Contract Termination ,
Contract Terms ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employment Contract ,
Force Majeure Clause ,
Frustration of a Common Purpose ,
Furloughs ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Layoffs ,
Nonperformance ,
Pay Reductions
An engineer terminated for job abandonment just sued his former employer for not allowing him to work from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to his complaint, Yiyu Lin, a 55-year-old Chinese-American engineer with...more
6/16/2020
/ Age Discrimination ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Earned Sick Time ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
National Origin Discrimination ,
Race Discrimination ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Retaliation
A terminated Kroger Co. distribution center worker has just sued the grocery store giant over its handling of absences for what she alleges were COVID-19 symptoms. The most interesting aspect of this claim is that the...more