Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker just announced his administration’s plan to reopen the Commonwealth’s economy amidst the current COVID19 pandemic. The new four-phase plan is a welcome development for Bay State employers,...more
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
The Massachusetts legislature is considering expanding the state’s generous paid sick leave statute to add up to 80 hours of emergency paid sick leave for use in times of a declared state of emergency or disaster. While...more
In a blow to the state’s nascent recreational marijuana industry, a Massachusetts Superior Court Justice denied an emergency challenge to Governor Charlie Baker’s designation of recreational marijuana dispensaries as...more
The National Labor Relations Board just finalized its “Election Protection Rule,” amending regulations addressing “blocking charges” and certain aspects of the Board’s voluntary recognition doctrine. The final rule, published...more
New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu issued COVID19 Emergency Order #17 late last week, requiring all non-essential businesses and organizations to close their physical workplaces and facilities to workers, customers, and the...more
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announced a series of orders on Sunday in the Commonwealth’s latest efforts to deter the spread of COVID-19. The most recent steps include statewide school closures, a prohibition on any...more
3/17/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Response ,
Event Cancellation ,
Governor Baker ,
Medical Leave ,
Paid Leave ,
Public Health ,
Quarantine ,
Restaurant Industry ,
School Closures ,
Sick Leave ,
State of Emergency ,
Unemployment Benefits
As we look forward to the New Year, Massachusetts employers should be aware of upcoming changes to the Commonwealth’s employment laws that took effect on January 1, 2020, as well as possible changes we foresee on the horizon....more
1/6/2020
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Holiday Pay ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
Over-Time ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tip Credit ,
Tipped Employees ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
For the first time in over 60 years, the U.S. Department of Labor today issued a final rule updating its interpretative guidance with respect to permissible exclusions from the “regular rate.” According to the USDOL, the...more
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced today its intent to publish a proposed “Election Protection Rule” that would amend regulations governing the filing and processing of petitions for secret ballot union...more
8/12/2019
/ Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Construction Industry ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Trump Administration ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Union Elections ,
Unions
By a 9-0 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that by and large, the courts should continue deferring to a federal agency’s reasonable interpretation of its own ambiguous regulations, leaving a good deal of power in the...more
6/26/2019
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Ambiguous ,
Appeals ,
Auer Deference ,
Denial of Benefits ,
Judicial Review ,
Kisor v Wilkie ,
Reasonable Interpretations ,
Retroactive Application ,
SCOTUS ,
Veterans' Benefits
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
In a unanimous opinion, a federal appeals court just rejected the National Labor Relations Board’s “subgroup majority status rule” for determining when college and university faculty members are to be deemed managers and...more
The matchup is now set: the Los Angeles Rams will be playing the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LIII, and no doubt your employees are very much aware of the upcoming game. A good many of them will be among the estimated...more
In a unanimous opinion issued yesterday, the United States Supreme Court continued its expansive reading of the Federal Arbitration Act and arbitration provisions, rebuffing an effort by some to erect an additional hurdle...more
1/9/2019
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Arbitrators ,
Contract Terms ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Exceptions ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Henry Schein Inc v Archer and White Sales Inc ,
Judicial Review ,
Motion to Compel ,
Question of Arbitrability ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
Vacated ,
Wholly Groundless Doctrine
As you may remember, it was Christmas in July for employees when Massachusetts passed the “Grand Bargain,” among other things, putting the Commonwealth on a path to a $15.00 minimum wage. When the clock struck midnight on...more
1/9/2019
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Holiday Pay ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
Restaurant Industry ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tip Credit ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour
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
One month into Massachusetts’ new non-competition law, employers throughout the Commonwealth are learning what many predicted from the beginning—there are a lot more questions than answers. As Fisher Phillips previously...more
11/1/2018
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Garden Leave ,
Hiring & Firing ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Removal For-Cause ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wrongful Termination
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
After nearly 10 years of start-and-stop efforts on Beacon Hill, Governor Charlie Baker signed “An Act Relative to Economic Development in the Commonwealth” on Friday evening, which includes sweeping changes to the way the...more
It finally happened. After years of debate on Beacon Hill, Massachusetts law makers agreed to reform the Commonwealth’s treatment of noncompetition agreements as part of a number of bills passed in the waning hours of the...more