In its eagerly-awaited opinion in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, the U.S. Supreme Court held on May 21 that class action waivers in arbitration agreements between employers and employees do not violate the National Labor...more
5/22/2018
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Collective Actions ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Ernst & Young v Morris ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Freelance Isn't Free Act (FIFA) ,
Murphy Oil v NLRB ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Preemption ,
SCOTUS ,
Wage and Hour
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker recently signed Senate Bill No. 2371, “An Act Relative to Criminal Justice Reform,” into law. The law will go into effect October 13, 2018. Among the Act’s extensive criminal justice...more
As the April 1, 2018 effective date of the Massachusetts Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“MPWFA”) draws near, it is time to ensure that company policies and practices are in compliance with the new law. Within the last few...more
The Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General recently issued guidance on the new amendments to the Massachusetts Equal Pay Act (“MEPA”), effective July 1, 2018. Although the guidance is extremely detailed and should be...more
3/13/2018
/ Affirmative Defenses ,
Amended Legislation ,
Attorney General ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Pay Act ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
New Guidance ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Self-Evaluations ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
A bill prohibiting mandatory arbitration of employment-related claims, introduced in late 2017 before the Massachusetts House of Representatives, continues to gain traction in early 2018. The bill (House Bill 4058), which...more
2/12/2018
/ #MeToo ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Mandatory Arbitration ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Public Policy ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Title VII ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour
On January 29th, Massachusetts’ Supreme Judicial Court held that accrued, unused sick time does not count as wages under state employment law, as employment lawyers in Massachusetts had previously anticipated....more
In August 2017, Governor Charlie Baker signed into law, “An Act Further Regulating Employer Contributions to Health Care,” which became effective on January 1, 2018, and will remain on the books through the end of the 2019...more
Massachusetts is soon to join the mounting crusade against the gender pay gap as the effective date of Massachusetts’ amended Equal Pay Act – July 1, 2018 – draws near....more
On July 27, 2017 Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed into law the Massachusetts Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“MPWFA”), a bill which had unanimously passed in both the House and Senate. As discussed previously, the...more
On July 17, 2017, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled in Barbuto v. Advantage Sales & Marketing, LLC, that an employee using medical marijuana in treatment of a chronic illness may qualify for protection against...more
Massachusetts has passed an amendment to the state’s equal pay law aimed at strengthening prohibitions on gender discrimination in the payment of wages for comparable work. The new bill, signed by Governor Charlie Baker (R)...more
Proskauer's Labor and Employment Law Department released its Value Insights: Delivering Value in Labor and Employment Law survey, a resource that illuminates current practices and future trends in managing labor and...more
5/23/2016
/ Alternative Fee Arrangements ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Electronically Stored Information ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Harassment ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Litigation Fees & Costs ,
Race Discrimination ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Surveys
This week, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit sharply limited employers’ ability to challenge the adequacy of the EEOC’s pre-suit investigations. The Court issued an opinion vacating a district court...more
9/11/2015
/ Determination Letter ,
Discrimination ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Job Promotions ,
Judicial Review ,
Remand ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Summary Judgment ,
Title VII ,
Vacated ,
Wage and Hour
The Massachusetts Attorney General recently released final regulations clarifying the Earned Sick Time law, a ballot initiative that passed in November 2014 guaranteeing employees paid sick leave. As discussed in our previous...more
Recently, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous judgment that government agency "interpretive rules" are not subject to notice-and-comment rulemaking, but cautioned that those same rules do not carry the "force and effect of...more
On January 7, 2015, Governor Deval Patrick signed into law a Parental Leave bill, which significantly amends Mass. Gen. L. ch. 149, section 105D. Before the amendment, the Massachusetts Maternity Leave Act (“MMLA”) provided...more
The Massachusetts Attorney General recently issued an Advisory regarding the new Domestic Violence Leave Act, which was passed on August 8, 2014. The Advisory helped to clarify some of the requirements of the Act....more
Employers have long known that the Supreme Court’s decisions in Twombly and Iqbal provide them with a powerful weapon in moving to dismiss broadly worded complaints filled with conclusory allegations but little factual...more
On November 4, 2014, Massachusetts joined the growing list of states to guarantee paid sick leave for employees. According to the new law (a ballot question passed by voters), employees may use earned sick leave to care for a...more
Rhode Island recently has followed Connecticut in mandating paid sick time, and now bills pending in Massachusetts and Vermont may spread the requirement through New England. New York and the District of Columbia also...more
On June 26, 2013, New York's highest court for the first time weighed in and ruled on what types of employees are qualified to participate in tip-splitting or tip-pooling arrangements under the New York Labor Law, as well as...more