On March 26, 2019, the Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave issued a guide for employers on complying with the new Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (PFMLA). As the guide makes clear, employers will need to...more
On March 7, 2019, after more than two years of speculation, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) finally proposed its new overtime rule. Under the proposed rule, the minimum salary a worker would have to be paid to qualify...more
On February 19, 2019, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) adopted an employee-friendly standard for determining whether a plaintiff is entitled to an award of attorneys’ fees under the Massachusetts Wage Act where...more
On January 29, 2019, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) ruled in Yee v. Mass. State Police that an employer’s denial of an employee’s request for a lateral transfer that would have no impact on the employee’s base...more
On September 7, 2018, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court refused to enforce a non-competition and non-solicitation agreement between a Massachusetts company and its California-based former employee who joined the...more
On August 10, 2018, Governor Baker signed the non-compete bill recently passed by the Massachusetts Legislature. As a result, the new law will take effect on October 1, 2018 and will apply to agreements signed on and after...more
After many years of debate, the Massachusetts Legislature passed a comprehensive non-compete reform bill. If Governor Baker signs the bill into law (as is expected), the new law would prohibit employers from requiring that...more
Last week, Governor Charlie Baker signed a landmark bill establishing a paid family and medical leave program for Massachusetts workers and gradually increasing the state minimum wage to $15.00 per hour. Described as a “grand...more
On May 21, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its much-anticipated decision addressing whether employers can include class action waivers in mandatory arbitration agreements that employers often require their employees to...more
5/23/2018
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Ernst & Young v Morris ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Murphy Oil v NLRB ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Savings Clause ,
SCOTUS
In 2010, Massachusetts became one of the first states to pass so-called “ban the box” legislation, which barred employers from asking prospective employees about their criminal histories on their initial employment...more
The Massachusetts Attorney General (the “AG”) recently released her long-awaited guidance regarding the 2016 overhaul of the Massachusetts Equal Pay Act (the “Act”), which takes effect on July 1, 2018. The Act, which, among...more
On January 29, 2018, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) held that accrued, unused sick time does not qualify as “wages” under the Massachusetts Wage Act. As a result, employees cannot maintain Wage Act claims...more
In an otherwise quiet week in the world of employment law, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) issued an important decision limiting the scope of personal liability under the Massachusetts Wage Act. In Andrew Segal...more
On June 27, 2016, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction barring enforcement of the U.S. Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) new “persuader rule,” which as of July 1...more
On May 31, 2016, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts held in Verdrager v. Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky & Popeo, P.C. that an employee’s accessing, copying and forwarding of an employer’s confidential documents...more
On June 1, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court held, in Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc., that an employer violates federal anti-discrimination law where an applicant’s need for a religious...more
6/4/2015
/ Abercrombie & Fitch ,
Discrimination ,
Dress Codes ,
EEOC v Abercrombie ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Application ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
SCOTUS
At some point, every emerging company must identify and retain people to work for the business. The founders or owners of the business recognize that they cannot do it alone, and they need to bring on talented individuals to...more
The National Labor Relations Board recently announced that it would not seek U.S. Supreme Court review of two U.S. Court of Appeals decisions that struck down its proposed union poster rule. The rule, originally announced by...more
On August 12, 2013, the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) held in Lipsitt v. Plaud that the Massachusetts Wage Act is not intended to be the sole remedy for the recovery of unpaid wages under state law. The Court concluded that...more
Two cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court at the end of its 2012-13 term, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center v. Nassar and Vance v. Ball State University, will significantly alter the landscape of employment...more
7/5/2013
/ Discrimination ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Retaliation ,
SCOTUS ,
Supervisors ,
Title VII ,
UT Southwestern Medical v Nassar ,
Vance v. Ball State University
Yesterday, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that managers of limited liability companies can be individually liable under the Massachusetts Wage Act for unpaid wages due to employees. Historically, the Wage Act...more
Last week, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) held that plaintiffs who live and work outside of Massachusetts for Massachusetts-based companies can sue for purported violations of Massachusetts’ independent...more
Two recent decisions from Massachusetts courts again highlight the strict requirements of the Massachusetts Wage Act, which details how and when employees must be paid. The cases address the treatment of sales commissions and...more
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently issued a significant decision - solidifying the position it has staked out over the past 18 months - that an employee’s posts on social media may be entitled to protection...more
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) this week issued an important decision addressing whether agreements containing general releases are sufficient to bar claims brought by employees under the Massachusetts Wage...more