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First Circuit Finds Commission Plan’s Windfall Provision Permissible Under Massachusetts Wage Act

In Klauber v. VMWare, the First Circuit upheld an employer’s use of a provision in its compensation plan that allowed it to modify commissions on certain large or atypical sales. These “windfall” clauses are common in sales...more

Massachusetts PFML Update: DFML Releases New 2023 Poster and Employee Notices

Seyfarth Synopsis: Employers must notify current and new employees of the 2023 updates to contribution rates and weekly benefit amounts under the Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) Law. The Department of Family and Medical...more

Sweeping Changes to Enforcement of the Massachusetts Wage Laws May Be On the Horizon, and It’s Not Good News for Employers

In 2008, the Massachusetts legislature cracked down on employers who violate the Commonwealth’s wage laws by imposing mandatory treble damages and attorneys’ fees for any violation, with no leniency for good faith errors. ...more

No Quarter: SJC Mandates Treble Damages for Any Late Payment of Wages – Even Honest, Corrected Mistakes

On April 4, 2022, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court adopted an even more employee-friendly approach to damages for Wage Act violations in the Bay State. In Reuter v. City of Methuen, No. SJC-13121 (Mass. April 4,...more

Is Arbitration the Answer: Vaccination Arbitration?

We have written a lot about the pluses and minuses of requiring arbitration of employment disputes. The arithmetic is complicated and employers come to different sums....more

Massachusetts PFML Update: Employees May Begin To Use Paid Family Leave To Care For A Family Member on July 1, 2021

Seyfarth Synopsis:  Massachusetts rolled out its Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) benefits in two phases, with most benefits available as of January 1, 2021.  Paid leave benefits to care for a family member with a serious...more

Is Arbitration the Answer: Can Companies Win Summary Judgment In Arbitration?

In comparing arbitration to litigation, it would be misleading to compare the time, cost and risk of resolving a case at an arbitration hearing to the time, cost and risk of resolving a case at trial. After all, in most...more

Is Arbitration The Answer: What About Mass Arbitration?

In recent years, a new factor has entered the equation for employers considering employee arbitration programs:  mass arbitration....more

Do Employment Arbitration Programs Reduce Legal Costs?

We continue our series examining whether an employment arbitration program can help minimize legal risks from COVID-19 and beyond by considering another question employers should ask when deciding whether to adopt an...more

Are Arbitration Agreements Fair and Consistent With Company Culture? A Series on Arbitration Agreements

Seyfarth Synopsis: This series (Is Arbitration the Answer? and Can Arbitration Agreements Protect Employers Against Class Actions?) examines whether an employee arbitration program can help minimize legal risks from COVID-19...more

Are Arbitration Agreements Fair and Consistent With Company Culture?

This series (Is Arbitration the Answer? and Can Arbitration Agreements Protect Employers Against Class Actions?) examines whether an employee arbitration program can help minimize legal risks from COVID-19 and beyond....more

Can Arbitration Agreements Protect Employers Against Class Actions?

This series examines whether an employee arbitration program can help minimize legal risks from COVID-19 and beyond. For many employers, an important reason for rolling out arbitration is a desire to avoid class and...more

Massachusetts Releases Paid Family And Medical Leave Updates

Seyfarth Synopsis: Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) benefits are now available for Massachusetts workers. On January 12, 2021, the Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave (Department) issued...more

Is Arbitration the Answer?

Most employers have seen the forecasts.  The waves of employees let go in the COVID crisis will file a surge of employment claims.  Worse, plaintiffs’ lawyers will scrutinize the many changes required by the pandemic and...more

Massachusetts Opens Applications For PFML Bonding Leave For 2020 Births Or Child Placements And Releases Emergency Regulations...

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Department of Family and Medical Leave (Department) has opened applications for Paid Family Medical Leave (PFML) benefits related to family bonding leave for children born, adopted, or placed for foster...more

Massachusetts Releases Updates And New Forms Regarding Paid Family And Medical Leave

Seyfarth Synopsis:  With Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) benefits becoming available on January 1, 2021, the Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave (Department) issued several updates, a new...more

Massachusetts Finalizes Amendments To PFML Regulations

This past week, the Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML) released an unofficial version of the final amendments to the Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) regulations following a public hearing and...more

Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave Proposes Further Amendments to PFML Regulations and Announces Hearing Dates

As we reported last week, on May 8, 2020, the Department of Paid Family and Medical Leave (DFML) issued proposed amendments to the Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) regulations and announced a public hearing and formal...more

Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave Issues Proposed Amendments to PFML Regulations

On Friday, May 8, 2020, the Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML) published proposed amendments to the regulations governing the Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) Law.  ...more

Massachusetts Issues Guidance On Insured Private Paid Family And Medical Leave Plans

On Tuesday, April 7, 2020, the Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML) published important guidance from the Division of Insurance (DOI) for employers opting out of the Commonwealth’s Paid Family and...more

Massachusetts Business Litigation Session Rejects “ABC Test” for Joint Employer Status

In an attempt to extend the reach of state wage/hour laws to reach more defendants, Plaintiffs’ lawyers have sought to expand the employment relationship in a variety of ways. ...more

Supreme Judicial Court Trebles Jury Award of Future Commissions

Seyfarth Synopsis: In a February 12, 2020 decision, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that future commissions a plaintiff would have earned but for her retaliatory termination were subject to trebling under the...more

Massachusetts PFML Quarterly Returns and Contributions Due By January 31, 2020

Seyfarth Synopsis: Yesterday, the Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML) reported on guidance it received from the Department of Revenue regarding how employers participating in the Commonwealth’s Paid Family and...more

Massachusetts Releases Updated Guidance On PFML Private Plan Exemption Process And New Bond Coverage Formulae

Seyfarth Synopsis: As the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave (“PFML”) law enters the first quarter of PFML contributions, the Department of Paid Family and Medical Leave (“DFML”) has released additional guidance on...more

NLRB Adopts “Contract Coverage” Standard, Making it Easier for Employers to Make Unilateral Changes Under their Collective...

Seyfarth Synopsis: On September 10, in a 3-1 decision, the NLRB in MV Transportation, Inc., 368 NLRB No. 66 (Sept. 10, 2019), adopted the “contract coverage” standard in replacement for its previous “clear and unmistakable...more

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