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
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
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
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
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
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
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
In recent years, a new factor has entered the equation for employers considering employee arbitration programs: mass arbitration....more
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
1/27/2020
/ Compensation & Benefits ,
Department of Revenue ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Contributions ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Medical Leave ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Payroll Records ,
Quarterly Report ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tax Planning ,
W-2 ,
Wage and Hour
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
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
9/12/2019
/ Bargaining Units ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unilateral Modification ,
Unions