On August 28, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division, which enforces the US antitrust laws including the Sherman Act and Clayton Act, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which enforces the Federal Trade...more
9/4/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Collaboration ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Training ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Information Sharing ,
Labor Code ,
Memorandum of Understanding ,
Mergers ,
NLRB ,
Sherman Act
On July 24, the Massachusetts Legislature passed legislation that will impact many Massachusetts employers in terms of their “pay transparency practices” for current employees and future applicants....more
Forty years ago, the US Supreme Court’s decision in Chevron USA, Inc. v. National Resources Defense Council, 46 US 837 (1984), upended administrative law practice. In brief, that case, for which the “Chevron doctrine” is...more
7/30/2024
/ ADEA ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Chevron Deference ,
Chevron v NRDC ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Labor Regulations ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Over-Time ,
SCOTUS ,
Starbucks Corp. v McKinney ,
Statutory Interpretation
The US Department of Labor (DOL) issued guidance this week on the impact of workplace artificial intelligence (AI) on federal labor and employment standards enforced by the Wage and Hour Division.
The guidance, delivered...more
With 2024 underway, we highlight some of the most pressing legal issues facing employers this year, including increased regulation of noncompetition agreements, new paid family and medical leave laws, a new Overtime Rule, and...more
4/23/2024
/ Cannabis Products ,
Citizenship Status Discrimination ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Medical Leave ,
Misclassification ,
New Rules ,
NLRB ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Off-Duty Employees ,
OSHA ,
Over-Time ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Remote Working ,
Unions
The Massachusetts Wage Act (MA Wage Act) is one of the most punitive wage payment laws in the country.
Employers who violate the MA Wage Act are liable for treble damages, attorney’s fees, and costs. The question of what...more
The Massachusetts Wage Act is one of the most punitive wage payment laws in the country. Employers who run afoul of its provisions, even unintentionally, are liable for treble damages, attorneys’ fees, and costs.
...more
Beginning on November 1, 2023, employees receiving paid benefits under the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave law (PFML) can supplement, or “top off,” the state paid benefit with other accrued paid time off such as...more
On August 30, 2023, the US Department of Labor announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, which would increase the white-collar exemption salary threshold for employees to qualify as exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act...more
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued a resource outlining potential liability under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) for employers who utilize algorithmic decision-making...more
On March 22, 2023, National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo issued GC Memo 23-05 providing guidance on the recent decision in McLaren Macomb. Below are some of the notable points set forth in the...more
3/30/2023
/ Confidentiality Agreements ,
Contract Terms ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Non-Disparagement Provisions ,
Retroactive Application ,
Section 7 ,
Separation Agreement ,
Severance Agreements
Following House approval of H.R. 4445 with overwhelming support (335 Yeas to 97 Nays) on February 7, 2022, the Senate approved the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021 by voice vote on...more
2/15/2022
/ Arbitration ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Joe Biden ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Violence Policies
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has issued a unanimous opinion in Meehan v. Medical Information Technology, Inc., holding that the termination of an at-will employee for exercising the statutory right of rebuttal to...more
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has issued an opinion in Jinks v. Credico (USA), LLC setting forth the appropriate standard governing joint employer liability under the Massachusetts Wage Act.
The Massachusetts...more
We have reported on OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”), published on November 5th, that mandates that covered employers require their employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or obtain weekly COVID-19 tests...more
Most benefits under the Massachusetts Paid Family Medical Leave (MA PFML) became available to eligible employees on January 1, 2021. The final benefit, leave to care for a family member with a serious health condition,...more
Effective May 28, 2021, Massachusetts employers are required to make paid leave time available to employees for COVID-related illnesses, quarantine, and vaccinations. Paid leave benefits are paid by the employer and then...more
On April 26, 2021 the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that the 2019 and 2020 EEO-1 Component 1 data collection is now open.
The deadline for submitting both the 2019 and 2020 EEO-1 Component 1 data...more
The Family First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which took effect on April 1, 2020, provides two paid leave benefits for certain employees, including two weeks of Emergency Paid Sick Leave and up to 12 weeks of Enhanced...more
The Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) recently issued emergency regulations creating a new “standby” status for employees who find themselves out of work as a result of COVID-19.
"Standby" refers to...more
The Massachusetts Department of Unemployment (DUA) has taken steps to streamline the process for securing unemployment benefits in light of increased demand resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
As the impact of COVID-19...more
Time is of the Essence: Effective January 7, 2020, New York employers who have an Employee Handbook must include in the Handbook a notice of employees’ rights to be free of discrimination and retaliation on the basis of their...more