After more than a decade’s worth of attempts, Congress has finally passed the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). The PWFA broke through the logjam as part of the must-pass $1.7 trillion government funding bill shepherded...more
All employers in Massachusetts will soon be required to provide up to 40 hours of job-protected, paid leave for various COVID-19-related reasons. Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed House Bill 3702 into law on May 28,...more
Many states and localities have been adopting “ban-the-box,” prohibiting employers (including private employers) from asking applicants to disclose information concerning their criminal histories prior to an initial interview...more
2/19/2020
/ Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Criminal Records ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Regulations ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
The Massachusetts Family and Medical Leave law (MAFML) (M.G.L. ch. 175M), was enacted in 2018, imposing significant responsibilities on Massachusetts employers. ...more
What happens when, at the end of a good faith interactive dialogue and despite the parties’ best efforts, there is apparently no reasonable accommodation that will enable the employee to perform the essential functions of...more
Effective July 1, 2018, Massachusetts and Vermont became the first New England states to prohibit employers from inquiring into or seeking prospective employees’ salary history. ...more
7/17/2018
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Pay ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
New Legislation ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Gap ,
Salary/Wage History ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
On June 8, 2018, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu signed, “An Act Prohibiting Discrimination Based on Gender Identity,” which adds gender identity as a protected characteristic to state anti-discrimination laws. ...more
6/12/2018
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
Gender Neutral ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
New Legislation ,
Protected Class ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Transgender
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently announced that it will adopt a new, more flexible test for distinguishing interns from employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)....more
1/23/2018
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Internships ,
Misclassification ,
Primary Beneficiary Test ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Unpaid Interns ,
Wage and Hour
When is it safe to terminate an employee who has exhausted (or is ineligible for) Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave, but who is unable to return to work? This question continues to confound employers, and has been the...more
1/3/2018
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
AstraZeneca ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Medical Leave ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Risk Management ,
Termination ,
Title III