As we await the issuance of new federal overtime regulations, employers in the retail and hospitality industries may be interested in the recent National Retail Federation (NRF) report, “Rethinking Overtime.” The NRF report...more
In April 2015, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts issued two important decisions providing guidance for employers on the scope of Massachusetts’s wage and hour laws. In one decision, the Court held that employers may...more
While the January 2015 increases in the Massachusetts minimum wage for regular and tipped employees have received considerable attention and publicity, the Massachusetts Department of Labor Standards (DLS) also issued new...more
The National Retail Federation’s (NRF) Committee on Employment Law held its spring meeting last week, and one of the hottest topics on the minds of the attendees concerned the impact that the U.S. Department of Labor’s...more
On April 14, 2015, the National Labor Relations Board’s “ambush election” rules went into effect, making it easier for unions to organize in the retail setting and beyond. The next day, demonstrations against retailers and...more
4/24/2015
Spring is here and retailers across the country are considering hiring summer interns in areas such as finance, communications, marketing, merchandising, production, and public relations. Internships serve a valuable...more
Here in Boston we are still busy digging out from the recent snowstorm that shut down much of Massachusetts. Other parts of the Northeast and of the country are also facing blizzards, ice and rain storms this winter, but the...more
Now that the busy 2014 holiday shopping season is over and the new year has begun, it’s a good time for retail employers to take a breath and think about 2015—what’s coming, what issues they should be watching, and what...more
1/14/2015
/ Ambush Election Rules ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Arbitration ,
Background Checks ,
Best Management Practices ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Data Protection ,
Dress Codes ,
Hiring & Firing ,
NLRB ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Retailers ,
Sick Leave ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
In addition to the restrictions on opening in certain New England states, retailers with stores in Massachusetts and Rhode Island should also be aware of their obligation to pay their employees holiday pay (i.e.,...more
The use of Rule 68 offers of judgment to moot the claims of plaintiffs in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) collective action context has received much attention recently as the courts consider defendants’ use of this...more
In advance of the holiday season, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is reminding retail employers to take precautions to prevent workplace injuries during major sales events,...more
News sources recently reported that one of the Dallas nurses infected with the Ebola virus visited a retail establishment before boarding a plane from Cleveland to Dallas. Since then, retailers and customers have been...more
The Supreme Court of the United States is ending its summer recess and will start hearing oral arguments next week. There are seven key cases on the Court’s docket for the current term that could affect retailers. Here is a...more
10/3/2014
/ Abercrombie & Fitch ,
Affirmative Defenses ,
Conciliation ,
Direct Marketing Association ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Jurisdiction ,
PDA ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Clothing ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Religious Exemption ,
Retailers ,
Sales & Use Tax ,
SCOTUS ,
Screening Procedures ,
Staffing Agencies ,
Title VII ,
UPS
On August 8, 2014, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signed sweeping new legislation in the area of domestic violence—M.G.L. c. 260 entitled “An Act relative to domestic violence.” The new law is effective immediately and...more
Employers in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts can breathe a sigh of relief now that the Massachusetts legislature has rejected a bill to ban noncompetition agreements. The effort to outlaw noncompetes in the Commonwealth has...more
In National Association for the Deaf v. Netflix, Inc., the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts held that Netflix’s Internet video-streaming service, known as “Watch Instantly,” constitutes a place of public...more
As of July 14, 2012, employers in New Hampshire must provide all “non-compete and non-piracy agreements” to job applicants prior to or concurrent with a job offer or “change in job classification.” Failure to comply with the...more
The First Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued a decision that has a significant impact on the ability of employers to avoid class-wide arbitration. In Fantastic Sams Franchise Corporation v. FSRO Association Ltd., the...more