When I reflect on the relationship that our firm has with our clients, I’m most proud of the fact that you can always count on us. That often means defending complex litigation, steering you through regulatory threats,...more
12/4/2023
/ 401k ,
Acquisitions ,
Affirmative Action ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Automotive Industry ,
Bias ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Car Dealerships ,
Chevron Deference ,
Child Labor ,
College Admissions ,
Colleges ,
Construction Industry ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Deletion ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Security ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity ,
E-Verify ,
Educational Institutions ,
EEO-1 ,
Electronic Records ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
EU ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
H-1B ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
International Labor Laws ,
Joint Employers ,
Jury Verdicts ,
L-1 Visas ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Relations ,
Labor Shortage ,
Manufacturing Employers ,
Mergers ,
Mexico ,
Name and Likeness ,
New Legislation ,
New Rules ,
NLRB ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
OFCCP ,
OSHA ,
Over-Time ,
Pay Data ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Transparency ,
Payroll Taxes ,
Privacy Laws ,
Professional Employer Organization ,
Proposed Rules ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Recruitment Policies ,
Remote Working ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Retirement Plan ,
Salaried Employees ,
Scheduling Letters ,
School Districts ,
School Policies ,
SCOTUS ,
SECURE Act ,
Severance Agreements ,
Sports ,
Staffing Agencies ,
State Labor Laws ,
State of Emergency ,
Student Athletes ,
Student Loans ,
Students ,
Tip Credit ,
Title IX ,
Trade Secrets ,
Transgender ,
Union Organizers ,
Unions ,
Universities ,
USCIS ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety ,
Workplace Violence
Many employers had trouble keeping up with the dizzying pace of new directives from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in 2023. And these changes may have prompted you to review and update your employee relations...more
11/27/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Information Sharing ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Unions
In the aftermath of a game-changing NLRB decision that drastically changed how employers can respond to union recognition demands, the Board’s General Counsel recently issued a guidance memorandum offering important insight...more
Massachusetts recently announced major changes to the Paid Family and Medical Leave Act, including changes allowing employees to “top off” PFML benefits with accrued paid time off and a sizeable increase in contribution...more
FP Weekly members receive a practical and cutting-edge checklist of issues to consider, action steps to take, and goals to accomplish to ensure you remain on the top of your game when it comes to workplace relations and...more
The issue of artificial intelligence has emerged as a key issue in the strikes being waged by screenwriters and actors against television and movie production companies, being called an “existential threat” to creative...more
The Supreme Court delivered welcome news yesterday to employers seeking to sue and recover economic damages from labor unions, ruling that federal labor law does not prevent them from filing state law claims for intentional...more
6/2/2023
/ Damages ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Glacier Northwest v International Brotherhood of Teamsters ,
NLRA ,
Preemption ,
Property Damage ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
State Law Claims ,
Strike ,
Unions
NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo just took another big step in the continuing saga surrounding college sports by filing a complaint seeking to have student-athletes classified as employees under the National Labor...more
Massachusetts enacted a five-year plan in 2018 to increase the minimum wage. The plan, which resulted from a “grand bargain” between employee advocates and the business community, carried significant implications for...more
Employers operating in certain states should note that the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals just provided some clarity on the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA’s) administrative exemption. A federal appeals court held that...more
The Supreme Court recently heard arguments in a case that could make it easier for employers to sue and recover damages from labor unions that damage an employer’s property during a strike. The issue before SCOTUS in Glacier...more
When the US Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division published a Final Rule on the regular rate in late 2019, it gave employers the freedom to more easily offer perks and benefits to their employees without running afoul...more
1/4/2023
/ Bonuses ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Contributions ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Gifts ,
Holiday Pay ,
Look-Back Measurement Period ,
Over-Time ,
Premium Pay ,
Profit Sharing ,
Rate of Pay ,
Stock Options ,
Tipped Employees ,
Vacation Pay ,
Wage and Hour
Each week, FP Weekly members receive a practical and cutting-edge checklist of issues to consider, action steps to take, and goals to accomplish to ensure you remain on the top of your game when it comes to workplace...more
12/12/2022
/ Appearance Policy ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Compliance ,
Dress Codes ,
Employment Policies ,
Gender Neutral ,
Hairstyle Discrimination ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Race Discrimination ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
SCOTUS ,
Title VII ,
Zoom®
The National Labor Relations Board just took the first step towards scrapping Trump-era rules that had made it easier for workers to undo union representation, the next pro-labor move from an increasingly active federal...more
It’s never easy to make accurate predictions about what we might expect to see in the workplace in the coming year. After all:
- At the start of 2020, no one could have predicted COVID-19.
- None of us had heard the phrase...more
11/1/2022
/ Affirmative Action ,
Background Checks ,
Blockchain ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Security ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employee Retention ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Labor Relations ,
Leave of Absence ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Trade Secrets ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
Massachusetts employers should review and update their employee handbook policies and notices to ensure they accurately reflect Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) obligations. Notably, as the second year of PFML draws to a...more
Fall baseball provides a few guarantees for fans, as playoff races, assaults on historical records, and jockeying for draft position typically imbue the last month of the season with an air of certain uncertainty. This year,...more
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) held yesterday that local Grubhub delivery drivers are not exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), and those workers can be compelled to individually arbitrate their...more
7/28/2022
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
GrubHub ,
Interstate Commerce ,
MA Supreme Judicial Court ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Wage and Hour
Massachusetts just joined 17 other states that ban discrimination based on hairstyle by passing the CROWN Act, which Governor Baker signed into law yesterday. The CROWN Act stands for “Creating a Respectful and Open World for...more
As we reported last month and back in January, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) was considering whether voters in the state could weigh in on a ballot initiative classifying app-based drivers (those using...more
This summer marks the second year with Juneteenth as a premium pay holiday for Massachusetts retailers. In 2020, as part of a COVID-19-related spending bill, the Massachusetts legislature added Juneteenth National...more
As we wrote back in January, Massachusetts is in the midst of a multi-fora battle over whether gig drivers (those using app-based platforms such as Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, and Instacart) should be treated as employees or...more
5/13/2022
/ Employee Benefits ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Lyft ,
MA Supreme Judicial Court ,
Misclassification ,
Secretary of State ,
State Attorneys General ,
State Constitutions ,
Uber ,
Wage and Hour
As cryptocurrency and blockchain technology continue their way into the mainstream, one key industry that stands out for its adoption of blockchain technology is professional sports. Professional leagues and teams have been...more
5/10/2022
/ Blockchain ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Independent Contractors ,
NBA ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Popular ,
Sports ,
UFC ,
Wage and Hour
A recent decision from the Massachusetts Superior Court held that workers at a day spa were not entitled to Sunday “premium pay” under the Commonwealth’s Blue Laws. This decision departs from the Massachusetts courts’ typical...more
In yet another gift to plaintiffs’ attorneys, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court just held yesterday that employees are entitled to automatic triple damages for late final wage payments even where the employer pays the...more