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
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court just held that 7-Eleven franchisees may be employees of 7-Eleven under Massachusetts wage and hour law. The March 24 decision in Dhananjay Patel v. 7-Eleven, Inc. will have significant...more
3/28/2022
/ 7-Eleven ,
ABC Test ,
Employees ,
Employment Litigation ,
Franchise Agreements ,
Franchises ,
Franchisors ,
FTC Franchise Rule ,
Independent Contractors ,
MA Supreme Judicial Court ,
Misclassification ,
Owner-Operators ,
Wage and Hour
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu just lifted the city’s proof-of-COVID-19 vaccine mandate for indoor businesses, effective immediately. The city’s February 18 announcement was based on public health data, citing a recent drop in...more
Massachusetts is one of handful of states to have adopted the stringent “ABC” test for determining whether a worker is an independent contractor or employee. That has made it one of the most fertile battlegrounds over this...more
1/28/2022
/ ABC Test ,
Ballot Measures ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Lyft ,
Misclassification ,
State Attorneys General ,
Uber ,
Wage and Hour
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu just announced the city will require proof of COVID-19 vaccination for entry into indoor dining, entertainment, recreation, and fitness establishments. Other municipal leaders in Greater Boston have...more
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court just provided much-needed and helpful guidance on the appropriate standard for determining whether an entity is an individual’s “joint employer” in order to determine liability under...more
The recent termination of Portland Trail Blazers General Manager Neil Olshey has brought workplace culture and bullying to the forefront of professional sports’ front offices nationwide. As shown in the Olshey case, teams...more
A nascent “advocacy” group just opened the first front in the newest battle over the status of collegiate student-athletes under the National Labor Relations Act. The College Basketball Players Association filed a one-line...more
11/16/2021
/ Basketball ,
College Athletes ,
Colleges ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Misclassification ,
NCAA ,
NLRA ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Student Athletes ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Universities
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker just signed legislation extending the statewide mandate for employers to provide emergency paid leave related to COVID-19. These COVID-19 Paid Leave obligations will now continue until...more
The highest court in Massachusetts just ruled that employers may be subject to liability under the state’s domestic violence leave law even if employees don’t explicitly request such leave, creating a potential liability trap...more
9/3/2021
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Domestic Violence ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Former Employer ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Job Applicants ,
Job Offers ,
Leave of Absence ,
MA Supreme Judicial Court ,
Retaliation ,
State Labor Laws
Acting Boston Mayor Kim Janey just announced a resumption of an indoor mask mandate for all indoor areas open to the public within the City of Boston effective at 8:00 AM on Friday, August 27. The renewed mask mandate is one...more
Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee recently signed broad new pay equity legislation into law that will require you to change many common workplace practices, slated to take effect on January 1, 2023. While it might seem so...more
8/16/2021
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
New Legislation ,
Pay Discrimination ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Protected Class ,
Safe Harbors ,
Salary/Wage History ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Last summer, as part of a COVID-19-related spending bill, the Massachusetts legislature added Juneteenth Independence Day (June 19) to the list of premium pay holidays in the Commonwealth’s “Blue Laws.” Juneteenth now joins...more
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed legislation on May 28 creating another statewide mandate for employers to provide emergency paid leave related to COVID-19. The COVID-19 Paid Leave obligations outlined in this...more
6/2/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Eligibility ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Governor Baker ,
Intermittent Leave ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Reimbursements ,
Sick Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
The U.S. Supreme Court just refused to address the question of whether a carve-out in an arbitration agreement exempting certain claims from arbitration also exempts those claims from the agreement’s delegation of...more
2/1/2021
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Arbitrators ,
Carve Out Provisions ,
Certiorari ,
Delegation Clauses ,
Dismissals ,
Henry Schein Inc v Archer and White Sales Inc ,
Question of Arbitrability ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
Wholly Groundless Doctrine
Though sometimes overlooked given the abundance of federal and state statutory claims, employers must remember that their existing contractual obligations remain in place during the pandemic. As a review of the Fisher...more
8/10/2020
/ Breach of Contract ,
Business Interruption ,
Contract Termination ,
Contract Terms ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employment Contract ,
Force Majeure Clause ,
Frustration of a Common Purpose ,
Furloughs ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Layoffs ,
Nonperformance ,
Pay Reductions
The U.S. Department of Labor’s final regulations addressing the FLSA’s fluctuating workweek (FWW) method reminded us that (1) legal principles control and (2) illustrative examples merely demonstrate application. The agency...more
As Massachusetts employers navigate reopening their workplaces while complying with federal, state, and local guidelines, it is helpful to gain some insight into government enforcement priorities. The Fair Labor Division of...more
6/23/2020
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Earned Sick Time ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Health and Safety ,
Local Ordinance ,
Minimum Wage ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Remote Working ,
State Attorneys General ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
An engineer terminated for job abandonment just sued his former employer for not allowing him to work from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to his complaint, Yiyu Lin, a 55-year-old Chinese-American engineer with...more
6/16/2020
/ Age Discrimination ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Earned Sick Time ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
National Origin Discrimination ,
Race Discrimination ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Retaliation
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker just signed a law that prevents Massachusetts employers from being charged increased taxes for unemployment benefits claimed by employees separated from employment during the COVID-19...more