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. 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
The Massachusetts legislature is considering expanding the state’s generous paid sick leave statute to add up to 80 hours of emergency paid sick leave for use in times of a declared state of emergency or disaster. While...more
As we look forward to the New Year, Massachusetts employers should be aware of upcoming changes to the Commonwealth’s employment laws that took effect on January 1, 2020, as well as possible changes we foresee on the horizon....more
1/6/2020
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Holiday Pay ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
Over-Time ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tip Credit ,
Tipped Employees ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
For the first time in over 60 years, the U.S. Department of Labor today issued a final rule updating its interpretative guidance with respect to permissible exclusions from the “regular rate.” According to the USDOL, the...more
In welcome news to Massachusetts employers, the Department of Paid Family and Medical Leave (DPFML) just provided much-needed answers to questions raised by the Legislature’s three-month delay of the nascent paid leave...more
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, along with state house and senate leadership, just announced that they had agreed to implement a three-month delay to the Commonwealth’s robust Paid Family and Medical Leave program late...more
Led by Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM), a nine-member coalition of the Massachusetts business community, along with employee and low-income advocacy groups, just requested a three-month delay to the start of...more
The Massachusetts Department of Paid Family and Medical Leave—the agency charged with regulating and enforcing the Commonwealth’s nascent paid leave program—just issued its mandatory workplace poster and guidance on the law’s...more
4/18/2019
/ Employee Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Medical Leave ,
New Legislation ,
Notification Requirements ,
Paid Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Communication ,
Written Notice
As you may remember, it was Christmas in July for employees when Massachusetts passed the “Grand Bargain,” among other things, putting the Commonwealth on a path to a $15.00 minimum wage. When the clock struck midnight on...more
1/9/2019
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Holiday Pay ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
Restaurant Industry ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tip Credit ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Wage and Hour
Massachusetts legislators have taken steps to immediately enhance the Commonwealth’s unemployment compensation regime for locked-out employees of gas and electric companies. In light of the 6-month standoff at National Grid,...more
12/6/2018
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Employee Benefits ,
Governor Baker ,
Lockouts ,
New Legislation ,
Public Employees ,
Strike ,
Unemployment ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
As the ramp-up towards Massachusetts’ paid family and medical leave continues, the newly created Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML) just launched its website and issued its first guidance documents. As discussed...more
11/19/2018
/ Employee Benefits ,
Employee Contributions ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Medical Leave ,
New Guidance ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Paid Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
One month into Massachusetts’ new non-competition law, employers throughout the Commonwealth are learning what many predicted from the beginning—there are a lot more questions than answers. As Fisher Phillips previously...more
11/1/2018
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Garden Leave ,
Hiring & Firing ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Removal For-Cause ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wrongful Termination
It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there have been an unprecedented number of changes for the past few years—and this past month...more
9/17/2018
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Background Checks ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Class Action ,
Collective Action Waivers ,
Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act (CCRAA) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Failed Legislation ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Freedom of Religion ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Gig Economy ,
Governor Baker ,
Governor Brown ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act (ICRAA) ,
Licenses ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
OFCCP ,
Opinion Letter ,
Opioid ,
Over-Time ,
Pay Gap ,
Pending Legislation ,
Portable Benefits ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Ridesharing ,
Right to Work ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Union Dues ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Injury
In one fell swoop, Massachusetts has set in motion a plan to increase its minimum wage to $15.00 per hour and create a comprehensive paid family and medical leave program as the result of a “grand bargain” between employee...more
6/28/2018
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Blue Laws ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Contributions ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Full-Time Employees ,
Governor Baker ,
Holiday Pay ,
Medical Leave ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
Notice Requirements ,
Over-Time ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Paid Leave ,
Rate of Pay ,
Retail Workers ,
Retailers ,
State Labor Laws ,
Tipped Employees ,
Trust Funds ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Schedules