Employers are considering whether to implement layoffs, furloughs or hours reductions in light of the economic uncertainty arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. This alert reviews significant considerations for employers that...more
4/1/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Retention ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Furloughs ,
Layoffs ,
Paid Leave ,
Pay Reductions ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Sick Leave ,
Tax Credits ,
Tax Deferral ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Unemployment Insurance ,
Wage and Hour
The disease caused by the novel coronavirus, known as COVID-19, has been rapidly spreading around the world, including recently in the United States. The most recent guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and...more
3/5/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Best Practices ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Public Health ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Risk Management ,
Serious Health Conditions ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
..Based on the Department of Labor’s Final Rule, the minimum annual salary level for most employees covered by the “white collar exemptions” from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime pay requirement will increase from...more
On March 7, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor released its highly anticipated proposed rule to update the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime exemptions for executive, administrative, professional, and computer employees,...more
The Massachusetts Legislature recently passed legislation that, if signed by Governor Baker, will make substantial changes in the law governing future noncompetition agreements with Massachusetts workers and residents. This...more
On May 21, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the enforceability of class action waivers in employment arbitration agreements in its Epic Systems v. Lewis decision. Because private arbitration is generally viewed as a...more
5/29/2018
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Ernst & Young v Morris ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Murphy Oil v NLRB ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Savings Clause ,
SCOTUS
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (the PWFA) goes into effect on April 1, 2018. It amends G.L. c. 151B § 4, the Massachusetts employment anti-discrimination statute. The PWFA prohibits employers from discriminating against...more
The Massachusetts Attorney General recently issued guidance concerning amendments to the Massachusetts Equal Pay Act, which will take effect on July 1, 2018. Employers of Massachusetts employees should prepare for the...more
The Supreme Court has unanimously decided, in Digital Realty Trust, Inc. v. Somers, No. 16-1276, that the whistleblower protections of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 are only available...more
2/26/2018
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Digital Realty Trust Inc v Somers ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Internal Reporting ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
A number of jurisdictions have recently passed laws prohibiting employers from inquiring into the salary history of job applicants, sometimes as a part of broader pay equity laws. New York City’s salary inquiry ban is in full...more
12/11/2017
/ Ban the Box ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Local Ordinance ,
Popular ,
Salary/Wage History ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
..The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has determined that it may be a reasonable accommodation under the state anti-discrimination law for a handicapped employee to use medical marijuana, if certified by a physician,...more
..A federal court in Texas has issued a nationwide injunction preventing the implementation of the Department of Labor’s “Final Rule” increasing the minimum salary for most of the so-called “white collar” exemptions from the...more
Summary -
Earlier this month, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced its second significant enforcement action against an employer based on confidentiality and release provisions that the SEC asserts...more
8/22/2016
/ Cease and Desist ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fines ,
Health Net ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Severance Agreements ,
Waivers ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers
Summary -
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced its second significant enforcement action against an employer based on confidentiality and release provisions that the SEC asserts will discourage...more
8/16/2016
/ Cease and Desist Orders ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Employee Releases ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Remedies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Severance Agreements ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
The Massachusetts Legislature passed new pay equity legislation on July 23, 2016. Governor Baker has been reported to have said that he will sign the legislation. The new law will take effect on January 1, 2018. The...more
Increase in Minimum Salary for Most Exemptions -
On May 18, 2016, the Department of Labor (DOL) published its final rule concerning the minimum salary level necessary in most cases for an employer to qualify as exempt...more
5/20/2016
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Minimum Salary ,
Misclassification ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Over-Time ,
Unpaid Overtime ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
On June 19, 2015, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey issued long awaited regulations concerning the Massachusetts Earned Sick Time Law. The ESTL was enacted by a ballot initiative on November 4, 2014. The basic rule...more
In November 2014, Massachusetts adopted a new Earned Sick Time Law (ESTL) by a ballot initiative. An overview of the ESTL is in the Goodwin Procter Client Alert dated November 14, 2014....more
Public companies should review their confidentiality arrangements for any provisions that may result in unintended violations of the Dodd-Frank Act’s whistleblower protections....more
4/16/2015
/ Confidentiality Agreements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Internal Investigations ,
KBR (formerly Kellogg Brown & Root) ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Rule 21F ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
The Supreme Court recently clarified the framework that applies to certain claims for accommodations under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (the “PDA”). The case, Young v. United Parcel Service, Inc., was a partial victory...more
The Supreme Court recently rejected a challenge to the validity of a 2010 interpretation by the U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”), which had concluded that the administrative exemption of the Fair Labor Standards Act...more
On January 7, 2015, then-Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signed into law An Act Relative to Parental Leave (the Parental Leave Act or the PLA), which amends the Massachusetts Maternity Leave Act (the MMLA). The PLA will...more
Effective this year, employers no longer need to provide annual wage notices to their New York employees. Employers must, however, continue to provide such notices to employees at the time of hire....more
On November 4, 2014, Massachusetts voters approved a ballot measure that will require covered employers to allow employees to earn at least one hour of paid sick time (“Sick Time”) for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum...more
The Massachusetts Attorney General recently issued an Advisory and other guidance on a new Massachusetts law, known as the Domestic Violence Leave Act (the “DVLA”). The Attorney General’s guidance confirms the basic...more