Amanda Marie  Baer

Amanda is a partner in the Firm's Labor, Employment, and Employee Benefits Group.  Her clients include, but are not limited to, hospitals, physician groups, institutions of higher education, Fortune 100 and Fortune 400 companies, manufacturers, retailers, law firms, and insurance companies.  In her employment litigation practice, Amanda zealously defends employers against claims of and/or involving discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, accommodations, and wage and hour laws.  On behalf of employers, Amanda prosecutes and defends claims involving trade secrets and restrictive covenant agreements.

In addition, Amanda advises and works collaboratively with employers on a myriad of human resources issues, drafts handbooks and policies, leads manager-level trainings (including sexual and protected class harassment trainings), and drafts all types of employment-related agreements. Amanda’s skills also include conducting independent investigations into allegations of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.

A magna cum laude graduate from Georgetown University Law Center, Amanda was honored with CALI Awards (given to the highest scoring student) in five classes and named to the Order of the Coif.

Amanda is admitted to the bar of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the State of Connecticut, and is admitted to practice before the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut, and the United States Supreme Court.  Amanda also practices before the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) and the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO).

Amanda was included in the 2024 edition of the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America™ for her work in Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law, Labor and Employment Law – Management and Litigation – Labor and Employment.  In 2016, Amanda was selected by the Worcester Business Journal as one of the “40 Under Forty” professionals honored for their professional achievements and community service. Boston magazine and Law & Politics have named Amanda a Massachusetts “Rising Star” each year, from 2013-2021.  In 2022 and 2023, Boston magazine and Law & Politics named Amanda a Massachusetts “SuperLawyer.”

Amanda is the editor of the Labor, Employment, and Employee Benefits Group’s blog, “Off the Clock.”

Bar & Court Admissions

  • Massachusetts
  • Connecticut
  • U.S. District Court for Massachusetts
  • U.S. District Court for Connecticut
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
  • U.S. Supreme Court
  • Georgetown University JD, magna cum laude (2011), Order of the Coif, Executive Senior Editor, Georgetown Journal of International Law (2011)
  • Providence College BA, summa cum laude (2008)
  • Secured a directed verdict in federal Court for an employer on a former employee's claim of disability discrimination
  • Represented employer as second chair during 16-day trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts and successfully secured a directed verdict at the close of evidence on former employee’s claim of “regarded as” disability discrimination
  • Obtained summary judgment in Business Litigation Session for employer on an issue of first impression as to whether former employees were owed premium pay for hours worked on Sundays
  • Obtained summary judgment for employer on claim of race discrimination in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts and secured sanctions against Plaintiff for discovery delays
  • Secured summary judgment for employer on former employee’s claim of breach of contract and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, by establishing that the Employment Agreement was unenforceable due to the former employee’s misrepresentations and omissions
  • Successfully obtained a preliminary injunction under the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act to protect an employer’s trade secret and confidential information when an employee surreptitiously removed documents and a laptop from the company
  • Obtained permanent injunction on behalf of employer to prevent former employee from continuing to breach his employment agreement and circulate confidential images of the employer’s products

Publications/Presentations

 

Professional / Community Affiliations

  • American Bar Association
  • Federal Bar Association
  • Massachusetts Bar Association
  • YWCA, Personnel Committee

Dartmouth College Men’s Basketball Team Held to Be Employees of Institution and Allowed to Unionize

In the Matter of Trustees of Dartmouth College & Service Employees International Union, Local 560, Case 01-RC-325633 (2024), the Regional Office of the National Labor Relations Board (the “NLRB” or the “Board”) has provided yet another expansion of the Board’s on-going …

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New California Non-Compete Law Prohibits Almost All Non-Compete Agreements and Requires Notice to Certain Current and Former Employees by February 14

California has long taken an extremely strong position against non-compete agreements, but new laws which took effect January 1, 2024 make that prohibition even stronger and impact employers nationwide who have any employees in California.  California now expressly prohibits any …

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Navigating Pay Transparency Laws: What Employers Need to Know

Over the last several years, in an effort to close the gender pay gap, several states and localities across the country have enacted pay transparency laws that, generally, require employers of certain sizes with employees in those locations to disclose …

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Private Employers Take Note: Overbroad Non-Disparagement & Confidentiality Restrictions in Severance Agreements Run Afoul of the National Labor Relations Act

As many employers well know, it is customary to include non-disparagement and confidentiality provisions in severance agreements that prohibit departing employees from (i) making disparaging, critical, or otherwise detrimental comments concerning the employer and (ii) disclosing information concerning the substance, …

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Is Your Company in Compliance With Executive Order 13706?

In September 2015, Executive Order 13706 was signed, requiring employers that enter into covered contracts with the federal government to provide covered employees with up to seven days (56 hours) of paid sick leave annually, including paid leave allowing for …

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SJC Finds Public Meeting Comment Restrictions Unconstitutional

Government boards and committees should review their public comment policies following a decision this week by the Supreme Judicial Court holding that a “civility code” violated the Massachusetts Constitution’s Declaration of Rights and the Massachusetts Civil Rights Act. In Barron v. …

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The FTC’s Proposed Ban On Noncompetes – Predictions

Following his election, President Biden issued “The Biden Plan for Strengthening Worker Organizing, Collective Bargaining and Unions,” in which he promised to work with Congress to “eliminate all non-compete agreements” with very limited exceptions. While a bipartisan bill, the Workforce …

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Update Policies to Comply with the Massachusetts CROWN Act

At the end of October 2022, the Massachusetts Act Prohibiting Discrimination Based on Natural and Protective Hairstyles (the “CROWN Act”) went into effect. The CROWN Act expands the definition of “race” under Chapter 151B to include “traits historically associated with …

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2023 Changes in Massachusetts Employment Laws

            Beginning January 1, 2023, changes to the Massachusetts Minimum Wage Law, retail premium pay, and Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Law take effect. Changes to Minimum Wage & Premium Pay Changes to Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) …

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Employers Must Remember Their Obligations under the Massachusetts Pregnant Workers Fairness Act

The Massachusetts Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (the “Act”), which went into effect on April 1, 2018, amended Massachusetts General Law c. 151B to include “pregnancy or a condition related to pregnancy, including, but not limited to, lactation, or the need …

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