Jonathan R. Sigel

Jonathan is a Partner in the Firm’s Labor, Employment and Employee Benefits Group. He advises clients on a broad range of employment issues, including employment and severance agreements, handbooks and policies, and terminations and layoffs. Jonathan also advises management on proper wage and hour classification. Jonathan represents clients in investigations by the Department of Labor and the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General. He has extensive experience representing management in the negotiation and litigation of employment and discrimination claims in the state and federal courts, and appears frequently before the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and represents employers in wage and hour litigation in court.

Jonathan has been named a Massachusetts “Super Lawyer” by Boston magazine and Law & Politics every year since 2009. He was included in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® for Employment Law – Management and Litigation – Labor and Employment. He has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® since 2013. In addition, Jonathan was named the Best Lawyers® Employment Law – Management “Lawyer of the Year” in Westborough, 2021 and 2023. In 2003, Jonathan received the "40 under Forty" Award from the Worcester Business Journal. He received the Samuel Seder Young Leadership Award from the Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts in 1998.

Bar & Court Admissions

  • Massachusetts
  • Emory University School of Law JD (1991)
  • Bowdoin College BA, magna cum laude (1987)
  • Advised clients on a broad range of employment issues, including employment, severance and non-competition agreements, and handbooks, policies, terminations and layoffs
  • Successfully represented many employers in the defense of discrimination claims filed with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination and in state and federal courts
  • Successfully represented many employers in other employment-related litigation, such as disputes regarding employment contracts and confidentiality and non-competition agreements
  • Advised and assisted employers with internal investigations of alleged employee misconduct, including claims of sexual harassment
  • Advised employers on wage and hour compliance matters and represented employers during audits by agencies such as the Department of Labor and the Office of the Attorney General
  • Provided numerous in-house presentations for clients on harassment prevention and employment law basics for supervisors

Publications/Presentations

Professional / Community Affiliations

  • Jewish Federation's Governing Board, president (2018-2020); chair of 2009 Jewish Federation Campaign
  • Worcester Community Action Council, former board member
  • Community Legal Aid of Central MA, former board member (2014-2020)
  • Corridor 9/495 Regional Chamber of Commerce, former board member (2017-2019)
  • Worcester Art Museum, Trustee; chair of the Human Resources 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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