Labor Law

27 Mirick O'Connell Attorneys Named to 2022 Super Lawyers and Rising Stars List

PODCAST: MA Employers Must Pay Final Wages or Face Treble Damages

Ashlyn Dowd featured in Community Legal Aid

e-Alert: COVID-19 and Masks: Updated Guidance from OSHA and Massachusetts

e-Alert: COVID-19 and Masks: Should Employers Continue to Require Masks in the Workplace?

Brian Casaceli quoted in LegalZoom "Vaccinations, Masks, and Small Business Rights"

17 Mirick O'Connell Attorneys Named to 2021 Best Lawyers and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch List

PODCAST: Nick Anastasopoulos and Jim Croteau of Starkweather & Shepley Insurance Brokerage Inc. discuss How do Businesses Protect Themselves, their Employees and Clients as Businesses Start to Reopen?

e-Alert: COVID-19: OSHA's Updated Guidance - Face Masks in the Workplace/ United States Supreme Court Issues Historic Decision Protecting LGBT Workers from Employment Discrimination

e-Alert: A Trap for the Unwary: A Furlough May Compromise Your Non-Compete Agreement

e-Alert: Massachusetts Legislature Passes Remote Notarization Bill / Recommendations to Ensure Workplace Safety in Light of the COVID-19 Pandemic for Non-Healthcare Employers

Employment Law Webinar Recording Available

e-Alert: Congress Passes Families First Coronavirus Response Act/ April 15 Reprieve

Jonathan Sigel interviewed by NECN - How to Prepare for Mass Equity Pay Law

e-Alert: "The NLRB Pendulum Swings Back: Employers Face Increased Liability for Damages, While It's Once Again Easier for Smaller Worker Groups to Organize"

Labor, Employment and Employee Benefits Legal Update: "Massachusetts "CROWN" Law Prohibits Discrimination Based on Hairstyle"

Employer Tax Credits for Employee Paid Leave Due to COVID-19 Applies to Government Entities

Recent COVID-19 Legislation Provides Payroll Tax Relief to Employers

Federal Appeals Court Halts Implementation of NLRB Employees' Rights Posting

New Limits on Employer Access To and Use Of Criminal Records Take Effect on May 4, 2012

Attorney General Announces $2.8 Million Settlement with 3 Companies that Violated Massachusetts Prevailing Wage and Misclassification Laws

Supreme Judicial Court Issues Much Anticipated Quinn Bill Decision

Transgender Discrimination Protection

Massachusetts Court Upholds Students' Suspensions for Hazing Incident

Principal and Teacher Who Exchanged Intimate E-Mails May Proceed with Invasion of Privacy Claim Against Employer

OSHA and MA DSL Compliance and Workplace Safety Seminar

Off the Clock: Labor, Employment and Employee Benefits Blog

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 …

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. …

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 …

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 …

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) …

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 …

DOL Proposes to Revert the Independent Contractor Analysis to the Employee-Friendly Totality-Of-The-Circumstances Analysis 

On October 11, 2022, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a new proposed rule, entitled “Independent Contractor Status Under the Fair Labor Standards Act,” for determining whether an individual is an independent contractor or an employee under the Fair Labor …

EEOC Issues Updated Guidance Regarding COVID Screening by Employers

On July 12, 2022, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued updated guidance for employers regarding COVID-19 testing and accommodations. Perhaps most impactful, the EEOC altered its position regarding employers testing employees for COVID-19 as part of a mandatory screening prior …

Don’t Delay: MA Employers Are Now Strictly Liable for Three Times the Amount of Wages for Late Payments With No Safe Harbor for Paying in Full Prior to Suit!

Under the Massachusetts Wage Act (the “Wage Act”), if an employee voluntarily quits their employment, the employer must pay the employee their final wages, including any earned, unused vacation pay, on the employer’s next regular pay day. However, when an employee …

The Times They Keep A-Changing: The New Illinois Restrictions on the Use of Non-Compete and Non-Solicit Agreements

The state-by-state non-compete reform movement keeps rolling – this time in the state of Illinois.  Effective January 1, 2022, the Illinois Freedom to Work Act has dramatically changed the landscape for employers in that state who desire to use non-compete …