Thomas B. Fiascone
Associate
Thomas Fiascone is an associate in the Labor & Employment Law Department. Tom has experience practicing in federal and state courts, and before administrative agencies such as the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. As part of his employment litigation practice, Tom has assisted in single-plaintiff lawsuits and class and collective actions. Tom also has experience practicing traditional labor law, assisting with collective bargaining negotiations, arbitration proceedings, and responding to unfair labor practice charges.
Tom has represented clients across many different industries, including representing financial institutions, sports entities, healthcare institutions, utility providers, public transportation services, and news and media organizations.
Tom also maintains a pro bono practice, advising local non-profits and charitable organizations on day-to-day labor and employment issues.
Tom earned his J.D. from Boston College Law School, where he was a senior editor and staff writer on the Boston College Law Review. During law school, Tom served as a judicial intern in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
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On January 7, 2021, President-elect Joe Biden announced Boston Mayor Marty Walsh as his nominee for Secretary of Labor. If confirmed, Mayor Walsh would represent a stark contrast to incumbent Labor Secretary, longtime management attorney Eugene Scalia. Walsh served as the president of Laborers’ Union Local 223 prior to being elected Mayor. AFL-CIO President Richard … Continue Reading
For Massachusetts employers, or employers with Massachusetts-based employees, Paid Family and Medical Leave (“PFML”) has been on the horizon for nearly two years. By now, you have notified your workforce about benefits and contributions, displayed a poster informing them of the same, determined the size of your workforce and who is a “covered individual,” begun … Continue Reading
On Monday May 18, 2020, Governor Baker announced the first phase of his administration’s much-anticipated plan to reopen Massachusetts (the “Plan”), nearly eight weeks after first ordering non-essential businesses to close and advising residents to stay home in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. In describing the phased reopening, the Governor repeatedly emphasized that the coronavirus … Continue Reading
UPDATE: Governor Baker announced that Massachusetts’ order closing non-essential businesses and the Commonwealth’s stay at home advisory will remain in effect until May 18, 2020. * * * Beginning Tuesday, March 24, 2020 at 12:00 PM, Massachusetts will join a growing number of states in closing non-essential businesses and organizations to employees, customers, and the … Continue Reading
The Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave (“DFML”) has posted the much-anticipated final regulations regarding Massachusetts’ Paid Family and Medical Leave law (“PFML”). The final regulations come on the heels of Massachusetts lawmakers’ recent extension of key PFML compliance dates. While the final regulations are materially unchanged from the previous draft issued March 29th, … Continue Reading
With the original July 1, 2019 deadline for numerous provisions of the Commonwealth’s Paid Family and Medical Leave (“PFML”) legislation approaching in mere weeks, Massachusetts lawmakers have now issued a much-welcomed enforcement extension. The extensions comes as employers in the Commonwealth worked to comply with the new law. The amended legislation, announced earlier this week … Continue Reading
On May 8, 2019, Massachusetts’ highest court held that retail salespersons who are paid entirely on a commission or draw basis, may nevertheless be entitled to additional overtime or pay for work on Sundays. The Supreme Judicial Court considered these questions in Sullivan v. Sleepy’s LLC, SJC-12542. The narrow questions the Court considered were whether … Continue Reading
[UPDATE: On June 11, 2019, state officials, including Governor Charlie Baker, issued a joint statement noting that the state has agreed to a three month postponement before companies will be assessed fees pursuant to the PFML, meaning the taxes will begin in October, 2019 rather than on July 1, 2019 as previously anticipated. We will continue … Continue Reading
On Friday April 12, 2019, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court confirmed that plaintiffs seeking to bring class actions asserting Massachusetts Wage Act (“Wage Act”) violations must meet the certification standards set by Massachusetts Rule of Civil Procedure 23 (“Rule 23”), and cannot avail themselves of a lower bar to class certification. In Gammella v. P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, … Continue Reading
[UPDATE: On June 11, 2019, state officials issued a joint statement noting that the state has agreed to a three month postponement before companies will be assessed fees pursuant to the PFML, meaning the taxes will begin in October, 2019 rather than on July 1, 2019 as previously anticipated. In May, 2019, the Department of … Continue Reading
As has been long anticipated, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently gave a green light to plaintiffs’ attorneys seeking a fee award under the Commonwealth’s Payment of Wages Act, even where an action ends in settlement. The Wage Act (Mass. General Laws ch. 149 §§ 148, 150) awards costs and fees when an employee “prevails” … Continue Reading
Massachusetts employers’ decision-making processes with regards to lateral, internal employee transfers are now subject to possible state law discrimination claims. On January 29, 2019, the SJC issued its decision in Yee v. Massachusetts State Police, SCJ-12485, holding that when two jobs at the same level for the same employer offer “material differences” in compensation opportunity, … Continue Reading
On January 23, 2019, Massachusetts released draft regulations on the Paid Family and Medical Leave (“PFML”) Law, signed into law last summer (as previously discussed here) and set to begin taking effect this upcoming July. The Department of Family and Medical Leave released these draft regulations for public comment only, with the deadline for publication … Continue Reading
President-Elect Biden Nominates Marty Walsh for Secretary of Labor
By Allan Bloom and Thomas B. Fiascone on Posted in Biden Administration Coverage
Paid Family and Medical Leave Benefits Become Available in Massachusetts on January 1st: Is Your Workplace Ready?
By Lexie Reynolds, Heylee Bernstein, Mark W. Batten and Thomas B. Fiascone on Posted in Leaves of Absences, Workplace Policies and Procedures
Massachusetts Announces Four Phase Plan to Reopen
Massachusetts Orders All Non-Essential Workers to Stay Home
By Evandro Gigante, Rebecca Sivitz and Thomas B. Fiascone on Posted in Coronavirus, Leaves of Absences, Workplace Policies and Procedures, Workplace Safety
Final Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Regulations Published and Other PFML Updates
By Mark W. Batten, Samantha Regenbogen Manelin and Thomas B. Fiascone on Posted in Leaves of Absences
Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Deadlines Extended
By Mark W. Batten, Samantha Regenbogen Manelin and Thomas B. Fiascone on Posted in Leaves of Absences
Retail Salespeople Paid on Commission Are Entitled to Overtime and Sunday Pay, Massachusetts SJC Says
By Mark W. Batten and Thomas B. Fiascone on Posted in Wage and Hour
Updated: Massachusetts Employers Must Distribute Paid Leave Notice By June 30, 2019
By Mark W. Batten, Samantha Regenbogen Manelin and Thomas B. Fiascone on Posted in Leaves of Absences
Massachusetts SJC Weighs in on Wage Act Class Actions and Offers of Judgment
By Mark W. Batten, Samantha Regenbogen Manelin and Thomas B. Fiascone on Posted in Class/Collective Action, Wage and Hour
New Updates to Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court OK’s Attorneys’ Fees for Wage Act Settlements
By Mark W. Batten, Samantha Regenbogen Manelin and Thomas B. Fiascone on Posted in Class/Collective Action, Wage and Hour
