Tag Archives: massachusetts

New Massachusetts Law Creates Expanded Definition of Racial Discrimination in Employment and Other Areas to Encompass “Natural or Protective Hairstyles”

By Mark W. Batten, Lexie Reynolds and Makenzie D. Way on August 11, 2022 Posted in Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation

On July 26, 2022, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair Act (“CROWN Act”) into law, making Massachusetts the 18th state to enact legislation aimed at protecting against discrimination on the basis of hairstyles that are historically associated with race. The CROWN Act will go into effect … Continue Reading

Massachusetts COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick Leave Program to End March 15, 2022

By Arielle E. Kobetz, Rebecca Fishbein and Mark W. Batten on March 7, 2022 Posted in Coronavirus, Leaves of Absences

The Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Insurance has announced that the Massachusetts COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick Leave (“MEPSL”) will expire on March 15, 2022, and employers have until April 29, 2022 to file their applications for reimbursements. This means employees may continue to take leave under the program through March 15th, but employers then have until … Continue Reading

Massachusetts Creates Exception to At-Will Employment for Employees Exercising the “Right of Rebuttal”

By Mark W. Batten and Rebecca Fishbein on December 21, 2021 Posted in Performance Management, Discipline & Termination

On December 17, 2021, the highest state court in Massachusetts held that an employer may not terminate an employee solely for exercising his right to file a rebuttal to be included in his personnel file. The Supreme Judicial Court found this new common law remedy is necessary to fully protect this legal right and to … Continue Reading

Massachusetts High Court Clarifies Test to Determine Joint Employer Status under State Wage and Overtime Statutes

By Mark W. Batten and Rebecca Fishbein on December 17, 2021 Posted in Wage and Hour

On December 13, 2021, the highest state court in Massachusetts ruled that the proper test for determining joint employer status under the state’s wage and overtime statutes is the “totality of the circumstances” test formerly used under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), and not the more restrictive test of Mass. Gen. L. c. … Continue Reading

Massachusetts Enacts COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick Leave

By Mark W. Batten and Heylee Bernstein on June 4, 2021 Posted in Coronavirus, Leaves of Absences

Last week, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed legislation providing for COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick Leave for Massachusetts employees. Governor Baker vetoed an earlier version of the bill in April. The revised bill, signed into law on May 28, 2021, takes effect on Monday, June 7, 2021. Employees are eligible for COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick Leave … Continue Reading

Massachusetts Appeals Court Weighs In On Public Policy Exception To General At-Will Employee Termination Clause

By Mark W. Batten and Makenzie D. Way on January 25, 2021 Posted in Uncategorized

The Massachusetts Appeals Court, in a slip op opinion issued on January 20, 2021, decided that at-will employees can be terminated for submitting rebuttal letters pursuant to G.L.c. 149, §52C (“Section 52C”), and cannot avail themselves of the public policy exception to the general rule that an employee at will may be terminated without cause. … Continue Reading

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 December 22, 2020 Posted in Leaves of Absences, Workplace Policies and Procedures

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

Hearing Scheduled On Proposed Amendments to Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Law

By Mark W. Batten and Samantha Regenbogen Manelin on June 11, 2020 Posted in Independent Contractor, Leaves of Absences, Workplace Policies and Procedures

On June 11, 2020, the Department of Family and Medical Leave (“DFML”) will hold a virtual public hearing on its recent proposed amendments to the final regulations pertaining to the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Law (“PFML”) issued in June 2019. (Instructions for registering for the virtual hearing are available at this link). A … Continue Reading

Massachusetts Announces Four Phase Plan to Reopen

By Mark W. Batten, Samantha Regenbogen Manelin and Thomas B. Fiascone on May 18, 2020 Posted in Coronavirus, Workplace Policies and Procedures, Workplace Safety

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

Massachusetts Orders All Non-Essential Workers to Stay Home

By Evandro Gigante, Rebecca Sivitz and Thomas B. Fiascone on March 23, 2020 Posted in Coronavirus, Leaves of Absences, Workplace Policies and Procedures, Workplace Safety

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

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 June 20, 2019 Posted in Leaves of Absences

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

Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Deadlines Extended

By Mark W. Batten, Samantha Regenbogen Manelin and Thomas B. Fiascone on June 14, 2019 Posted in Leaves of Absences

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

Retail Salespeople Paid on Commission Are Entitled to Overtime and Sunday Pay, Massachusetts SJC Says

By Mark W. Batten and Thomas B. Fiascone on May 10, 2019 Posted in Wage and Hour

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

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 April 14, 2019 Posted in Class/Collective Action, Wage and Hour

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

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court OK’s Attorneys’ Fees for Wage Act Settlements

By Mark W. Batten, Samantha Regenbogen Manelin and Thomas B. Fiascone on February 20, 2019 Posted in Class/Collective Action, Wage and Hour

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 Governor Signs Minimum Wage, Family and Medical Leave Bill

By Laura Franks, Mark W. Batten and Samantha Regenbogen Manelin on July 2, 2018 Posted in Leaves of Absences, Wage and Hour, Workplace Policies and Procedures

On June 28, 2018, Governor Charlie Baker signed “An Act Relative to Minimum Wage, Paid Family Medical Leave, and the Sales Tax Holiday” (HB 4640) into law. Last week, we covered three major changes the Act makes to Massachusetts law that employers should be aware of (available here). In short, the Act incrementally increases minimum … Continue Reading

Massachusetts Attorney General Issues Guidance on Updated Pay Equity Law

By Laura Franks, Mark W. Batten and Samantha Regenbogen Manelin on March 13, 2018 Posted in Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation, Hiring/Background Checks, Wage and Hour, Workplace Policies and Procedures

The Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General recently issued guidance on the new amendments to the Massachusetts Equal Pay Act (“MEPA”), effective July 1, 2018. Although the guidance is extremely detailed and should be reviewed in full, employers should take note of the following details: Coverage The MEPA and amendments are substantial in scope, covering … Continue Reading

Massachusetts Legislature Considers Prohibiting Mandatory Arbitration of Employment Claims

By Mark W. Batten and Samantha Regenbogen Manelin on February 9, 2018 Posted in Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation

A bill prohibiting mandatory arbitration of employment-related claims, introduced in late 2017 before the Massachusetts House of Representatives, continues to gain traction in early 2018. The bill (House Bill 4058), which proposes legislation that would prohibit enforcement of mandatory arbitration agreements “relating to a claim of discrimination, non-payment of wages or benefits, retaliation, harassment or … Continue Reading

Massachusetts Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Becomes Law

By Mark W. Batten and Samantha Regenbogen Manelin on July 28, 2017 Posted in Accessibility & Accommodation, Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation, Workplace Policies and Procedures

On July 27, 2017 Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed into law the Massachusetts Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“MPWFA”), a bill which had unanimously passed in both the House and Senate. As discussed previously, the MPWFA (formerly H. 3816) ensures that pregnant workers or workers with pregnancy-related conditions (such as nursing) receive reasonable accommodations and protection … Continue Reading

Massachusetts Senate Passes Pregnant Workers Fairness Act

By Scott Faust and Samantha Regenbogen Manelin on July 5, 2017 Posted in Accessibility & Accommodation, Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation, Workplace Policies and Procedures

The Massachusetts Senate has unanimously voted to pass “An Act Establishing the Massachusetts Pregnant Workers Fairness Act” (“MPWFA”) in an effort to make sure that pregnant and nursing employees receive the same protections under Mass. Gen. Laws Chapter 151B as do other protected classes of employees. The bill, which had previously unanimously passed in the … Continue Reading

Massachusetts Passes Pay Equity Bill Restricting Employers From Inquiring Into Applicants’ Wage History

By Laura Fant and Mark W. Batten on August 3, 2016 Posted in Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation, Hiring/Background Checks

Massachusetts has passed an amendment to the state’s equal pay law aimed at strengthening prohibitions on gender discrimination in the payment of wages for comparable work. The new bill, signed by Governor Charlie Baker (R) this week and effective starting in July 2018, provides a definition of “comparable work” for purposes of analyzing pay equity … Continue Reading

Massachusetts Paid Sick Leave: New Regulations

By Mark W. Batten and Samantha Regenbogen Manelin on June 29, 2015 Posted in Leaves of Absences, Wage and Hour, Workplace Policies and Procedures

The Massachusetts Attorney General recently released final regulations clarifying the Earned Sick Time law, a ballot initiative that passed in November 2014 guaranteeing employees paid sick leave. As discussed in our previous post on the new law, beginning July 1, 2015, employers with more than 11 employees must allow their employees to accrue 1 hour … Continue Reading

Massachusetts Governor Signs Parental Leave Bill

By Mark W. Batten, Samantha Regenbogen Manelin and Vanessa Gilbreth on January 16, 2015 Posted in Accessibility & Accommodation, Leaves of Absences, Workplace Policies and Procedures

On January 7, 2015, Governor Deval Patrick signed into law a Parental Leave bill, which significantly amends Mass. Gen. L. ch. 149, section 105D. Before the amendment, the Massachusetts Maternity Leave Act (“MMLA”) provided eight weeks of job-protected leave to female employees for the birth or adoption of a child. Now, however, among other expansive … Continue Reading

Massachusetts AG Advises on Domestic Violence Leave Act

By Mark W. Batten, Samantha Regenbogen Manelin and Vanessa Gilbreth on November 24, 2014 Posted in Leaves of Absences, Workplace Policies and Procedures

The Massachusetts Attorney General recently issued an Advisory regarding the new Domestic Violence Leave Act, which was passed on August 8, 2014. The Advisory helped to clarify some of the requirements of the Act: Because the Act broadly states that it applies to employers with 50 or more employees, it was previously unclear whether the … Continue Reading

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