Tag Archives: massachusetts
Paid Family and Medical Leave Benefits Become Available in Massachusetts on January 1st: Is Your Workplace Ready?
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
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
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
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
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
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
Massachusetts SJC Weighs in on Wage Act Class Actions and Offers of Judgment
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
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
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
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
Massachusetts Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Becomes Law
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
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
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
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
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
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
Massachusetts Passes Paid Sick Leave Law
Voters in Four Jurisdictions Pass Sick Leave Ballot Initiatives
The national sick leave trend continues to gain momentum as voters in Massachusetts, Trenton and Montclair, New Jersey, and Oakland, California approved ballot initiatives requiring employers within each jurisdiction to provide sick leave to their employees. Similar laws already have taken effect in several jurisdictions across the country, including the States of Connecticut and California, … Continue Reading
New Massachusetts Law Entitles Employees to Domestic Violence Leave
On August 8, 2014, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signed into law a far-reaching Act designed to combat the problems of domestic violence. Notably, the Act became effective immediately upon the Governor signing it into law. Though the Act is tailored largely toward law enforcement programs and training, as well as increased penalties for criminal acts … Continue Reading
Nine More States, One City, and a Territory Increase Minimum Wage
Continuing a growing national trend, Minnesota, West Virginia, Maryland, Hawaii, Vermont, Michigan, Delaware, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Guam, and the city of Seattle recentlyenacted laws raising the minimum wage in their respective jurisdictions. This client alert highlights key provisions of these new laws and examines the implications for covered employers. Minnesota Minnesota’s minimum wage will gradually … Continue Reading
