Mark W. Batten

Mark Batten is a partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department and co-head of the Class & Collective Actions Group.

Mark represents employers nationwide at all stages of complex employment litigation, including class and collective actions on wage and hour matters and discrimination claims. Ranked by Chambers USA, Mark is hailed as “a fabulous lawyer, handling interesting and complex cases.” Clients “highly recommend him to anyone seeking litigation counsel in the Boston area,” as well as note “he is responsive, pragmatic and team-oriented, and offers excellent legal advice.”

Firm/Organization: Proskauer Rose LLP

Blogs: Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Blog, Labor Relations Update, Law and the Workplace, New England IP Blog, Proskauer on Class and Collective Actions

Latest Articles

Law and the Workplace

Final Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Regulations Published and Other PFML Updates

By Mark W. Batten, Samantha Regenbogen Manelin & Thomas B. Fiascone on June 20, 2019

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, the following substantive additions and clarifications are worth noting: Private Plan Clarifications: The bulk of the revisions to the…

Law and the Workplace

Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Deadlines Extended

By Mark W. Batten, Samantha Regenbogen Manelin & Thomas B. Fiascone on June 14, 2019

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 and signed into law on June 13, provides as follows: Required withholding now begins on October 1, 2019, rather than July 1. When…

Law and the Workplace

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

By Mark W. Batten & Thomas B. Fiascone on May 10, 2019

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 employers could satisfy rate of pay requirements under Massachusetts’ overtime law and Sunday pay law – requiring that employees…

Law and the Workplace

Updated: Massachusetts Employers Must Distribute Paid Leave Notice By June 30, 2019

By Mark W. Batten, Samantha Regenbogen Manelin & Thomas B. Fiascone on April 18, 2019

[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 to update with further developments.] [UPDATE: As of May 1, 2019, the Department of Family Medical Leave extended the deadline…

Law and the Workplace

Massachusetts SJC Weighs in on Wage Act Class Actions and Offers of Judgment

By Mark W. Batten, Samantha Regenbogen Manelin & Thomas B. Fiascone on April 14, 2019

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, Inc., plaintiff Felice Gammella argued that the Commonwealth’s Wage Act (Mass. Gen. L. ch. 149, §§ 148, 150) provides its…

Law and the Workplace

New Updates to Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave

By Mark W. Batten, Samantha Regenbogen Manelin & Thomas B. Fiascone on April 8, 2019

[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 Family and Medical Leave previously extended other deadlines, including the deadline for employers to distribute notice and to file for…

Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Blog

Supreme Court Says that Equitable Tolling Cannot Extend Rule 23(f) Deadline

By Elise M. Bloom, Mark W. Batten & Noa Baddish on February 28, 2019

In a unanimous decision authored by Justice Sotomayor on February 26, 2019, the Supreme Court held that the 14-day deadline to seek permission to appeal a decision granting or denying class certification under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(f) cannot be extended through the doctrine of equitable tolling. Nutraceutical Corp. v. Lambert. The Court reversed the Ninth Circuit’s decision, which had accepted a petition filed more than 14 days after the trial court’s decertification…

Proskauer on Class and Collective Actions

United States Supreme Court Says that Equitable Tolling Cannot Extend Deadline to Appeal Class Certification Decisions Under Rule 23(f)

By Elise M. Bloom, Mark W. Batten & Noa Baddish on February 28, 2019

In a unanimous decision authored by Justice Sotomayor on February 26, 2019, the Supreme Court held that the 14-day deadline to seek permission to appeal a decision granting or denying class certification under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(f) cannot be extended through the doctrine of equitable tolling. Nutraceutical Corp. v. Lambert, No. 17-1094, 586 U.S. ___ (2019). The Court reversed the Ninth Circuit’s decision, which had accepted a petition filed more than 14 days…

Law and the Workplace

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

By Mark W. Batten, Samantha Regenbogen Manelin & Thomas B. Fiascone on February 20, 2019

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” in an action arising under the statute. In Ferman v. Sturgis Cleaners, Inc., No. SJC-12602, decided Feb.…

Law and the Workplace

Massachusetts SJC Holds Employers’ Denials of Lateral Transfers May Be Adverse Actions in Discrimination Cases

By Mark W. Batten, Samantha Regenbogen Manelin & Thomas B. Fiascone on January 30, 2019

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, or in any other terms and conditions of employment, a denied lateral transfer to the more desirable position could be…

Mark W. Batten

Final Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Regulations Published and Other PFML Updates

Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Deadlines Extended

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

Updated: Massachusetts Employers Must Distribute Paid Leave Notice By June 30, 2019

Massachusetts SJC Weighs in on Wage Act Class Actions and Offers of Judgment

New Updates to Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave

Supreme Court Says that Equitable Tolling Cannot Extend Rule 23(f) Deadline

United States Supreme Court Says that Equitable Tolling Cannot Extend Deadline to Appeal Class Certification Decisions Under Rule 23(f)

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

Massachusetts SJC Holds Employers’ Denials of Lateral Transfers May Be Adverse Actions in Discrimination Cases

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