The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that the registration period for the fiscal year (FY) 2026 H-1B cap will be open from 12pm EST on March 7, 2025, through 12pm EST on March 24, 2025.
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Best Practices for Employers Navigating ICE Visits
By Susan Goff & John Wilson
Immigration has been a central focus of the new presidential administration since taking office and is expected to remain a top priority. Workplace raids soared during the early years of the Trump administration’s first term, they have signaled that aggressive…
SCOTUS Rules on Standard of Proof in FLSA Exemption Cases
The United States Supreme Court just issued a unanimous decision settling a dispute in the lower courts about what standard of proof applies in cases where an employee’s exemption from the FLSA’s minimum wage and overtime rules is at issue.…
U.S. District Court Vacates DOL’s Rule Increasing Salary Levels for Exempt Employees
On Friday, November 15, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas vacated the federal Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) final rule (“Final Rule”) raising the minimum salary thresholds for the Fair Labor Standard Act’s (“FLSA”) white collar…
2025 Massachusetts Paid Family & Medical Leave Rate Increases
By Andrea Hellrigel, Law Clerk
The Massachusetts Department of Family & Medical Leave (DFML) has announced the rates for the Massachusetts Paid Family & Medical Leave (PFML) program for 2025, which will take effect on January 1, 2025.
For employers…
FTC Appeals the Texas Federal Court Order that Invalidated the FTC’s Non-Compete Rule
As we have previously written, on August 20, 2024, a Texas federal district court issued an order setting aside the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) sweeping proposed rule that would ban and render unenforceable most non-compete clauses in employment agreements. The…
Massachusetts Implements New Law that Expands Covered Sick Time to Include Pregnancy Loss and Failed Adoption, Assisted Reproduction and Surrogacy
Massachusetts Governor, Maura Healey, recently signed into law a new statute under broader legislation titled “An Act promoting access to midwifery care and out-of-hospital birth options” that entitles Massachusetts employees to earned sick time if the employee suffers a pregnancy…
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Finds that the Paid Family and Medical Leave Act Does Not Require an Employer Guarantee the Accrual of Vacation and Sick Time While the Employee is on Leave
The highest state court in Massachusetts, the Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”), recently declared that the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (“PFMLA”), General Laws c. 175M, does not require an employer to guarantee the accrual of vacation and sick…
Court Rules Retention Bonuses Are Not Wages Under Massachusetts Wage Act
The Massachusetts Appellate Division of the District Court – North District recently issued a decision regarding whether retention bonuses constitute wages under the Massachusetts Wage Act, G.L. c. 149, § 148 (the “Wage Act”). In the matter of Nunez v.…
IRS Releases Guidance on Disaster Relief Under Qualified Plans and IRAs
The IRS recently issued a new fact sheet to answer certain FAQs about the rules in SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (the “Act”) that give special rights under certain qualified retirement plans and IRAs to individuals impacted by major disasters…