On September 5, 2019, the Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave (“DFML”) issued new guidance on when employers must count 1099-MISC workers as part of their workforce for purposes of the Paid Family and Medical Leave (“PFML”) program. In its press release announcing the new guidance, the DFML stated that the guidance was issued after meetings with representatives from hundreds of businesses across Massachusetts during which the businesses consistently sought clarification on whether they…

Employment Law Business Guide

Are You Prepared to do Your EEO-1 Reporting?

By Charla Bizios Stevens on September 9, 2019

After numerous delays and revisions the deadline for filing enhanced EEO-1 reports is now just three weeks away, due to be filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) by September 30. Component 1 Data should already have been filed…by May 31. The Component 1 data required affected employers to provide a list of employees organized by job category, race, ethnicity, and gender.…

Employment Law Business Guide

Mass. AG’s Labor Day Report Gives Insight Into Wage and Hour Enforcement Priorities

By Adam M. Hamel on September 4, 2019

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey released her fourth annual Labor Day Report this week. As in past years, the report summarizes the AGO’s Fair Labor Division’s enforcement activities over the past year, and provides insight into the office’s priorities and initiatives in the enforcement of the Commonwealth’s wage and hour laws.…

Employment Law Business Guide

NH Joins Ban on Non-Competes for Low-Wage Employees

By Jennifer Parent on July 24, 2019

Following both Massachusetts and Maine, New Hampshire will prohibit non-compete agreements for employees who earn an hourly rate that is equal to or lesser than double the federal minimum wage. The federal minimum wage, which NH follows, is $7.25 per hour. This means that employers cannot require employees who make $14.50 per hour or less (or just over $30,000 or less) to sign a non-compete agreement as a condition of employment. NH’s new law defines a…

Employment Law Business Guide

Massachusetts Leaders Agree to Three-Month Delay of Paid Family and Medical Leave Law

By Adam M. Hamel on June 12, 2019

A collective sigh of relief could be heard across the Commonwealth yesterday as anxious business owners, insurers, and employment lawyers heard the news that Massachusetts government leaders had agreed to a three-month delay of the implementation of the first-in-the-nation Paid Family and Medical Leave law. With a July 1 deadline to begin making payroll deductions looming, many questions remained about the law. Are the deductions pre-tax or post-tax? (We still don’t know.) Which…

Employment Law Business Guide

MA Department of Paid Family and Medical Leave Issues First Round of Complex Regulations

By Andrew P. Botti on May 28, 2019

The Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave has issued proposed regulations which are scheduled to go into effect July 1, 2019. Although some of the proposed regulations may change – and there is a push on by certain business groups to have the start date pushed to October – businesses are well advised to begin learning the ins and outs of the complex new law. Click the link below to download a summary of…

Employment Law Business Guide

SJC Rules Massachusetts Retail and Inside Salespersons Entitled to Overtime and Sunday Premium Pay

By Charla Bizios Stevens on May 10, 2019

The SJC, Massachusetts’ highest court, issued its long awaited decision in Sullivan v. Sleepy’s LLC, SJC-12542 on May 8, 2019. The case should be of concern to businesses which pay individuals fully or primarily by commission, especially in the retail context or in automobile sales where the ruling departs sharply from federal law.…

Employment Law Business Guide

DOL Says Some Gig Economy Workers are Independent Contractors

By Jennifer Parent on May 9, 2019

In an opinion letter dated April 29, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) explained that some service providers working for a virtual marketplace company (VMC) are independent contractors under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This opinion letter identifies the test the DOL is expected to use when considering the classification of workers in this growing gig-economy under federal law. Service provider workers are also referred to as “gig,” “on-demand,” or “sharing-economy” workers. A gig economy is a marketplace where…

Employment Law Business Guide

US Supreme Court Will Decide Whether Sexual Orientation and Transgender Employees Are Protected Under Title VII

By Jennifer Parent on May 1, 2019

The US Supreme Court recently announced it accepted three cases that will determine the scope of “sex” discrimination under federal law. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, makes it unlawful for employers to discriminate against employees on the terms and conditions of employment because of such individual’s “race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.” The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) which is the agency that enforces Title VII takes the position that “sex” discrimination under federal law…

Employment Law Business Guide

“You Shall Reap More Than You Sow” Under a New Interpretation of the Massachusetts Overtime Statute’s Agricultural Exemption

By Andrew P. Botti on April 24, 2019

For several decades the Massachusetts overtime statute, G.L. c. 151, §1A, required generally that an employee working in excess of forty hours per week be paid “at a rate not less than one and one-half times the regular rate at which he is employed.” The statute included twenty categories of exceptions from this overtime pay requirement. One such exemption applied to laborers “engaged in agriculture and farming on a farm.” G.L. c. 151 §1A(19). The…

Employment Law Business Guide

Practical Insights for Human Resources, Managers & Business Owners

Blog Authors

Massachusetts Clarifies When 1099-MISC Workers Should be Counted for Purposes of the Paid Family and Medical Leave Act Program

Are You Prepared to do Your EEO-1 Reporting?

Mass. AG’s Labor Day Report Gives Insight Into Wage and Hour Enforcement Priorities

NH Joins Ban on Non-Competes for Low-Wage Employees

Massachusetts Leaders Agree to Three-Month Delay of Paid Family and Medical Leave Law

MA Department of Paid Family and Medical Leave Issues First Round of Complex Regulations

SJC Rules Massachusetts Retail and Inside Salespersons Entitled to Overtime and Sunday Premium Pay

DOL Says Some Gig Economy Workers are Independent Contractors

US Supreme Court Will Decide Whether Sexual Orientation and Transgender Employees Are Protected Under Title VII

“You Shall Reap More Than You Sow” Under a New Interpretation of the Massachusetts Overtime Statute’s Agricultural Exemption

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