The Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (PFML) provides eligible workers with paid medical and family leave benefits effective Jan. 1, 2021. See July 2018 GT Alert here. Specifically, individuals will be entitled to up to 20 weeks of paid medical leave and 12 weeks of paid family leave per year. The maximum amount of combined family and medical leave an individual may take under the PFML is limited to 26 weeks per year. The…

Our January 2019 GT Benefits and Compensation Alert addressed the unprecedented level of potential liability for compliance failures in 401(k) and other retirement plans and the importance of performing a plan compliance review and correcting plan document or operational failures before an IRS auditor knocks on the door. Doing nothing and playing the audit lottery is no longer an acceptable risk, with one out of three employers (and half of large employers with at least…

On March 26, 2019, in a 5-2 ruling, the Court of Appeals ruled in favor of providers in a critical decision affecting home health care. Andryeyeva v. N.Y. Health Care, Inc. and Moreno v. Future Care Health Servs. et al. was a joint appeal in a case that threatened to eviscerate an important economic constraint on the cost of providing live-in 24-hour home care, and which placed at risk the fiscal integrity of New York’s…

On March 18, 2019, landmark legislation was passed that could dramatically impact the resolution of discrimination, retaliation, and harassment claims. under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (“NJLAD”), and “other” statutes – presently undefined. Employers: pay close attention. The bill takes effect immediately and applies “to all contracts and agreements entered into, renewed, modified, or amended on or after [March 18].” The legislation addresses – and substantially impacts – employment contracts and settlement agreements. While…

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on March 7, 2019, issued a new proposed rule raising the annual minimum salary requirements for the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime exemptions for executive, administrative, and professional employees. Under the new rule, the salary level for these “white collar” exemptions will increase from $23,660 per year ($455 per week) to $35,308 per year ($679 per week). The proposed rule will also raise the annual compensation requirement for…

House Democrats have set their sights on workplace violence in health care and social service industries. According to congressional findings, the health care and social service industries suffer the highest rates of injuries caused by workplace violence. Health care and social service workers made up 69 percent of all workplace violence injuries in 2017 and were nearly five times as likely to suffer a workplace violence injury than workers overall. To address this problem, on…

Mark D. Kemple, co-chair of global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP’s Labor & Employment Class and Collective Action Practice and leader of the Southern California Labor & Employment Practice, has been named a 2019 Employment Law Trailblazer by the National Law Journal. The Employment Law Trailblazer award recognizes legal professionals who “make their mark in various aspects of legal work in employment law,” according to the National Law Journal. To read the…