Massachusetts Employment Law Blog

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) includes a provision that prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who file complaints against the employer with a government agency. For years, court across the country, including the Federal Appeals Courts remained split about whether this protection extended to employees who made complaints to their private employer, as it…

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is taking a stance to protect transgender workers from employment discrimination.  Though there is currently no federal statute expressly prohibiting this type of discrimination, the EEOC has chosen to pursue these matters under the sex discrimination clause of Title VII. One recently decided case involved a transgender employee working for a…

The National Committee on Pay Equality named Tuesday, April 14, 2015 Equal Pay Day in an effort to call attention to the inequitable pay gaps that still exist between female and male workers. Each year the organization selects a day to commemorate individuals who are making strides towards pay equality and influence business owners to examine…

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently handed New York’s Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) a huge blow, when it issued a determination against the agency totaling more than $246 million. Details of the Case On behalf of a group of African American and Hispanic Administrative Managers, the Communications Workers of America filed a charge…

When most people hear the word internship, they think of an unpaid employment opportunity that offers a chance to learn the ropes of a job. In recent court cases, that general perception has been challenged as interns ban together and fight for various types of compensation. One such case involved the media group Gawker. What…

“Former Professor Suing University Granted Tenure at Tufts,” The Crimson (April 3, 2015) (View Article)

A $188 million judgment for damages has Wal-Mart officials asking the United Supreme Court to step in. The dispute started with a Pennsylvania class action lawsuit, involving approximately 187,000 Wal-Mart employees who worked for the company between the years of 1998 and 2006. The employees alleged that they were forced to skip breaks or otherwise…

The Fourth Circuit reopened the door for a class action suit to proceed against a South Carolina company on allegations of racial discrimination. The suit started with seven black plant employees who brought suit in 2004 on behalf of a proposed class including more than 100 former and current black employees. The plaintiffs alleged that…

The legislative debate continues on the necessity for noncompetition agreements under Massachusetts state law. On the one hand, noncompetition agreements severely limit workers from changing companies, often requiring individuals to leave the state or work elsewhere altogether. On the other hand, employers complain that they must keep their workers from joining competitors in order to…

Have you ever been told to report fewer hours on your time card than you actually worked?  Employees were given a much need break when the Eleventh Circuit Court recently ruled against an employer that encouraged under-reporting of overtime work.  In the case of Bailey v. Titlemax of Georgia, the facts were presented as follows: The…