Massachusetts Employment Law Blog

All hours worked are important hours, and no employer shall fail to pay employees the minimum wage. But, what happens when an employer decides not to pay employees for certain working hours? Some courts have found that so long as an employee received at least the minimum wage, averaged out over all hours worked in…

Employers and their powerful lobbyists sought limits on how often employee can access their own employment files, and they got what they asked for – with a bit of good news for employees, too. A new law says that employees may no longer request access to their personnel records more than two times per calendar…

Seeking to put an end to the landmark discrimination verdict, Novartis and the plaintiffs representing the 5,600 women who worked there from 2002 until 2007 agreed to settle the case for $152 million, with an additional promise to spend $22.5 million over three years to improve its policies. The fairness hearing is set for November…

Massachusetts employees working for a Massachusetts company receive the benefit of the Massachusetts Wage Act even if they work at the company’s facility in Connecticut. The Federal District Court focused on language in the Wage Act that refers to any “employer” in the Commonwealth, not to any “employee” in the Commonwealth. Given that the employee…

President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act today, and part of the legislation protects mothers. The legislation amended federal law to require that nursing mothers be provided with “reasonable break time” to express breast milk “each time” its needed, for up to one year after birth. Employers must also provide working mothers…

In a landmark class action verdict against Novartis, a New York jury awarded $250 million in punitive damages for sexual discrimination on behalf of 5,600 women who worked for Novartis from 2002 to 2007, along with $3.3 million in compensatory damages for the 12 women who brought the complaint. The case is the largest gender…

Recently, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that loan underwriters are not exempt from overtime. The judges said these workers follow strict employer guidelines. Because of that, they qualify as employees who can earn overtime pay. Why the Administrative Exemption Failed For years, many banks labeled underwriters as “administrative staff.”…

Non-competition agreements became common when companies wanted to protect goodwill, trade secrets, and confidential data. Still, many firms apply these contracts too broadly. Because of this, workers face limits that reach far past the original business purpose. A System That Creates Fear, Not Fair Competition Right now, non-competes stay legally enforceable in many states, including…

Some companies classify workers as independent contractors even when the job looks like standard employee work. When firms do this, workers lose wages and benefits that belong to real employees. Now, the rules are clearer and far more protective. Importantly, courts confirm that a worker who should have earned overtime deserves full overtime pay after…

The Supreme Judicial Court ruled that employers cannot deny an earned vacation payout after termination. The court struck down the vacation policy of the Electronic Data Systems Corporation. The decision made it clear: When vacation is earned, it must be paid out. The ruling confirmed this in the case filed by the Massachusetts Attorney General.…