Philip Gordon was quoted in an article published in Lawyers Weekly concerning a Supreme Court case that will decide whether wait staff are entitled to tips under a practice that collected charges from patrons as a "service charge." (view article)
Category: Blog
01
Jan2021
Happy New Year everyone! Great news for employees. Massachusetts minimum wage increased to $13.5o on January 1, 2021, and the minimum wage for tipped employees increased to $5.55, as long as those tipped employees earn more than $20 per month in tips.
For those following the minimum wage increases in Massachusetts, ... Read More
January 1, 2021Philip Gordon
15
Feb2020
In an effort to avoid their obligations under the Massachusetts Wage Act (“Wage Act”), many employers now condition the payment of commission on continued employment. Sometimes those same employers the fire employees to avoid the commissions because the employee was not working when the commission came due. This may no ... Read More
February 15, 2020Philip Gordon
20
Jan2020
On October 1, 2018, the Non-Competition Agreement Act went into effect in Massachusetts. While this new law provided employers and employees specific guidance with respect to noncompetition agreements, it did not apply to other restrictive agreements, including non-solicitation agreements, nondisclosure or confidentiality agreements, or invention assignment agreements. Additionally, it did ... Read More
January 20, 2020Philip Gordon
05
Dec2019
Many families in Massachusetts use au pairs to care for their children. The United States Department of State ("DOS") administers this “Au Pair Program,” whereby foreign nationals obtain a special type of visa and are placed with host families in the United States, so that the foreign nationals may provide ... Read More
December 5, 2019Philip Gordon
10
May2019
Are inside salespersons who are paid 100% commission, entitled to overtime pay and Sunday Pay. In short, yes.
On May 8, 2019, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) issued guidance for all employees in Massachusetts who are inside salespersons and receive payment on a 100% commission basis. In Sullivan v. Sleepy’s. ... Read More
May 10, 2019Philip Gordon
14
Apr2019
On April 12, 2019, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) issued a ruling that clarified many outstanding questions in class action practice in Massachusetts. In Gammella v. P.F. Chang's China Bistro, Inc., 482 Mass. 1 (2019), the SJC provided guidance on: (1) the standard for class certification under the Massachusetts ... Read More
April 14, 2019Philip Gordon
15
Feb2019
Employers work hard to make sure employees can’t hire their own lawyers. One way to do that is to make sure employee-side lawyers cannot get paid, and that typically means fighting the court award of attorney’s fees.
An interesting question arose recently. Is an employee who settles a case under the ... Read More
February 15, 2019Philip Gordon
01
Oct2018
On October 1, 2018, the Non- Competition Agreement Act went into effect in Massachusetts. This law applies to all noncompetition agreements (“agreements”) entered into by employers and employees or independent contractors in Massachusetts on or after October 1, 2018. This new law does not apply to non-solicitation agreements, nondisclosure or ... Read More
October 1, 2018Philip Gordon
08
Sep2018
It has been long thought that union members would still have the protections of the Massachusetts Wage Act. That our laws set a floor below which unions and employers could not dip below. While some trial court judges have dismissed those protections, allowing unions and their employers to negotiate away ... Read More
September 8, 2018Philip Gordon
13
Feb2018
Every single attorney general just signed a letter to congress demanding the end of mandatory arbitration agreements. See letter to Congress.
While the letter is limited to sexual harassment claims, this is a stunning development and signals a strong shift.
As the Attorneys General noted:
"While there may ... Read More
February 13, 2018Philip Gordon
05
Jan2018
The DOL has made it easier for employers to avoid paying interns by abandoning their six-part test for distinguishing between interns and employees. The updated fact sheet was released today. You may view it here.
January 5, 2018Philip Gordon
06
Dec2017
A bipartisan group of lawmakers is supporting legislation that would eliminate forced arbitration clauses in employment agreements. (View Press Release)
This bill is in its infancy, and currently bans only arbitration of sexual harassment. We have no doubt that much more work will be done on this, and we ... Read More
December 6, 2017Philip Gordon
25
Nov2017
In its latest ruling under the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL), New York’s highest court clarified the standard for plaintiffs to obtain punitive damages. In a landmark ruling, the Court held that “the standard for determining punitive damages under the NYCHRL is whether the wrongdoer has engaged ... Read More
November 25, 2017Philip Gordon
18
Oct2017
No surprise. Corporate sexual harassment trainings simply don’t work. A study form the University of Oregon found that, “Without a morally compelling legal core to animate the purpose of the training and provide coherence to the rules, harassment training becomes a hollow exercise in corporate compliance. The ... Read More
October 18, 2017Philip Gordon
02
Oct2017
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in three cases that may fundamentally shift the workplace, by ruling whether or not employees wronged by their employer can band together and sue on a class action basis.
There is a deep divide among courts over mandatory arbitration clauses, especially in the ... Read More
October 2, 2017Philip Gordon
18
Sep2017
Eight individuals, including two current professors, have filed complaints against Dr. Florian Jaeger, who is now taking the semester off. Senior Lindsay Wrobel is among those who have complained about Dr. Florian, and she intends to continue on a hunger strike until the university removes Florian. “My individual ... Read More
September 18, 2017Philip Gordon
05
Aug2017
After a long battle, pregnant worker protection finally passes. Discrimination law has always protected pregnant workers, but that duty to accommodate pregnancy was narrow, leaving workers without ability to get breaks, to temporarily avoid hazardous positions or to get help with manual labor. Employers may still deny accommodations ... Read More
August 5, 2017Philip Gordon