A big day! In a rare moment of broad bi-partisan support, Congress and the President enacted groundbreaking legislation that will end forced arbitration for workers who are victims of sexual assault and harassment at work.
“Forced arbitration shielded perpetrators and silenced survivors, enabled employers to sweep episodes of sexual assault and ... Read More
Category: Blog
25
Oct2021
Liz Kislik does it again, with a terrific article in Harvard Business Review on flexible work policies: https://hbr.org/2021/10/creating-flex-work-policies-when-everyone-has-different-needs
She works through a set of best practices for creating policies that take into account real employee needs and align them with an employers business interests and brand. It’s a good read ... Read More
October 25, 2021Philip Gordon
08
Oct2021
In an increasingly broad effort to uncover unlawful acts in the workplace, California now prohibits severance agreements that restrict an employee’s right to disclose unlawful acts of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation in the workplace. The “Silenced No More Act” will eliminate secret settlements often used to cover up cases ... Read More
October 8, 2021Philip Gordon
30
Sep2021
New York City Council passes six bills today protecting gig economy workers. The legislation, all expected to be signed by Mayor de Blasio, provide sweeping protections for delivery drivers and hotel workers. The bills include new requirements for minimum pay, bathroom access, distance and route limits, recordkeeping, requirements to provide ... Read More
September 30, 2021Philip Gordon
29
Sep2021
Governor Baker signed an emergency law extending Massachusetts COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick Leave to April 1, 2022. The law also expands the reasons for taking leave to now include taking care of family members who need vaccinations or are recovering from a vaccination.
September 29, 2021Philip Gordon
12
Sep2021
Some welcome news for employees now struggling with “long COVID”: the EEOC has just announced that long COID may be a disability under the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) and Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act: https://www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/for-providers/civil-rights-covid19/guidance-long-covid-disability/index.html
If long COVID substantially limits one or more of your major life activities, you ... Read More
September 12, 2021Philip Gordon
09
Sep2021
Our office gets calls every day from workers with concerns. The short answer is, yes, under most circumstances your employer can require vaccination. Typically, the mandate must be job related and consistent with business necessity. This can include a requirement that an individual “not pose a direct threat to the ... Read More
September 9, 2021Philip Gordon
05
Mar2021
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)
March 5, 2021Philip Gordon
14
Jan2021
The “grand bargain” tucked into the Economic Stimulus package will bring some changes to hourly wage ruled rules, phasing out the holiday premium pay by 2023 and broadening the definition of “wait staff employee” covered by the Wage Act. Under the new laws, employers will no longer be required to ... Read More
January 14, 2021Philip Gordon
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
16
Sep2020
In response to the pandemic, the Federal District Court in Massachusetts just precluded an employer from firing an employee who said he was unable to work in the office due to a disability – he has asthma and is concerned about illness from Covid.
In May 2020, Gabriel Peeple’s employer, Clinical ... Read More
September 16, 2020Philip 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