, Author at Greene & Hafer Employment Law

Court finds anti-gay discrimination is a form of sex discrimination prohibited under Title VII

Massachusetts anti-discrimination laws explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. However, most other state laws and the Federal anti-discrimination law do not explicitly provide for protections based on sexual orientation. This may soon change. In a recent Seventh Circuit decision, the Appeals Court held that discriminatory conduct based on one’s sexual orientation is protected under [...]

|Tags: anti-gay discrimination, discrimination in the workplace, employment discrimination, title vii, Wrongful termination|

Massachusetts Minimum Wage Changes

Effective January 1, 2017, the minimum wage in Massachusetts is increasing from $10.00 to $11.00 per hour. The minimum rate for tipped service employees is also increasing, from $3.35 to $3.75 per hour. This “service rate” only applies to workers who provide services to customers and regularly receive more than $20 in tips per month. [...]

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Massachusetts Equal Pay Act / A Law to Prevent Gender Discrimination and Gender Pay Disparity in the Workplace

On August 1, 2016, Massachusetts’ Equal Pay Act was amended in order to ensure that all workers in Massachusetts are:1) paid equally for comparable work performed, and: 2) provided the opportunity to earn competitive salaries in the workplace. This new law imposes strict equal pay obligations on employers and limits the information employers can [...]

|Tags: compensation, employment discrimination, gender discrimination, gender pay discrimination, Massachusetts Equal Pay Act, unfair wage practices, wage claim|

My Employer Fired Me – Can I Still Collect My Commissions?

Under Massachusetts law, employees are entitled to their commission if at the time of the termination, the commission is calculable and all of the requirements to close the sale have been completed. A commission plan that states the employee must be employed when the commission is paid may not be enforceable and cannot be relied [...]

|Tags: compensation, employment attorney, failure to pay, unfair wage practices, wage claim|

Outside Salesperson – Are you entitled to overtime pay?

Many salespeople are paid by commission only and are not paid overtime or any other wages. This is only permitted if the salesperson qualifies under an FLSA exemption. There are several exemptions from the FLSA such as executive, administrative, outside sales person and highly compensated employee in which an employer does not have to comply [...]

|Tags: compensation, employment attorney, employment discrimination, employment law, exempt hourly overtime, failure to pay, independant contractors, overtime pay, unfair wage practices|

Changes to the Overtime Regulations

The Department of Labor released the final rule updating the overtime regulations which revises the salary test for the “white collar” exemptions to the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). Summary of Final Rule Raises the salary threshold for the executive, professional and administrative exemptions from $455 per week to $913 a week ($47,476 for a [...]

|Tags: change in overtime pay massachusetts, compensation, employment attorney, employment discrimination, employment law, failure to pay, independant contractors, overtime pay|

MASSACHUSETTS LAWS CAN APPLY TO OUT OF STATE EMPLOYERS

Out of State Employers are required to adhere to Massachusetts employment laws if employees work and reside in Massachusetts. Out of state employers should therefore be aware of many of the laws specific to Massachusetts including a few noted below: Massachusetts Wage Act – failure to properly pay timely wages including overtime provides for automatic [...]

|Tags: employment attorney, employment discrimination, employment law, family medical leave, independant contractors, sick time law, wage claim|

Is your non-compete enforceable?

Is your non-compete enforceable? Just because have a non-compete it does not mean it is enforceable. Under the current state of the law, Massachusetts permits the use of non-compete agreements. However, public policy favors the right of an employee to move from job to job unencumbered by restrictions. The Courts carefully scrutinize postemployment restraints to [...]

|Tags: employment attorney, employment law, non compete agreement, unfair wage practices|

Wage Law

Under Massachusetts law, employers are obligated to allow workers a 30-minute unpaid meal break after every six hours worked. Employees must be relieved of all duties and allowed to leave the work site during the meal break. An employee who is required to perform work the meal break must be paid for the time worked. [...]

|Tags: compensation, employment attorney, employment law, failure to pay, unfair wage practices, wage claim|

New Year’s Check List

The start of a new year is always a good time to review your company policies and ensure that you are in compliance with workplace regulations and requirements. Heading into 2016 employers and employees should be aware of the following: Minimum wage in Massachusetts increases to $10.00 per hour Employers are required to annually provide [...]

|Tags: employment attorney, employment law, failure to pay, unfair wage practices|

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