The Massachusetts SJC recently issued a ruling finding that if a medical marijuana user is an individual with a handicap or disability then that individual may assert a claim for handicap discrimination under Massachusetts state law. The court held that an employer must engage in an “interactive process” with a medical marijuana user to determine [...]
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 [...]
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. [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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. [...]