WHAT EMPLOYERS SHOULD DO Make sure your harassment policy is up to date and has been recently communicated to employees. Conduct harassment training for management if you haven’t done so within the past year. We recommend that the training be live and interactive if possible, or computer-based and interactive if live training is not possible. [...]
Many companies hand out sexual harassment policies to employees upon their hire which state the company has a zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment. The policy lists certain prohibited behaviors and encourages individuals to bring complaints of inappropriate behavior to upper management. However, is the company sexual harassment policy worth the paper it is written on? [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Are you docked pay even though you are a salaried employee? You could be entitled to overtime pay! Employees who are exempt under the FLSA are not entitled to overtime. In order to qualify as an exempt employee, the employer must pay you your guaranteed salary every week and cannot deduct your pay except in [...]
State and federal laws currently prohibit discrimination of an employee based on pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions during pregnancy. On March 23, 2010, President Obama expanded protections for nursing mothers, when he signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law. One of the provisions of the Act is an amendment to the [...]
You’ve been searching for a job and finally you get an offer for a great job! You come in on your first day and are given a stack of papers to sign. Included in this stack of papers are tax forms, harassment policy, employee handbook receipt, non compete agreement and a confidentiality agreement. You diligently [...]