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 [...]
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. [...]
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 [...]
Many new young companies seek to compensate their employees with ownership interest in the company. This can be a great thing for both the company and the employer. Giving employees an incentive to help the company grow is a win-win for everyone. But what happens when a company wants to compensate an employee only in [...]
Many hourly employees feel a loyalty to their employer to do a good job and in some cases, employees are afraid or instructed not to clock all of their hours. If you are an hourly employee you are entitled to be paid for all of your time worked. This includes: working through a lunch break; [...]
The rules around the timeliness and money to be included in final checks are quite clear, and employers in Massachusetts are only allowed to reduce your final pay check in very limited situations. When you leave a job, you are entitled to be paid for all the hours you have worked and you are entitled [...]
BETTER SEEK LEGAL COUNSEL QUICKLY BEFORE YOU MISS YOUR WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently held that individuals who are misclassified as independent contractors instead of employees can recover damages for up to three years of their misclassification. In most cases the statute of limitations will not be tolled, meaning, it will [...]
Five important facts about getting paid You are owed all of your earned wages in a timely fashion. Your employer cannot require you to defer your wages or agree to be paid at a later date if the company is in financial trouble. If you leave your job you are entitled to be paid for [...]