An employee who is a veteran or is a member of a department of war veterans is permitted to take time off to observe Veterans Day. Additionally, veterans or members of a department of war veterans are also permitted to take time off to participate in a Memorial Day exercise, parade or service in the [...]
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires employers to pay employees overtime unless they meet a listed exemption. Several of the exemptions require that the employee be paid a minimum salary amount and also meet a duties test. Recently the government published regulations increasing the salary requirement to the following exemptions: The administrative, executive or [...]
Massachusetts has a very strict independent contractor statute which makes it very difficult for businesses to hire independent contractors. There are a number of reasons why the Massachusetts legislators enacted this law including the following: Misclassification hurts the individual employee by denying them protections provided to other individuals classified as employees including workers compensation, company [...]
The Massachusetts Attorney General has recently issued compliance guidance to help employers prepare for the effective date of the Act to Establish Pay Equity, which amends the Massachusetts Equal Pay Act ("MEPA"), and which goes into effect on July 1, 2018. A copy of the 30-page guidance can be found by clicking here. MEPA generally [...]
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 [...]
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. [...]
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 [...]