Massachusetts Employment Law Blog

Workers in New York City gained strong sick leave protection after 2014. The Earned Sick Time Act began on April 1, 2014. The rule stops companies from firing staff for taking sick days. This law covers all workers including exempt roles. Executives, managers, and professionals get the same 40-hour yearly leave option. Paid and Unpaid…

ISS (International Shareholder Services Inc.) has released its 2014 U.S. Policy updates, with a modification to the executive compensation section, changing the methodology of how they calculate the Relative Degree of Alignment (RDA). International Shareholder Services Inc. updated how it calculates the Relative Degree of Alignment (RDA). RDA measures CEO pay and performance against peer…

Philip Gordon recently appeared on Boston radio to discuss discrimination against female and Latino workers at the MBTA. Gordon Law Group has filed a complaint with the Commission Against Discrimination, claiming that there exists a systemic bias against women and Latinos employed by the MBTA, leading to the very real possibility of the case achieving…

A court ruling suggests there will be little tolerance if an employer in any way retaliates against an employee filing a lawsuit. The court confirmed that employees may not be fired for filing a lawsuit – even if the firing takes place three years later and with no direct evidence of retaliation. In Travers v.…

Great news for delivery workers who should be classified as employees and not independent contractors. In a swift decision last week, the Massachusetts Superior Court enforced the Independent Contractor law and decided that it was not preempted by the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (FAAA) of 1994. In Okeke v. Dynamex Operations East, Inc., the…

Philip has been recognized as one of the Top 100 Super Lawyers in New England and one of the Top 100 Super Lawyers in Massachusetts, across all practice areas for 2013. He has been named to the list of Massachusetts Super Lawyers every year since 2004. (View Listing). Super Lawyers is a directory featuring top…

Payroll cards are seemingly ever-growing in popularity. They act just like a debit card and give you quick and easy access to your money. The employee doesn’t need a bank account, and the employer doesn’t have to pay check-cashing fees. The employer gives you a card, dumps the wages in your account, and everyone carries…

Contractors working on public works projects must pay their workers prevailing wages, even when the Department of Labor fails to set a prevailing wage rate for a particular job. In George et al v. National Water Main Cleaning Company et al, the contractor hired “catch basin cleaning” employees to clean state and city sewers. The…

Once limited to two or three years of recovery for unpaid wages under Massachusetts law, employees can now look back up to six years. This week, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled that employees could recover unpaid wages using common law breach of contract and other causes of action. Important? Absolutely. Under common law, employers may…

If you are paid by the hour, be wary of your company’s policies regarding working through breaks, lunches, and after your shift – especially when lunch deductions are automatic. Working more hours than you are paid for could be a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In Manning v. Boston Med. Ctr. Corp.,…