On New Year’s Day, eligible Massachusetts workers will be able to begin receiving paid family and medical leave from the Department of Family and Medical Leave. Here’s what employers need to know now…
Who is eligible for benefits?
Effective December 26, 2020, Massachusetts businesses will see additional restrictions on occupancy capacity and gathering sizes. These new measures, which were announced by Governor Charlie Baker, are intended to prevent a post-Christmas surge of COVID-19 infections. Massachusetts saw significant increases in infections, hospitalizations, and deaths related to the pandemic following the Thanksgiving holiday, when many people failed to heed recommendations to avoid large gatherings. The Governor hopes that these new restrictions will avoid a further spike in COVID-19 numbers following Christmas.
Continue Reading Massachusetts Governor Imposes Additional Restrictions, Seeking To Avoid Post-Christmas Surge
Effective Friday, November 6, 2020, Massachusetts residents will be required to wear a mask or cloth face coverings at all times when in any public place, with limited exceptions. This new directive expands upon a prior mask mandate issued by Governor Charlie Baker in May. Under the earlier order, residents were instructed to wear face coverings in public when it was not possible to maintain six feet of social distancing. The new order removes the distance qualification, and essentially requires people to keep their masks on at all times. “We’re basically saying if you go out in public, wear a mask,” the Governor said during a press conference announcing the new order. Governor Baker imposed the harsher rule in light of rising COVID-19 infection and hospitalization rates in Massachusetts this fall.
Continue Reading Massachusetts Governor Issues Stronger Mask Mandate
This school year is going to be different – very different. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, school districts in the region are still developing their plans which include elements of both remote learning and some in-person learning with restrictions regarding mask-wearing, hygiene, and social distancing. With parents making up about one-third of the workforce nationally, employers and employees are facing a lot of new challenges as students prepare to resume school.
Continue Reading How Can Employers Support Working Parents This School Year?
As states begin to reopen their economies following months of shutdowns related to the COVID-19 pandemic, many employers are wrestling with challenging questions about how to bring their employees back in a safe and responsible manner.
New guidance from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) provides some insight about what employers can and cannot do in connection with bringing certain vulnerable employees back to the workplace.Continue Reading EEOC Offers Guidance for Accommodating Older Workers and Pregnant Employees in Return to Work Following Pandemic-Related Closures
Last week, Massachusetts Governor, Charlie Baker announced a four-phase reopening strategy for the Commonwealth. Each of the four phases (called “Start,” “Cautious,” “Vigilant,” and “New Normal”) will see gradual reopening of additional industries with lessening restrictions as warranted by data on testing, new cases, and deaths attributable to COVID-19.
Continue Reading Massachusetts Announces Plans for First Phase of Reopening
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey released her fourth annual Labor Day Report this week. As in past years, the report summarizes the AGO’s Fair Labor Division’s enforcement activities over the past year, and provides insight into the office’s priorities and initiatives in the enforcement of the Commonwealth’s wage and hour laws.Continue Reading Mass. AG’s Labor Day Report Gives Insight Into Wage and Hour Enforcement Priorities
A collective sigh of relief could be heard across the Commonwealth yesterday as anxious business owners, insurers, and employment lawyers heard the news that Massachusetts government leaders had agreed to a three-month delay of the implementation of the first-in-the-nation Paid Family and Medical Leave law.
With a July 1 deadline to begin making payroll deductions looming, many questions remained about the law. Are the deductions pre-tax or post-tax? (We still don’t know.) Which employees and independent contractors are covered? (It’s complicated.) Should employers seek an exemption by adopting a private plan? (Maybe?) With the deadline now moved to October 1, legislators and employers have some much-needed breathing room to answer these and other questions about the law.Continue Reading Massachusetts Leaders Agree to Three-Month Delay of Paid Family and Medical Leave Law
As published in NEHRA News (3/21/2019)
The Massachusetts Wage Act provides that an employee who “prevails” in an action to recover unpaid wages “shall … be awarded the costs of the litigation and reasonable attorneys’ fees.” This “fee-shifting” provision is an exception to well-established “American Rule” under which each party bears his or her own attorney’s fees, win or lose. In cases where the employee wins at trial, the application of the Wage Act’s fee-shifting provision is clear: the employee will recover his or her attorney’s fees. But what happens when the case doesn’t go to trial, and instead, the parties resolve the matter through a negotiated settlement in which both sides compromise? Has the employee “prevailed” in that situation? Is he or she entitled to recover attorney’s fees?Continue Reading Do Employees Recover Attorney’s Fees When A Massachusetts Wage Act Case Resolves Through A Settlement?
Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division issued an Opinion Letter in which it stated that an employer may not delay the designation of leave qualifying under the Family and Medical Leave Act, even if the affected employee would prefer not to take FMLA leave, and employers may not designate more than 12 weeks of leave as FMLA leave.
Continue Reading Department Of Labor Says That FMLA Leave Cannot Be Deferred