Adam M. Hamel

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Yesterday, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder issued a memo setting out the Obama Administration’s position that Title VII specifically prohibits discrimination based on transgender status or gender identity per se.

In the memo, Attorney General Holder pointed out that questions have arisen in a number of administrative and judicial contexts as to the appropriate legal standard applicable to claims of gender identity discrimination.  While courts have recognized gender identity discrimination claims under a “sex-stereotyping” theory – discrimination based on a perceived failure to conform to particular gender characteristics – there is no consensus among courts as to whether discrimination based on gender identity or transgender status, per se, is illegal.
Continue Reading DOJ Now Interprets Title VII as Prohibiting Discrimination Based on Transgender Status

Photo Credit: Emil . via Flickr (CC by SA 2.0)

By a margin of almost 20%, Massachusetts voters have approved a measure permitting all workers to earn up to 40 hours of sick time each year.  With this vote, Massachusetts has joined a small group of states (including Connecticut and California) and municipalities that allow for earned sick time for workers. Here’s what employers need to know about the new law.
Continue Reading What You Need to Know about the New Massachusetts Earned Sick Time Law

This week, in workplaces across America, millions of employees—up to 50 million of them by some estimates—will be filling in brackets and participating in “March Madness” office pools.  The amount of money wagered in these office pools each year is believed to be as much as $3 billion.  Beyond the losses in productivity associated with…

With its mandatory treble damages, recovery of attorney’s fees and personal liability of corporate principals, the Massachusetts Wage Act is a boon to employees who claim that they are owed wages.  But, with its relatively short, three-year statute-of-limitations, the Wage Act favors the diligent plaintiff.   A decision issued by the SJC yesterday, holding that the…

Fans of Star Trek will no doubt remember the classic episode, “The Trouble with Tribbles.”  Employers facing claims under the 2008 amendments to the Massachusetts Wage Act are facing their own challenges, which could be called “The Trouble with Trebels.”  Under the amendments, the Legislature changed the language of G.L. 149, § 150, to make…

When it comes to payment of wages, the old saying “better late than never” does not apply.  A case recently issued by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court provides an important reminder of the need to pay terminated employees on the date of discharge for all wages owed, including unused accrued vacation time.

The case, Dixon…