On August 10, 2018, Massachusetts adopted a new, far reaching, and, for businesses, controversial law putting significant restrictions on companies’ ability to use Non-Compete Agreements. Polls showed high levels of support for the changes as a ballot question. In a rushed deadline for implementation, unlike the new Massachusetts Family Leave Act starting in 2021 and other […]
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Thoughts and information from a reliable attorney with over 25 years of experience.
Employees’ Requests to Accommodate a Disability – Employer Requirements & Defenses
Employers, supervisors, and HR need a good sense of what the legal tests are and of available defenses to common employee issues. The following will help you avoid some handicap discrimination pitfalls. There are frequent complaints that businesses always need to call an attorney when employment law issues arise. I hope my website blog and […]
Read more...Want to Sell Your Business? Start Early and Consider these Five Steps.
Businesses of course are in business to make profits and when it comes time to sell, owners want the best price possible. I discuss here five typical steps in preparing for a sale and positioning for best valuation. The following concerns small businesses – a closely-held business – not publicly owned. It is best to prepare […]
Read more...Sexual Harassment – Are You a Victim? Beyond #MeToo Part 1
Sexual harassment is a particularly hurtful form of sex or gender discrimination, but what should you do about it and what changes in the law do we need.? It violates the person harassed, usually but not always a woman, often in the most intimate way, and may do lasting emotional harm, including to other relationships. […]
Read more...Massachusetts Sick Leave Law – Does Your Business Need A Check-up?
Massachusetts Sick Leave Law – Does Your Business Need A Check-up? We hope for good health for ourselves and others. Sickness and injury may come to us all, but when employees sicken, your business needs a sick time leave policy. Employers must provide paid sick leave if they have more than 10 employees – full […]
Read more...MA Sick Leave Law Starts Now
We all want good health – for our business and our employees – but sickness happens. The Massachusetts earned sick time law now requires time off, paid or unpaid, as accrued for routine or emergency medical visits and travel time to care for an ill family member or to address domestic violence. The law as in […]
Read more...Gender discrimination masked by “old boy” stereotypes –
While sex sells, now more than ever, sex discrimination also lives on too well according to the EEOC. It received a $ 500,000 jury verdict in a case under Title VII about sex discrimination in promotion policies in which less qualified men were consistently promoted over a very well qualified woman. * Our firm recently […]
Read more...Court Tosses EEOC Expert in Disparate Impact Discrimination Case
When a federal court dismissed a disparate impact discrimination case, the EEOC got egg on its cheeks. A large percentage of the discrimination cases we see involve disparate treatment – good old-fashioned, intentional discrimination. More subtle and with wider impact is discrimination based on disparate impact. Disparate impact discrimination involves employment practices that are unintentional […]
Read more...Associational Discrimination: An Employment Red Flagg
In a recent, precedent setting decision, the Supreme Judicial Court found that the plaintiff, Marc Flagg, had a valid claim of associational discrimination by his employer AliMed, Inc. Associational discrimination is something that occurs when an employer takes a negative action against an employee due to someone that they are associated with in a protected […]
Read more...Did the Windsor Case Striking Down DOMA “Undomicile” Employment Law?
On June 26, 2013, in United States v. Windsor, the Supreme Court invalidated Section 3 of DOMA making unconstitutional that part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act. Marriage is no longer defined as between a man and a woman to the extent determined in Windsor. Section 2 of DOMA, however, still stands, and allows […]
Read more...Legal Brief Cases #3 – Employment Poster Changes
As of August 2013, MCAD released the official employment poster changes (.pdf) concerning the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) laws passed in 2011.
Read more...Legal Brief Cases #2 – Unemployment Benefits Update
On July 1, 2013, new updates to unemployment benefits law went into effect. Employers in Massachusetts now have to give employees two (2) more forms upon letting them go. The first is a pamphlet (.pdf) that explains how someone can apply for unemployment benefits. The second is an insert (.pdf) on where to find career […]
Read more...Legal Brief Cases #1 – Retaliation Costs $75,000
This is our first Brief Case, a new and regular segment, where we will briefly update readers on developments in the legal world. MCAD, et al. v. Plymouth County Sheriff’s Department, et al. 2013 An employee was transferred to the night shift duty after testifying at an MCAD public hearing on behalf of a coworker. […]
Read more...What is Black and White and Shoots for the Blanks?
The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) is one of a number of uniform acts created to standardize the laws, in particular, of commercial transactions. Much of the UCC has been adopted in some form by all 50 states. It helps businesses conduct transactions from money lending/borrowing, to writing contracts and some leases, to the sale of […]
Read more...UCC Updates: What is black and white and read all over?
The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) has been updated a set of as of July 1, 2013, and will impact business transactions across the state! The American Law Institute (ALI) and the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) created the UCC as a set of law to help unify trade standards across the […]
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