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Home > State Law Articles > Massachusetts

Articles About Massachusetts Labor and Employment Law.

Federal Court Potentially Loosens Rules for Arbitrating Wage Claims in Massachusetts

December 13, 2013 | Littler Filed Under: Wage & Hour (MA)

Littler

In a recent decision, Judge Young of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts held that an arbitration agreement does not need to specifically reference the Massachusetts Payment of Wages Law in order for claims under that statute to be subject to arbitration. Specifically, the district court held that any such requirement would be preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA).

LinkedIn Notification Not Competition, Mass Court Holds

November 21, 2013 | Jackson Lewis Filed Under: Restrictive Covenants (MA)

Jackson Lewis

The use of LinkedIn to notify professional contacts of a change in employment did not constitute competition. according to a recent Massachusetts ruling. In KNF&T v. Muller, No. 13-3676-BLS1 (October 24, 2013), the Massachusetts Superior Court denied a request for a preliminary injunction where an employer alleged that a former employee violated her non-competition agreement by, among other actions, using her LinkedIn profile to notify contacts of her new position. In denying the injunction, the court shed further light on the definition of competition and solicitation in the era of social media.

First Circuit Defines “Solicitation” Broadly

September 26, 2013 | Jackson Lewis Filed Under: Restrictive Covenants (MA)

Jackson Lewis

The First Circuit Court of Appeals issued its most significant decision to date on non-solicitation provisions in restrictive covenants by upholding a preliminary injunction in Corporate Technologies, Inc. v. Harnett, No. 13-1706 (August 23, 2013). The court affirmed a decision from the District of Massachusetts granting a preliminary injunction to an employer whose former employee used a targeted email blast to announce his new position with a competing company. In upholding the injunction, the court took a much broader view of the meaning of “solicitation” than that argued by the defendant employee and shed light on the “hazy” line separating “actively soliciting” business from “merely accepting” it.

Massachusetts Wage Act Does Not Preempt Common Law Wage Claims

August 14, 2013 | Littler Filed Under: Wage & Hour (MA)

Littler

On August 12, 2013, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) ruled that the state Wage Act does not preempt common law claims for unpaid wages. Employers may therefore be liable to employees for unpaid wages for up to six years, under breach of contract or similar theories.

Massachusetts Nursing Union Seeks Mandatory Nurse-to-Patio Ratios Through Ballot Initiative Healthcare Employment Counsel

August 9, 2013 | Littler Filed Under: General (MA)

Littler

Nearly 10 years ago, California became the first – and so far only – state to pass a law mandating hospitals assign a certain number of patients to each nurse. As we reported in May, a growing number of legislatures in other states have or are currently considering nurse-to-patient ratio legislation. In addition, a handful of federal bills have been introduced in both the House and Senate that similarly seek to implement nurse-to-patient staffing plans and would provide whistleblower protections for nurses who refuse to accept an assignment if they believe that doing so would violate the requirements of the law or that they lack the qualifications or experience necessary to perform an assignment. Such proposals include the Registered Nurse Safe Staffing Act of 2013 (H.R. 1821); Nurse Staffing Standards for Patient Safety and Quality Care Act of 2013 (H.R. 1907); and the National Nursing Shortage Reform and Patient Advocacy Act (S. 739). Another federal bill, the Nurse and Health Care Worker Protection Act of 2013 (H.R. 2480), would direct the Department of Labor to issue an occupational safety and health standard “to reduce injuries to patients, nurses, and all other health care workers by establishing a safe patient handling, mobility, and injury prevention standard.”

Massachusetts Repeals Portions of State Health Care Reform Law

August 7, 2013 | Jackson Lewis Filed Under: Human Resources (MA)

Jackson Lewis

Massachusetts has repealed both the Fair Share Contribution (FSC) provisions and the employee Health Insurance Responsibility Disclosure (HIRD) form collection requirement that were part of the Commonwealth’s 2006 health care reform efforts. The repeal was included in the state’s 2014 fiscal year budget bill, and is effective as of July 1, 2013, despite the delayed implementation of the employer mandate provisions of the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) until January 2015.

Class Action Waivers in Arbitration Agreements in Massachusetts

July 16, 2013 | Littler Filed Under: General (MA)

Littler

A flurry of new decisions from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) and the U.S. Supreme Court have approved the use of class action waivers in arbitration agreements. These decisions affirm that employers in Massachusetts can dramatically reduce their exposure to employment law class actions by adopting arbitration agreements that contain class action waivers.

Two Recent Decisions Expand Scope of Massachusetts Wage Act

June 27, 2013 | Littler Filed Under: Wage & Hour (MA)

Littler

Two recent appellate decisions in Massachusetts further expand the reach of the state’s Payment of Wages Law (“Wage Act”), which imposes significant penalties for violations, including mandatory treble damages and attorneys’ fees.

Massachusetts Independent Contractor Law May Apply to Workers Outside Massachusetts

June 17, 2013 | Littler Filed Under: Human Resources (MA)

Littler

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently held that the Massachusetts Independent Contractor Law may apply to individuals who perform services outside of Massachusetts for a Massachusetts company. The decision, Taylor v. Eastern Connection Operating, Inc., significantly expands the potential reach of Massachusetts wage and hour laws.

Recent Decisions Provide Guidance on Drafting Noncompetition Agreements under Massachusetts Law

June 13, 2013 | Littler Filed Under: Restrictive Covenants (MA)

Littler

Your Vice President of Sales announces that she is leaving to work for your biggest competitor. She signed a noncompetition agreement when she joined the company five years ago as a junior sales associate. Can you get an injunction preventing her from competing with your company? In Massachusetts, the answer may depend on the applicability of the “material change doctrine.”

Massachusetts High Court Rules that Discretionary Payments Do Not Extinguish Wage Claims

March 12, 2013 | Littler Filed Under: Wage & Hour (MA)

Littler

On March 4, 2013, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court resolved a dispute regarding the effect of after-the-fact gratuitous payments on wages due under state law. In Dixon v. City of Malden, the court held that gratuitous, after-the-fact payments by the City did not extinguish the City’s obligation to pay an employee for the value of his accrued, unused vacation time.

New Massachusetts Law Requires Staffing Firms to Give Written Notice Regarding Jobs to Temporary Workers

January 18, 2013 | Jackson Lewis Filed Under: General (MA)

Jackson Lewis

Effective January 31, 2013, temporary staffing agencies in Massachusetts must provide temporary employees with written notice of certain information before the employees can go to a new assignment for work. The new law also prohibits staffing agencies from charging temporary employees for certain items and services related to employment.

Massachusetts High Court Permits Employees to Release Wage Claims

January 4, 2013 | Littler Filed Under: Wage & Hour (MA)

Littler

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (the “SJC”) recently answered two important questions that have vexed lower courts, and employers, in recent years. First, the SJC concluded that employees may release claims under the Massachusetts Payment of Wages Law, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 149, § 148 (the “Wage Act”), provided that the release is “stated in clear and unmistakable terms” and specifically refers to the Wage Act. Second, the SJC held that, although plaintiffs may pursue claims for overtime under the Wage Act, which has a longer statute of limitations than the state overtime law, a plaintiff only may recover the straight-time value of such claims, not the premium rate provided for by the overtime law.

Massachusetts Continues to Target Independent Contractor Misclassification

December 21, 2012 | Jackson Lewis Filed Under: Human Resources (MA)

Jackson Lewis

Massachusetts has one of the most employee-friendly independent contractor laws in the country. The Massachusetts law creates a heavy presumption of employee status and makes it very difficult to establish independent contractor status. Many Massachusetts employers have struggled with its application, a task made more difficult by the state’s aggressive enforcement. Recently, the Massachusetts Joint Enforcement Task Force on the Underground Economy and Employee Misclassification announced “the commissioning of a research study to show the current depth and scope of employee misclassification and the underground economy in Massachusetts.” The study is expected to be completed in 2013 and may be a harbinger of more onerous enforcement yet to come.

Massachusetts Law Nixes Coffee House Shift Supervisors Sharing in Tips, First Circuit Rules

December 10, 2012 | Jackson Lewis Filed Under: Wage & Hour (MA)

Jackson Lewis

Affirming a $14 million judgment against Starbucks Corporation for violation of Massachusetts’ unique tip law, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has ruled that the employer’s shift supervisors could not participate with baristas in tip pools based on tips left in the ubiquitous counter-top jars. Matamoros v. Starbucks Corp., 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 23185 (1st Cir. Nov. 9, 2012). The Court found the law’s definition of “wait staff employee” expressly limits participation to individuals who have “no managerial responsibility.” Although the parties did not dispute that shift supervisors perform much of the same service work performed by baristas, because they also direct the baristas’ work, they were out of the tip pool.

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