For as long as I’ve practiced law, courts across the country, both state and federal, have uniformly held that wage-and-hour laws should be construed broadly to protect employees and that exemptions from those laws should be construed narrowly to protect employees.
Read MoreSteffans Legal is proud to announce that we are currently accepting registrations for our 2nd Annual Employment Law Seminar. This seminar is designed to cover a variety of employment law issues and is a must attend for anyone who has responsibilities regarding human resources or compliance with employment laws.
Read MoreThe Department of Labor is proposing that the minimum salary amount for an employee to be classified as exempt from overtime be increased from $455 per week to $679 per week effective January 2020.
Read MoreSteffans Legal files a statewide class action in Hampden County Superior Court against Pride Stores. In Levy v. Pride Stores LLC et al., we’ve alleged that the employer required its convenience store employees to work off the clock for at least 20 minutes per shift and as a result failed to pay wages to those employees.
Read MoreThe Massachusetts Wage Act (“MWA”) is the Massachusetts law that, among other things, requires employers to pay employees for all hours worked, pay overtime for hours worked over 40 to most employees, and to pay vacation time.
Read MoreThe First Circuit, in the case of Miceli v. JetBlue Airways Corp. et al. recently provided helpful guidance to employers and employees when it comes to one of the most difficult areas of employment law: leaves of absence resulting from mental impairments.
Read MoreOn January 25, 2019, the First Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion limiting enforceability of employment arbitration agreements to the actual parties to the agreement.
Read MoreBy now, most of you have probably read about the bill signed into law by Governor Charlie Baker, colloquially referred to as the Grand Bargain. By any measure, this bill is surely “grand” in that it dramatically changes three important areas of employment law.
Read MoreThe workplace can be a breeding ground for flu-related illnesses. A 2018 survey estimated the cost to employers of the 2017-2018 flu season to be around $9.42 billion. Employees who come to work sick, get others sick. Sick employees are less productive employees. To address this, can an employer require employees to get flu shots? Not surprisingly, the answer is not simple.
Read MoreAccording to a 2016 Society of Human Resources Management report, 7% of employers allow dogs in the workplace. Many of our employer clients have begun to allow their employees to bring dogs to work. We think that’s a pretty good idea for the very same reasons we have two in our workplace.
Read MoreA 2018 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court opinion confirmed that unused sick time is not wages under the Massachusetts Wage Act. As a result, employers do not have to compensate employees for unused sick time at the time of termination.
Read MoreUnder Massachusetts law, it’s quite difficult to properly treat an individual as an independent contractor. Thankfully (if you are an employer) the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) has carved a pro-employer exception into the law that makes it much easier to treat someone as an independent contractor, at least for workers’ compensation purposes.
Read MoreEmployers who have not taken steps to comply with the Equal Pay Act are incurring unnecessary risk. Thankfully, the Massachusetts Attorney General recently released a guidance for employers on how to ensure compliance with this new law. Based on this information Steffans Legal has come up with the following 9 recommendations for employers:
Read MoreThe Massachusetts state legislature recently passed an act designed to radically change the use of non-competes in the Commonwealth.
Read MoreSteffans Legal is proud to announce that we are currently accepting registrations for an employment law seminar. This seminar is designed to cover a wide variety of employment law issues and is a must attend for anyone who has responsibilities regarding human resources or compliance with employment laws.
Read MoreSteffans Legal LLC and Connor & Morneau LLP have filed a class action lawsuit in Springfield on behalf of current and former licensed practical nurses (LPNs) employed by Berkshire Health Systems. The lawsuit claims that Berkshire Health Systems repeatedly violated a variety of Massachusetts and federal wage-and-hour laws in connection with how it paid its LPNs.
Read MoreAccording to the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, the number of complaints of sexual harassment in the workplace are up this year, over last year, by over 2000%. We've seen that increase first-hand as we currently represent three employees in claims of sexual harassment. Believe me when I tell you,
Read MorePrior to July 17, 2017, most employers in Massachusetts assumed that they could terminate an employee who tested positive for marijuana, even if they were licensed to use marijuana for medicinal purposes.
Read MoreThe Massachusetts Equal Pay Act, known as MEPA, is set to go into effect and will apply to employers across Massachusetts, in Pittsfield, Springfield, Worcester, Lowell, Fall River, New Bedford, and the Cape.
Read MoreSteffans Legal has filed suit on behalf of five employees regarding violations of the Massachusetts Tips Act. The case is currently pending in Berkshire County Superior Court and includes allegations of improper tip pooling and unlawful retaliation.
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