By James L. Rudolph, Esq. and Alex Robbins, Law Clerk Medical marijuana users have faced significant backlash in the workplace, as employees testing positive for cannabis have generally been terminated or disciplined under some sort of “zero tolerance” employment policy. Employers and employees have raised numerous questions about these policies, especially given that federal law […]
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By Adam J. Shafran, Esq. Companies in all industries, large and small, should prepare themselves now for upcoming changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), the federal law governing overtime wages. In March of this year, President Obama issued a memorandum to the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) mandating the DOL to update […]
Massachusetts law is clear: both majority and minority shareholders of a closely-held corporation owe each other (as well as to the corporation) a fiduciary duty–a duty of utmost good faith and loyalty. In 1975, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held in the leading case of Donahue v. Rodd Electrotype Co. of New England, Inc., that as […]
OSHA recently enacted a significant change to the requirements for reporting a death on the job and certain serious work place injuries. It is important for Massachusetts employers to be aware of the new requirements, including what must now be reported and the timing of the reports. The full press release is below. Please do […]
By Adam J. Shafran, Esq. The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”) is a federal law that has been appearing in lawsuits brought by employers against their former employees at an ever increasing rate. The CFAA prohibits employees from accessing their employer’s electronic information without authorization, and includes both criminal and civil causes of action. […]
By Robert P. Rudolph, Esq. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 149, Section 152A explicitly outlines Massachusetts law regarding service charges, tips, tip pools and penalties for violation. The protections provided to employees by the statute cannot be waived by private agreement, so it is important for business owners in the hospitality industry to understand the law, […]
By Adam J. Shafran, Esq. Massachusetts, like all other states, follows the employment doctrine known as “employee-at will.” The concept is rather straightforward. On one hand, when an employee is considered an employee-at-will, the employee can choose to leave his or her employment at any time, without advance notice, and without having to give a […]
Covenants not to compete are generally disfavored. To enforce a non-compete, an employer must show that the covenant is necessary to protect a legitimate business interest, reasonably limited in time and space, and consonant with the public interest. This often requires individualized judicial consideration. And the matter is usually first presented to the judge by […]
By Adam J. Shafran, Esq. Bolstered by a wage statute that provides for mandatory triple damages and attorneys’ fees, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts continues to be a hotbed for both individual and class action wage and hour lawsuits. In addition to harsh statutory penalties, recent decisions by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) all but […]
There have been several noteworthy changes to Human Resources laws in Massachusetts in 2010. All employers should be sure they are up-to-date and educated on the recent changes in the laws. The following are highlights of the important changes in Human Resources laws over the last year.
