On July 1, 2018 the Massachusetts Equal Pay Act (“MEPA”) went into effect, which combats gender-based pay disparities within Massachusetts. The goal of MEPA is to ensure fairness and equity in the workplace while clarifying what constitutes unlawful wage discrimination. With its more liberal application and multiple damages, employers must become aware of the implications…
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RIW employment attorney Dave Robinson quoted in Boston Globe article on Massachusetts’ new pay equity law: Full article.
POSTED IN: Articles & Quotes, Employment Law
If your company has more than five employees with health insurance from Masshealth or Connect Care, you should be aware of new assessments levied by the state. Last week, many employers received a new bill from the Department of Unemployment Assistance (“DUA”), which implemented the first assessments under the supplemental employer medical assistance contribution program (“EMAC”)….
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In a landmark decision published on Monday, July 17, 2017, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) ruled that medical marijuana use may constitute a reasonable accommodation, overturning an employer’s termination of an employee for failing a drug test due to her use of medicinal marijuana. This is the first state court to require employers to…
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On May 21, 2016, the US Department of Labor (DOL) issued new overtime regulations that increased the salary threshold for certain exempt employees, increasing it from $455 per week (or $23,660 per year) to $913 per week (or $47,476 per year). These changes were to be effective on December 1, 2016. However, on November 22,…
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In August, Governor Charlie Baker signed the comprehensive pay equity bill into law which was unanimously passed by both the Massachusetts House and Senate (the “Equal Pay Act”). The new law amends Massachusetts’ equal pay law, which was originally passed in 1945. The bill is designed to better define comparable work and to ensure that…
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Substance abuse negatively affects employers through lost productivity, absenteeism, low morale, higher turnover, increased accidents and increased health costs. The Working Partners Report, a study sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, and the SBA, and Office of National Drug Policy Control, estimates that 38 percent to 50 percent of all workers compensation claims are related to substance…
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Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released its final regulations related to the FLSA’s “white collar” exemptions, which apply to executive, administrative, and professional employees. Here are the key points on what has been changed: Salary Threshold Has Increased To $913/week In order for an employee to qualify for a white collar exemption, his…
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On June 30, 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor announced its proposed revised regulations related to the Fair Labor Standard Act’s “white collar” exemptions, which apply to executive, administrative, professional, outside sales and computer employees. The publication date of the final regulations remains uncertain, but a growing consensus is that they are likely to be…
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As of October 1, 2015, a liability shift has occurred between credit card companies and retailers/restaurants with regard to EMV chip cards. EMV, which stands for Europay, MasterCard and Visa, is a global standard for cards equipped with chips and the reader technology used to authenticate chip card purchases. In the wake of widely publicized…
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