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Update on Salary History Laws: The Ban Expands to Westchester, NY

May 4, 2018 | Blog

Following in the footsteps of neighboring jurisdictions such as New York City, Albany County, and Massachusetts, on April 10, 2018, Westchester County enacted legislation to ban inquiries into a job applicant’s salary history.
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Revenge of the HIRDs—The New Massachusetts Employer Healthcare Coverage Form

May 3, 2018 | Blog

In a series of recent posts (available here and here), we discussed the expanded Massachusetts Employer Medical Assistance Contribution (EMAC) requirements, including the adoption of a new EMAC supplemental contribution.
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New Jersey Legislative Update: Equal Pay and Paid Sick Leave

May 3, 2018 | Blog | By Alexander Song

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy recently signed into law a bill that provides equal pay protections for members of certain protected classes. Governor Murphy also signed into law a bill that requires New Jersey employers to provide paid sick leave to employees.
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California Rewrites the Independent Contractor Test – What Your Business Needs To Do Now to Pass It

May 3, 2018 | Blog | By Jennifer Rubin

This week, the California Supreme Court rejected the old “totality of circumstances” test to determine if a worker was properly classified as an independent contractor in favor of a new “ABC test” under which employers will be required to classify most workers as employees.
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New York Says #MeToo to Stronger Sexual Harassment Protections: A Summary of Action Items for Employers

April 30, 2018 | Blog

In the wake of the #MeToo movement and the nationwide discourse over the prevalence of sexual harassment in the workplace, the state of New York and New York City have taken aggressive steps to implement stronger protections against workplace harassment.
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New Guidance on the Equal Pay Act

April 24, 2018 | Blog | By Paul Huston

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an important decision last week in Rizo v. Yovino, holding that an employer may not use an employee’s prior salary history to justify gender pay disparity under the federal Equal Pay Act. Aileen Rizo was hired as a school teacher in Fresno County in 2009.
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DOJ Targets No-Poach Agreements Among Competitors

April 20, 2018 | Blog | By Dionne Lomax

On April 3, 2018, the Department of Justice Antitrust Division (“DOJ” or “Antitrust Division”) filed an antitrust complaint against Knorr-Bremse AG (“Knorr”) and Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation (“Wabtec”) for agreeing not to “solicit, recruit, hire without prior approval, or otherwise compete for employees” (collectively, “no-poach agreements”).
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An Unusual Decision Regarding Arbitration

April 18, 2018 | Blog | By Natalie C. Groot

As reported by our sister blog, ADR: Advice from the Trenches, the Northern District of Illinois recently issued an unusual decision. After finding that both plaintiffs were bound by arbitration agreements with the defendant and after finding that the plaintiffs’ claims were within the scope of the arbitration clauses, it denied defendant’s motion to compel arbitration.
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Appealing Massachusetts Employer Medical Assistance Contribution (EMAC) Supplement Determinations Based on ConnectorCare Coverage

April 17, 2018 | Blog

The Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) has begun assessing Employer Medical Assistance Contribution (EMAC) supplemental payments for the first quarter.
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Massachusetts Attorney General Issues Guidance on Pay Equity Law

April 11, 2018 | Blog

Back in July 2016, the Massachusetts legislature passed an Act to Establish Pay Equity (Mass. Gen. Laws c. 149 § 105A, referenced herein as the “Law”), which amends the Massachusetts Equal Pay Act (“MEPA”) and serves to bolster gender-based pay inequity protections provided to employees and to generally address gender pay inequality in the Commonwealth.
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Mintz 4th Annual Employment Law Summit – Managing the Increasingly Complex Web of Leave and Accommodation Requirements

April 11, 2018 | Blog

On April 19, my colleague Andrew Bernstein and I will be discussing the increasingly complex web of federal, state, and local leave and accommodation laws that employers must navigate.
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The Bubbler - April 2018

April 11, 2018 | Blog | By Paul Huston

Lots to talk about in the Labor & Employment world!  The Massachusetts Pregnant Workers Fairness Act went into effect on April 1, 2018, imposing stricter non-discrimination rules on employers of pregnant workers.
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Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Invalidates the 2016 Final Department of Labor Fiduciary Rule and Related Prohibited Transaction Exemptions

April 11, 2018 | Blog | By Steve Ganis

What’s a financial advisor to do? On March 15, 2018, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Chamber of Commerce of the U.S. v. U.S. Dep’t. of Labor, No. 17-10238, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 6472 (5th Cir. Mar. 15, 2018) vacated – thereby invalidating – a series of seven rules (which we collectively refer to in this post as the “fiduciary rule”) issued in April 2016.
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Employers Left in the Dark After U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Issue Ruling on Long Term Leave as a Reasonable Accommodation Under the ADA

April 10, 2018 | Blog

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review a decision by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals holding that a multi-month leave of absence is beyond the scope of a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
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Time to Put Down that Smartphone? – Proposed Bill Would Give NYC Employees a Right to Disconnect from Work

April 9, 2018 | Blog | By Alexander Song

Given the ever-increasing reliance on digital technology, employees are more and more tethered to their smartphones – checking email during their commute, at the dinner table, and even from their beds – essentially creating a never-ending work day.  A bill filed by a New York City councilman aims to curtail this trend.
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More on the Protection of Pregnant Workers

April 5, 2018 | Blog | By Natalie C. Groot

In a March 30, 2018 Bloomberg BNA article, Mintz Levin Employment, Labor and Benefits attorney Gauri Punjabi discusses Massachusetts’ new protections for pregnant workers and compares them with the existing federal requirements. This is an important development in Massachusetts, and one that we expect to expand to other jurisdictions.
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U.S. Supreme Court Broadens Construction of FLSA Overtime Exemption

April 5, 2018 | Blog

On Monday of this week, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the Ninth Circuit when it ruled in Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Navarro that auto dealership service advisors are exempt from the FLSA’s overtime requirements.
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MA Pregnant Workers Fairness Act: Part II

April 5, 2018 | Blog | By Emma Follansbee

Now that the Massachusetts Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) went into effect April 1, 2018, it is time for employers to confirm that they are taking steps to ensure compliance with the PWFA.
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Mintz 4th Annual Employment Law Summit – The High Cost of Worker Misclassification

March 28, 2018 | Blog | By David Lagasse

Join us in a discussion on the increasingly complex landscape of employee misclassification as we explore best practices to help your company avoid the costly pitfalls and time consuming litigation that can result from this expensive mistake. An estimated 3.4 million employees are misclassified as independent contractors when they should be reported as employees.
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Mintz 4th Annual Employment Law Summit -- Navigating Unexpected Terrain in Workplace Investigations

March 23, 2018 | Blog

Join me in a discussion on the increasingly nuanced landscape of employee workplace investigations and best practices in managing their effect on corporate brand, attorney-client privilege and obligations to applicable governmental entities. The current wave of public disclosure of workplace misconduct highlights the intersection of legal compliance and employee relations.
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