In a closely watched decision, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in Miele v. Foundation Medicine, Inc. clarified that the Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act (MNAA) (G.L. c. 149, § 24L) does not apply to non-solicitation covenants

If your company is required to submit a federal EEO-1 report, you have until June 24, 2025 at 11:00 p.m. ET to file it online. The EEOC has already indicated there will be no grace period.

Pay transparency laws have taken the country by storm over the last few years, and 5 additional states (Illinois, Minnesota, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Vermont) have debuted or will debut their own versions in 2025.  These laws aim to close discriminatory-based pay gaps.  This shared goal, however, is one of the only similarities in the now-15 state-specific laws promoting pay transparency.  Among other differences, there are myriad differences among the laws’ employee coverage thresholds, job posting requirements, and remedies, meaning employers must remain hyper-aware of any compliance obligations – some of which may be triggered by merely advertising a remote position that could feasibly be performed in states where the employer does not otherwise have a physical presence.  

Shortly before the Trump Administration started, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued an opinion letter clarifying the “substitution” provision under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) when it intersects with a state or local paid family and medical leave program.

In July 2024, Massachusetts passed into law An Act Relative to Salary Range Transparency (the “Act”). We previously wrote about this Act in its legislation phase here and provided answers to frequently asked questions here.

On September 13, 2024, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (the “SJC”) ruled that the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (the “Act”) does not guarantee the accrual of benefits such as sick leave, vacation leave and length-of-service credit during a period of paid family or medical leave (“PFML”). Instead, the Act mandates only that employees return from leave to the same or equivalent position that they held at the commencement of leave.

Effective November 1, 2023, the Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave (the “Department”) required employers to permit an employee, in the employee’s sole discretion, to supplement or “top off” their Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave (“MA PFML”) benefit with any accrued paid leave (e.g., vacation, sick time, or other available paid time off) (together, “PTO”) so the employee could receive 100% of their regular wages during the MA PFML leave. This required employers whose Private Plans under MA PFML did not permit “topping off” to revise their plans accordingly.  We wrote about it here.

Massachusetts has passed into law An Act Relative to Salary Range Transparency (the “Act”), which means that pay transparency and pay data reporting requirements will soon become official.  In advance of the effective dates in 2025, covered businesses must understand and prepare for  new compliance obligations. 

We previously wrote about this Act in its legislation phase here.  In addition, information regarding other jurisdictions requiring wage transparency, such as California, New York, and Washington, are available in our previous articles here and here.