By 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.

The 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.

According 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.

A 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.

Under 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.

Employers 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:

The Massachusetts state legislature recently passed an act designed to radically change the use of non-competes in the Commonwealth.

Steffans 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.

Steffans 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.

According 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,

Prior 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. 

The 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. 

Steffans 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.

The Massachusetts Wage Act may be the most employee-friendly statute around.  Employees who succeed with claims under the Wage Act have their damages mandatorily tripled and their attorneys' fees paid. 

The employee in this matter suffered from a rare neurological condition that caused her to suffer from periodic and unpredictable episodes that, occassionally, caused her to be late to work.  She always notified her manager when she was going to be late and provided as much notice as possible.

The employee in this matter brought claims of racial harassment, racial discrimination, and retaliation against her employer, based in Worcester.  The employee is of Puerto Rican descent and felt she was being treated differently than her caucasian counterparts.