A Massachusetts superior court justice answers important questions regarding amusement parks, seasonal businesses, and overtime. Providing more guidance on how to determine which days count as operational to qualify for these exemptions.
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In a class action filed in Berkshire County Superior Court we’ve alleged that MetLife, Inc. violated Massachusetts wage and hour laws in five separate respects: (1) failure to pay minimum wage, (2) failure to pay overtime, (3) failure to reimburse business related expenses, (4) unlawful payroll deductions, and (5) failure to reimburse travel expenses.
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Steffans Legal filed a statewide class action in Berkshire County Superior Court against Papa Gino’s, Inc. We’ve brought this claim on behalf of all delivery drivers who worked at a Papa Gino’s location in Massachusetts.
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The sky hasn’t fallen…Massachusetts court rules that new non-compete law does not require garden leave pay or, for that matter, any leave pay.
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On May 1, 2019, a Massachusetts federal court, in the case of DaSilva et al. v. Border Transfer of MA, Inc., made it even more risky and difficult for employers using independent contractors.
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A recent Massachusetts court, in the case of Valle v. Powertech Industrial, injected some helpful guidance as to when salespeople are employees and when they are independent contractors.
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On May 8, 2019, in the case of Sullivan v. Sleepy’s LLC, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court injected some much needed clarity into whether commission-based employees must be paid overtime and premium pay regardless of the amount of their commission.
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On April 12, 2019, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, in Gamella v. P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Inc., resolved lingering doubt as to whether state and federal courts would use the same analysis when determining whether to allow wage claims to proceed on a class action basis.
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The Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as its Massachusetts state law equivalent, prohibit employers from discrimination against individuals with disabilities. Those laws, unlike other anti-discrimination laws, also require employers to provide disabled employees with reasonable accommodations so that they may perform their job duties.
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Steffans Legal filed a nationwide class action in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio against a national chemical manufacturing company alleging that the employer failed to pay wages to their employees for all hours worked.
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For as long as I’ve practiced law, courts across the country, both state and federal, have uniformly held that wage-and-hour laws should be construed broadly to protect employees and that exemptions from those laws should be construed narrowly to protect employees.
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Steffans Legal is proud to announce that we are currently accepting registrations for our 2nd Annual Employment Law Seminar. This seminar is designed to cover a variety of employment law issues and is a must attend for anyone who has responsibilities regarding human resources or compliance with employment laws.
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The Department of Labor is proposing that the minimum salary amount for an employee to be classified as exempt from overtime be increased from $455 per week to $679 per week effective January 2020.
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Steffans Legal files a statewide class action in Hampden County Superior Court against Pride Stores. In Levy v. Pride Stores LLC et al., we’ve alleged that the employer required its convenience store employees to work off the clock for at least 20 minutes per shift and as a result failed to pay wages to those employees.
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The Massachusetts Wage Act (“MWA”) is the Massachusetts law that, among other things, requires employers to pay employees for all hours worked, pay overtime for hours worked over 40 to most employees, and to pay vacation time.
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The First Circuit, in the case of Miceli v. JetBlue Airways Corp. et al. recently provided helpful guidance to employers and employees when it comes to one of the most difficult areas of employment law: leaves of absence resulting from mental impairments.
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On January 25, 2019, the First Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion limiting enforceability of employment arbitration agreements to the actual parties to the agreement.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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