On August 14, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit issued a decision—Marcus v. American Contract Bridge League—clarifying and applying the standards for determining whether an employee qualifies for the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) administrative exemption, and thus whether the employee is entitled to overtime payments under the FLSA.
On April 14, 2022, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) ruled that when an employee pursues and succeeds on a claim for the failure to pay overtime wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the employee may not recover treble damages and other remedies under the Massachusetts Wage Act for the failure to pay those wages.
On January 13, 2022, in Waters v. Day & Zimmermann NPS, Inc., the First Circuit Court of Appeals became the third federal appellate court to address the application of the Supreme Court of the United States’ decision in Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of California to Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) collective actions. Unlike the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, however, the First Circuit concluded that a federal court does have personal jurisdiction over claims asserted by nonresident opt-in plaintiffs. The First Circuit’s decision thus creates a split among federal appeals courts and raises the prospect that the Supreme Court will ultimately have to resolve the issue.
On December 17, 2021, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) ruled that an employee discharged for submitting a written rebuttal to his employer in response to the placement of negative information in his personnel file can state a claim against the employer for wrongful termination in violation of public policy.
On June 10, 2021, the First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of a plaintiff’s lawsuit alleging, among other things, failure to pay wages under the Massachusetts Wage Act. In Rose v. RTN Federal Credit Union, the First Circuit held that the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA) preempted the plaintiff’s wage claims because she was a member of a union and because her employer, RTN Federal Credit Union, had an existing collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the union that governed her wages and overtime pay.
On April 9, 2021, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) ruled that an employee may be liable to his or her employer under the Commonwealth’s unfair and deceptive trade practices statute—which authorizes an award of double or treble damages for willful violations, as well as costs and attorneys’ fees—for actions that the employee engaged in during the course of his or her employment.
Recently, and for the first time in more than 20 years, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled on the transportation worker exemption contained in Section 1 of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). In Waithaka v. Amazon.com, Inc., 966 F.3d 10 (1st Cir. 2020), the court of appeals upheld a district court’s decision not to compel Amazon “AmFlex” delivery drivers (who are independent contractors) to arbitrate their wage claims. The decision is significant for companies that require their delivery drivers to sign arbitration agreements.
As employers reopen their businesses following closures or reductions in operations required during the COVID-19 pandemic, many are grappling with the fraught and complex task of bringing laid-off or furloughed employees back to the workplace. Among the many issues that such employers will need to deal with in onboarding those employees is whether and to what extent they will need to renew their restrictive covenants agreements with employees who had such agreements before the pandemic.
Like many states, Rhode Island has enacted a statute that governs the use of drug tests in the employment context. Under Rhode Island’s drug-testing statute, R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-6.5-1(a)(1), an employer may require an employee to submit to a drug test only if it has “reasonable grounds to believe based on specific aspects of the employee’s job performance and specific contemporaneous documented observations, concerning the employee’s appearance, behavior or speech that the employee may be under the influence of a controlled substance, which may be impairing his or her ability to perform his or her job.” Until recently, no appellate decision had addressed whether an employer had “reasonable grounds” to ask an employee to take a drug test.
The deadlines for notice to employees and contribution withholdings required by the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (PFML) are fast approaching, and employers are encouraged to make sure that they are prepared. Ahead of these important deadlines, the Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML) continues to announce updated guidance on the program.
In Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31, No. 16-1466 (June 27, 2018), the Supreme Court of the United States significantly expanded the rights of nonunion public employees by holding that unions may not collect fees from such employees without their consent.
In Mui v. Massachusetts Port Authority, issued on January 29, 2018, Massachusetts’s highest court decided an issue of first impression in the Commonwealth: whether accrued but unused paid sick time counts as “wages” for purposes of the Massachusetts Wage Act. Under the Wage Act, an employer that fails to pay wages is subject to strict liability, treble damages, and attorneys’ fees in a civil action for violation of the Act, and may also be subject to criminal liability. The plaintiff in Mui argued that the paid sick time he had accrued but hadn’t used at the time that he resigned from his employment with the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) qualified as wages, and thus that he was entitled to treble damages for Massport’s failure to pay him for that unused time when he resigned.
In a decision that could spell trouble for Massachusetts employers, a judge in the Superior Court’s Business Litigation Session recently held that meal breaks count as “compensable working time,” for which employees must be paid, unless the employee is relieved of all work-related duties during the break. In reaching that decision, the court rejected the employer’s argument that the court should apply the more lenient federal standard, under which the compensability of meal breaks depends on whether the break time is spent “predominantly” for the benefit of the employer.
The plaintiff in Esler v. Sylvia-Reardon, Marie Esler, requested four weeks of leave in November of 2008 due to symptoms associated with a blood disorder; her employer, Massachusetts General Hospital, approved the leave. During her leave, and in accordance with her doctor’s instructions that she engage in “pleasurable activities and light exercise to relieve stress,” Esler traveled to New York City to visit friends. While there, her nursing director Mary Sylvia-Reardon, called Esler and informed her that her FMLA paperwork had not been received and that her position was therefore in jeopardy. Esler responded that she was in New York City and likely would not be able to follow up with her physician that day. Sylvia-Reardon expressed surprise that Esler was “in New York City vacationing” while on FMLA leave.
In one of his last acts as governor, former-Governor Deval Patrick signed into law on January 7, 2015 an amendment to the previous Massachusetts Maternity Leave Law that extends eight weeks of unpaid leave to both male and female employees to care for a newborn, newly placed, or newly adopted child. The previous version of the law as written only entitled mothers to leave, but the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination had interpreted the law to apply equally to men and women.
The Massachusetts Independent Contractor statute, Mass. G.L. c. 149, § 148B, establishes a rigorous three-part test for determining whether a worker performing services for an employer may be considered an independent contractor, rather than an employee. The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts recently dismissed facial and as-applied…..
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) has overruled a Superior Court decision holding that a state statute requiring payment of wages preempts common law and equitable causes of action for recovery of unpaid wages. As a result of the decision in Lipsitt v. Plaud, No. SJC 11285 (Aug. 12, 2013),…..
In a case of first impression, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) has approved a worker’s claim under the Commonwealth’s anti-discrimination law, Mass. G.L. c. 151B, that his former employer discriminated against him by terminating his employment based on his wife’s disability. In Flagg v. AliMed, Inc. (No. SJC 11182…..
In a unanimous decision issued on March 19, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the named plaintiff in a proposed class action lawsuit cannot defeat federal jurisdiction under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA or the Act) by filing a pre-certification stipulation that he and the class will seek,…..
