Steffans Legal pursues three new claims under the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Act.
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An analysis of whether there are any First Amendment or anti-retaliation protections for employees regarding their social media posts on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
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The COVID-19 outbreak has changed many employment-related rules, including those that relate to what types of questions an employer may ask their employee or prospective employee regarding potential exposure to COVID-19.
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The US Department of Labor issued guidance to employees on the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act and Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act both part of the recently passed Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).
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Massachusetts employees may be entitled to paid or unpaid medical leave or sick leave due to COVID-19 related quarantine, suspected illness or diagnosed illness, caring for a sick family member, or caring for a child at home due to COVID-19 related closures.
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This week the federal government passed two laws providing important protections to employees during the COVID-19 outbreaks: the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act and the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act.
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Our Junior Associate, Flo, was caught possibly abusing medical leave. We walk you through Steffans Legal’s subsequent workplace investigation and decision making as to whether or not we could discipline or terminate her employment for the alleged abuse of medical leave.
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Yesterday, Flo came to our management team requesting a workplace accommodation for a recently diagnosed illness she is suffering from. Let’s walk through whether she is covered under any employment laws and if so what we should consider when deciding whether we can accommodate her request.
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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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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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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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