Policies

When May an Employer Dock an Exempt Employee's Pay for a Disciplinary Measure? (Part 2)
May 1, 2025
An employer’s docking the pay of a salaried, exempt employee may raise questions as to whether the employer is indeed paying the employee on a salary basis as opposed to paying the employee based on the quantity or quality of work performed.
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When May an Employer Dock an Exempt Employee's Pay for Absences? (Part 1)
April 30, 2025
An employer’s docking the pay of a salaried, exempt employee may raise questions as to whether the employer is indeed paying the employee on a salary basis as opposed to paying the employee based on the quantity or quality of work performed.
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Ontario: Failing to Maintain Truck Results in Criminal Negligence Conviction Against Supervisor
July 16, 2024
Can a supervisor be found criminally negligent when he knowingly allows a worker to operate equipment that a worker under his charge suggests is potentially dangerous?
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Department of Labor Develops Artificial Intelligence Principles for the Workplace
July 9, 2024
The Biden Administration, concerned about the fast pace in which AI has been advancing, issued an Executive Order directing the Department of Labor to create a roadmap that advises employers and AI developers with principles.
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Does Your Organization Need a PWFA Policy?
May 20, 2024
Here’s why your Organization doesn’t need a PWFA-specific policy.
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CMS Expert International Guide to Remote Working
May 13, 2024
This guide is indispensable for managers and executives with regional or international HR responsibilities.
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Could Headphones Have Averted a Work-From-Home Tragedy?
February 28, 2024
Recently I was updating an employee handbook and beefed up the work from home policy. I did not think to add, “make sure your spouse is not listening in on your calls with clients about upcoming corporate mergers and acquisitions.”
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Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) Finalizes Parental Leave Guidelines
August 2, 2023
Now that the public comment period has ended, the MCAD has issued the finalized Guidelines, as well as a two-page “Brief Guide” to the law.
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Harvard Fumbled the Bag* – A Lesson for Employers!
November 27, 2022
On November 2nd, a federal judge in Boston barred Harvard University from using its $15 million litigation claims policy to cover legal expenses in connection with its admissions program lawsuit.
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Your Neutral Uniform Policy May Violate the NLRA
September 6, 2022
This case arose in the backdrop of a union organizing campaign, when Tesla employees first wore black cotton shirts at work, with the union’s campaign slogan, “Driving a Fair Future at Tesla” on the front and a larger logo with the slogan and “UAW” on the back.
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Massachusetts: Firing an Employee for Filing a Rebuttal in Their Personnel File Violates Public Policy
December 22, 2021
In Massachusetts, employees have a statutory right to respond in writing to anything negative their employer puts in their personnel file unless the employer agrees to make changes that are satisfactory to the employee.  But is that right limited in any way?
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The EEOC’s Very Broad Approach to National Origin Discrimination and English-Only Policies
March 3, 2021
In my next installment of what has turned out to be a series on the articles written by EEOC staff members for its quarterly Digest of Equal Employment Opportunity Law, I offer you some interesting tidbits from its most recent publication, addressing national origin discrimination under Title VII – a protected characteristic that is surprisingly wide in scope and, as the EEOC notes, often overlaps with race, color, or religious discrimination.
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