Blog
Massachusetts: Are You Prepared for the “Hot Topics” in 2018?
January 26, 2018
Earlier this week, Erica Flores and I teamed up with the Chicopee Chamber of Commerce for a seminar with an HR focus. During the presentation, we discussed new employment laws and issues that we expect to impact Massachusetts employers this year, as well as proposed legislation that should be on your radar.
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ADA - Employee Mental Health - Employer Right
January 26, 2018
Concerns about workplace violence, bullying, and harassment sometimes result in employers facing a difficult choice, which is either to require a mental health fitness for duty examination or wait to see if the concerns about the employee prove to be accurate. No employer has an obligation to retain an employee whose behavior creates a potential risk of harm to the employee or others.
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Legislative Outlook for 2018
January 26, 2018
The pro-business shift, begun in 2017 under the Trump administration, will continue in 2018. Thus, the DOL will undoubtedly set new standards for the payment of overtime and the application of any exemptions, while the Senate looks to force through a new joint employer standard.
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EEO-1 Report Filing on the Horizon
January 26, 2018
EEO-1 reports must be submitted to the Joint Reporting Committee by March 31, 2018. If you recall, the filing period was suspended based upon the EEOC’s efforts to require compensation analysis as part of the EEO-1 report. That has been put on hold pending more comprehensive review.
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Must Employees on Leave Be Left Alone?
January 26, 2018
Issues often arise during the course of an employee’s FMLA absence where the employer needs to contact the employee or may want to request the employee to perform some work. What are the employer’s rights to have such discussions or requests when an employee is on FMLA leave?
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The Employee You Terminated Won’t Return Company Property. Now What?
January 24, 2018
Have you ever terminated someone only to have them hold hostage your company’s property?
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Sexual Harrassment and the New Tax Bill: What You Might Have Missed
January 23, 2018
Despite seemingly exhaustive coverage of both sexual harassment allegations and the Republican tax bill, there was little coverage of a small but important change in the tax laws that may have significant implications for settling sexual harassment claims in the workplace.
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Wisconsin Supreme Court Declares that Non-Solicitation of Employee Provisions are Governed by the Same Wisconsin Statute that Addresses Non-Compete Provisions
January 22, 2018
The Wisconsin Supreme Court issued a landmark decision on Friday in the case of The Manitowoc Company, Inc. v. John Lanning, 2018 WI 6. The case represented the Court’s first opportunity to determine whether a Non-Solicitation of Employee (NSE) provision in a contract between an employer and an employee is governed by the same statute, Wis. Stat. § 103.465, that governs the enforceability of non-compete restrictive covenants.
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Implications of a Government Shutdown for Employers and Educators
January 19, 2018
As the looming threat of a government shutdown becomes more real, we briefly review prior shutdowns and provide guidance on what employers and educators might anticipate.
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DOL Modifies Test for Unpaid Interns
January 19, 2018
Over the past 20 years the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”), state labor departments, and the courts have substantially narrowed the definition of an “intern” for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and its state law counterparts. The rules changed again this week.
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EEOC, NLRB and DOL Shutdown Contingency Plans – The 2018 Edition
January 19, 2018
Here we are again on the brink of another possible federal government shutdown, and employers may be wondering how it may impact them.
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Start Planning Now For The Upcoming H-1B Visa Filing Deadline
January 19, 2018
Employers looking to hire foreign workers in certain professional positions that require an H-1B visa would be wise to begin the process early in 2018.
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