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Employment Law
Monday, April 29, 2019
One of the most debatable employment law issues in Massachusetts over the past decade or so has been changes to Massachusetts' laws regarding non-competition agreements. Historically, employers loved them and employees (at best) tolerated them. On August 10, 2018, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed new legislation in the form of Massachusetts General Laws chapter 149, § 24K into law. Prior to the changes in the law, to be enforceable a non-competition agreement only needed to be supported by consideration, as non-competition agreements were believed to be necessary to protect an employer's legitimate business interests (such as confidential information or trade secrets). Non-competition agreements needed to be reasonable in scope, in both duration and geographic area. Read more . . .
Wednesday, March 20, 2019
Massachusetts voted to legalize medical marijuana in 2012 and voted to legalize recreational pot in 2016. In November of 2018, the first recreational marijuana store opened in Massachusetts. But what does the legalization of marijuana in the Commonwealth mean in terms of your employment? Basically, just because marijuana is legal, that does not mean you cannot lose your job if you use it. The legislation connecting legalized marijuana and employment law is still evolving, but it is becoming a more and more predominate legal question, both from the employer side and the employee side. Recreational Marijuana As is almost always the case with everything in the law, there are exceptions, but in general, using recreational marijuana can cost an employee his or her job in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Read more . . .
Tuesday, February 19, 2019
One question that comes up quite a lot in the employment law world is whether or not an employee can be fired while they are out on short-term disability or workers comp. In Massachusetts, the answer is that employees can, in fact, lose their job while out on short-term disability or workers comp - in most cases. In most states, such as Massachusetts, employees are not entitled to job-protected workers compensation leave. The same thing is true if an employee is out on short-term disability. Massachusetts is an “employment-at-will” state. Read more . . .
Saturday, September 22, 2018
Massachusetts is a an at-will employment state, meaning that employees can typically be fired at any time for any reason. However, there are several important exceptions to this general rule which are important for employees who have been let go (or are in fear of being terminated from their employment) to know about. First, there are certain protected activities under the Common Law that an employee cannot be fired because he or she engaged in said activity. These activities including: (1) asserting a legal right (such as taking vacation time or filing a workers' compensation action), (2) fulfilling a legal duty (such as attending jury duty), (3) reporting criminal wrongdoing, (4) refusing to commit illegal acts (such as embezzling or committing perjury), and (5) cooperating in a criminal investigation of the employer or the employee's superiors. Generally speaking, if an employee is engaged in these protected activities the employer cannot terminate him or her for doing so. Read more . . .
Thursday, November 9, 2017
One of the most important elements of the discovery process for any type of litigation are the depositions. Some lawsuits or claims do not require any deposition notices; others require depositions in the double digits. One common misconception is that only parties to a lawsuit can be deposed. In fact, any witness, whether a party or not, with any relevant information to the case can probably be deposed. So, if you are a third-party deponent, do you need to contact a lawyer? Read more . . .
Friday, October 20, 2017
Most people have experience with non-competition agreements, whether they love them (generally employers) or hate them (generally employees). In 2016, both the Massachusetts House of Representatives and the Massachusetts Senate passed different versions of non-compete reform bills. Unfortunately, by the end of the legislative session, they were unable to come to reach an agreement on non-compete reform. In early 2017, a new non-compete bill was filed which grew out of earlier versions of legislation introduced in Massachusetts. This bill, if passed, would make significant changes to non-competition law in Massachusetts. Read more . . .
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
"Growing older is a precious commodity. Only a few can endure to achieve that distinguished distinction and quality." - Debasish Mridha There are several types of discrimination that are prohibited by the laws enforced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, including discrimination due to disability, national original, pregnancy, race, religion, and sex. Read more . . .
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