From the American Staffing Association: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has announced an extension of the flexibilities in rules related to Form I-9 compliance that was granted earlier this year. Due to the continued precautions related to Covid-19, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will extend this policy until Jan. 31, 2021. On March 19, […]
EEOC Sues Firm for Favoring Less-qualified Hispanic Workers
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued a company for favoring less-qualified Hispanic job applicants over all other applicants of a different race or national origin in entry level positions. This violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. FRESNO – Helados La Tapatia, Inc., violated federal law when they failed to hire […]
Massachusetts Department of Paid Family and Medical Leave Releases Proposed Amendments to State’s PFML Law
From JDSupra, Nancy Gunzenhauser Popper, Eduardo Quiroga, and Anastasia Regne discuss proposed changes to Massachusetts’ Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) statute. Nancy, Eduardo and Anastasia write: As we have previously reported, since June 2019, the Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave (the “DFML”) has proposed and adopted several “technical changes” and clarifications to the Massachusetts […]
Internet-Based Retail Employers Must Comply with the Massachusetts Wage Act
From JDSupra, Laura Martin discusses a case in which an internet-based retail entity was required to pay “Sunday Premium Pay” even thought it was not a brick and mortar shop. Laura writes: In Galloway v. SimpliSafe, a putative class action of customer support representatives sued their employer, SimpliSafe, Inc., alleging various Massachusetts Wage Act violations, including failure to […]
Massachusetts Court Provides Guidance on Joint Employer Liability and the Scope of the Outside Salesperson Exemption
From JDSupra, Christopher Kaczmarek and Stephen Melnick discuss a recent case in which the court said that the question of whether a company was a joint employer was determined by the “right to control” test and not the ABC test. Christopher and Stephen write: In Jinks v. Credico (USA) LLC (March 31, 2020), Judge Kenneth Salinger in […]
Completing the I-9 Form in a Coronavirus Work-From-Home Environment
From JDSupra, Diane Butler offers guidance on how to complete an I-9 form remotely. Diane writes: Completing I-9s When the Employer’s Representative Works From Home Employers are developing their communicable disease/illness policies in response to concerns about stemming the spread of the Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).2 Many employers are developing flexible working arrangements, including remote, […]
The Interplay Between the Massachusetts Unemployment Assistance Program, the Massachusetts WorkShare Program, and the Enhanced Unemployment Benefits in the CARES Act
From Lexology, Justin F. Keith , Terence P. McCourt and Amanda L. Carney discuss the relationships among the unemployment assistance, enhanced unemployment benefits under the CARES Act and the Massachusetts WorkShare Program. Justin, Terence and Amanda write: The current COVID-19 public health crisis has brought about significant changes to unemployment benefit programs at the state and federal levels. This […]
Version 10/21/2019 of Form I-9 Required Starting May 1, 2020
From Michael Best, Kelly M. Fortier, José A. Olivieri and Kelly Rourke discuss the requirement that employers use the new I-9 form starting May 1, 2020. Kelly, José and Kelly write: Starting May 1, 2020, employers will be required to use the latest version of Form I-9 (dated 10/21/2019), which United States Citizenship and Immigration […]
COVID-19: Defending Class Actions in Massachusetts in the Wake of COVID-19
From JDSupra, Michael Creta, Brian Forbes, and Robert W. Sparkes, III provide an outstanding guide to defending class action lawsuits in light of the coronavirus crisis. Michael, Brian and Robert write: The novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) has caused severe business disruptions throughout Massachusetts. Many companies doing business in Massachusetts have been forced to indefinitely shut their […]