Martha Zackin

OFCCP Issues Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Seeking to Update its Sex Discrimination Guidelines

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By Martha J. Zackin

On January 28, 2015, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, seeking to update its sex discrimination guidelines applicable to federal contractors and subcontractors covered by Executive Order 11246.

According to the press release published to announce its proposal, OFCCP’s “sex discrimination guidelines are woefully out of date and don’t reflect established law or the reality of modern workplaces.”  The proposed rule would rescind existing guidance, and align OFCCP’s regulations with those regulations applicable to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Read more →

Martha Zackin

Massachusetts Extends Parental Leave Rights to Employees Regardless of Gender

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By Sasha Thaler

Since 1972, the Massachusetts Maternity Leave Act (M.G.L. c. 149 s. 105D) has provided eight weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave to full-time female employees who meet certain eligibility requirements, on the occasion of the birth and, more recently, the adoption of a child.  One of former Governor Deval Patrick’s last official acts was to sign into law a revision of the MMLA that extends those rights and job protections to men, beginning on April 7, 2015.

The new Parental Leave Law retains many of the key provisions of the MMLA familiar to most Massachusetts employers: Read more →