By Martha J. Zackin In a much anticipated decision, the United States Supreme Court today held that Abercrombie & Fitch violated the prohibition against religious discrimination, as set forth in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, by refusing to hire a Muslim applicant who wore a headscarf (a hijab) during a job […]
Last November, voters approved a ballot initiative granting earned sick leave to Massachusetts employees. As we wrote in an earlier article, beginning on July 1, 2015, employees working in Massachusetts are entitled to earn up to forty hours of paid sick leave per calendar year. Employers with ten or fewer employees are not required to […]
By Martha J. Zackin Early in March, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission had begun to probe “whether companies are muzzling corporate whistleblowers” through the use of confidentiality agreements that may impede employees from disclosing corporate wrongdoing. As reported, the SEC sent letters to a number of companies asking them […]
By Martha J. Zackin Early this week, the United States Supreme Court issued its much-anticipated decision in Young v. United Parcel Service, Inc., finding that UPS may have engaged in pregnancy discrimination by refusing to accommodate an employee’s pregnancy-related lifting restrictions by transferring her to a light duty position. In so holding, the Supreme Court […]
By Martha J. Zackin As an employment lawyer, I have had the opportunity to review hundreds of confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements. Although there are invariably differences from one agreement to the next, virtually all have at least one thing in common- the inclusion of “employee information” within the description of information to be kept confidential. […]
By Martha J. Zackin Recently, an administrative law judge upheld a finding by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) that Employer Solutions Staffing Group II, LLC (ESSG), a Minnesota-based PEO focused on providing administrative and payroll functions to staffing companies, had violated I-9 regulations by making false attestations on 242 I-9 forms. The ALJ also […]
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 […]
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 […]
By Sasha Thaler 2014 brought a number of legislative changes which will affect Massachusetts employers of all sizes in 2015. Here is a recap of the top 5 changes employers should be prepared for in the New Year.
On July 21, 2014, President Obama issued Executive Order 13672, amending Executive Order 11246, applicable to federal contractors and subcontractors, to add gender identity and sexual orientation to the categories protected by E.O. 11246. On August 19, 2014, the Department of Labor, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, issued a Directive to “clarify that OFCCP […]