The virus that upended just about everything early last year is unfortunately still with us and probably nothing will really go back to ‘normal’ until the current vaccine roll out is near complete. It’s not just Massachusetts, of course. The virus has seriously...
Mitigating Litigation Risk For Businesses Reopening In The Near Future
As employees return to work, businesses are faced with an altered work environment, one of social distancing, reduced contact, and greater health risks. There is no dearth of potential litigation risks after the pandemic, and smart business managers are quickly...
Who Needs a Criminal Background Check in Massachusetts?
If you have applied for a job in Massachusetts, don’t be surprised if you are told that your application will be subject to a criminal background check. In fact, job applicants are by far the most likely to be subjected to a criminal background check in this state....
Precautions That Should be Taken on Videoconferencing – Legal Issues for Your Business in Massachusetts
Many businesses have been regularly using videoconferencing since the start of the Covid-9 pandemic. It gets around the necessity to socially distance and can have other advantages, too. It is cheaper to run a videoconference than a full blown face to face event and...
All You Need To Know About Emergency Paid Sick Time In Massachusetts
If you feel sick or believe that you may have been exposed to the Coronavirus, it is important that you stay home and avoid exposing others as well. But for this to happen, you’ll need cooperation from your employers, so you can miss work to look after yourself and...
How Do Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Settlements Work?
Workers' compensation provides payments, as needed, for lost wages, and lifetime medical care for a work-related injury or illness. But, you and your employer or its workers' compensation insurance provider can agree to permanently close your claim in exchange for one...
The COVID-19 State of Emergency and Its Legal Implications for Citizens of Massachusetts
The COVID-19 virus is affecting every facet of society. Though the long-term legal implications are still unclear, this article explores some of the legal issues that residents of Massachusetts are currently grappling with due to the COVID-19 state of emergency and...
Workplace Covid-19 Safety Measures And Termination of Employment in Massachusetts
Like many states across the nation, Massachusetts is entering a transition period in its response to the Covid-19 pandemic that has been ravaging the U.S. as it has in almost every other part of the world. For the last two months only essential businesses and...
How Disgruntled Employees Can Affect a Small Business in Massachusetts
Employment is a hallmark of adulthood. In fact, over 3.3 billion adults around the world are employed. That's almost half of the global population. Since employment is so important for our livelihood, we should enjoy it. Unfortunately, this is not the case for many of...
Privacy Rights in the Workplace in Massachusetts
Fundamentally, employees forfeit certain privacy rights in exchange for the opportunity to be employed and to earn pay. Though some think that this arrangement is unconstitutional, there is very little support for this belief in the Constitution itself. The reality...
Massachusetts Law Restrictions on Non-Compete Agreements
A non-compete agreement – also known as a restrictive covenant – is a practice of employers asking their new and existing employees to agree not to start a competing business or work for the employer’s competitor for a specific period of time after termination of...
Discrimination (gender) in Massachusetts
Across the county, women earn on average 79 cents for every dollar that men earn in comparable positions. Massachusetts is not much better, where statewide women earn only 83 cents for every dollar men earn in comparable positions. What's worse, across the top 25...
Paid Family and Medical Leave in Massachusetts
Over the past few years, numerous states have passed laws providing for paid family and medical leave. Because the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides for only unpaid leave, states like Massachusetts are stepping up to provide paid leave benefits that...
The 10 Most Common Wage and Hour Issues for Employees in Massachusetts
Wage and hour issues in Massachusetts are governed by the rules and regulations set forth by state law and the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The FLSA governs employment issues related to minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and youth employment for...
Disability Discrimination Claims Under Federal and Massachusetts Laws
On behalf of Law Offices of Richard Mucci posted in Employment Law on Wednesday, December 14, 2016.The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) generally prohibits employment discrimination against qualified individuals on the basis of disability. A qualified individual...
District of Massachusetts Transfers Employees’ Case to District of Maryland Despite Wage Act Claims
On behalf of Law Offices of Richard Mucci posted in Employment Law on Monday, November 21, 2016.Both state and federal wage and hour laws protect employees' rights to receive payment of the wages due to them in a timely manner. In some cases, the court must determine...
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Upholds FMLA Retaliation Verdict
On behalf of Law Offices of Richard Mucci posted in Employment Law on Friday, September 16, 2016.Eligible employees may take unpaid leave for up to twelve weeks during a twelve-month period for "a serious health condition" that prevents the employee from performing...
Massachusetts Employee Prevails in Retroactive For-Cause Termination Case
On behalf of Law Offices of Richard Mucci posted in Employment Law on Wednesday, August 24, 2016. The termination of an employee is always complicated, but it is even more complex when the employee has a high level position and an employment contract. When the...
Massachusetts Employment Retaliation Claims Can Mean Treble Damages
On behalf of Law Offices of Richard Mucci posted in Employment Law on Tuesday, June 7, 2016.Employee claims, whether based on allegations of wage and hour laws or discrimination, can sour a workplace. Nevertheless, retaliation against an employee who has made a...
Damages for Retaliation under the Massachusetts Wage Act
On behalf of Law Offices of Richard Mucci posted in Employment Law on Thursday, March 31, 2016.The Massachusetts Wage Act protects employees' right to receive timely payment of their wages. The law requires that employers generally must pay employees weekly or...