Q.  Are there any Equal Pay Acts that apply specifically to employers in Massachusetts and New Jersey?

A.  On July 1, 2018, an updated equal pay law becomes effective in Massachusetts, referred to as “MEPA” (Massachusetts Equal Pay Act). MEPA covers nearly all Massachusetts employers, irrespective of size, and most employees, including full-time, part-time, seasonal, per-diem, and temporary employees. Employees who telecommute to a primary place of work in Massachusetts also are covered.

Q.  Can my Company use an applicant’s salary history to set their current pay rate?

A.  Not for employees in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (covering California, Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington).  In a case decided the day before Equal Pay Day, the Ninth Circuit…

Many employers require employees and applicants to take personality testing (think Myers-Briggs). Others are seriously considering adding this as a component of their hiring and employee engagement efforts. Companies want to get a sense of an individual’s opinions, attitudes, feelings, motivations, preferences, interests, emotional makeup, and style of interacting with…

Q.  I heard that the U.S. Supreme Court just issued a ruling finding that auto service workers are exempt from overtime pay. My company is not in the automobile industry. Will this opinion apply to us?

A.  The U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion this week in Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Navarro, finding that auto service workers – those employees who interact with customers and sell them services for their vehicles – are exempt from overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). While the decision directly impacts this small category of jobs, the opinion will have a much more far-reaching impact, since the Court rejected long-standing precedent that exemptions must be construed narrowly against the employer.

Q.  If a supervisor makes a comment about an employee’s age, will the company be liable for age discrimination?

A.  While ageist comments are never appropriate in the workplace, an Illinois federal court recently ruled that a single age-related comment was insufficient for an employee to prevail on an age discrimination claim.

When President Trump fired then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson earlier this month, he did it in one of the most public ways possible: on Twitter.  The kicker? He had not told Tillerson, who was traveling in Africa at the time, about the decision in person before tweeting it.  (Although…

For the past several years, folks in the HR space have had to pay special attention to the language in their handbooks and employment policies out of fear of violating rules established by a series of decisions from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Those decisions established a tough standard…

Q. I have employees in Massachusetts.  Do I need to pay for accrued sick leave upon termination?

A.  In a recent opinion, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court followed the lead of most other jurisdictions in finding that sick pay does not constitute wages under the Massachusetts Payment of Wages Law.  Unlike accrued and unused vacation, which is considered to be wages and must be paid at termination, Massachusetts employers are not required by statute to pay out accrued but unused sick pay to employees upon termination of employment.

Q: I received an email from an employee stating that he is sick, but will be working from home.  Should I allow my employee to work remotely while sick?  What are the FLSA implications of allowing an employee to work from home while sick?

A: The practice of working remotely or telecommunicating has become increasingly popular given technological advancements like smart phones, videoconferencing, and instant messaging services.  While telecommuting provides several benefits for employers and employees, it can also create new challenges such as when employees opt to work from home while sick.

Q: I have employees working in Maryland. What do I need to know and do in order to comply with Maryland’s new paid sick leave law?

 A: The Maryland Healthy Working Family Act (the “Act”) went into effect on February 11, 2018. In short, the Act requires employers with 15 or more employees working in Maryland to provide paid sick and “safe” leave for qualified employees. Employees eligible for paid leave are entitled to be paid at the same rate the employee normally earns. Employers with 14 or fewer employees are required to provide unpaid sick and safe leave. All covered employers with employees whose primary work location is in Maryland are required to provide earned leave, regardless of where the employer is located.