Immigration has been a central focus of the new presidential administration since taking office and is expected to remain a top priority. Workplace raids soared during the early years of the Trump administration’s first term, they have signaled that aggressive enforcement actions like workplace raids will factor into their immigration plans going forward. Consequently, employers
McLane Middleton Blogs
Blog Authors
Latest from McLane Middleton
SCOTUS Rules on Standard of Proof in FLSA Exemption Cases
The United States Supreme Court just issued a unanimous decision settling a dispute in the lower courts about what standard of proof applies in cases where an employee’s exemption from the FLSA’s minimum wage and overtime rules is at issue.…
U.S. District Court Vacates DOL’s Rule Increasing Salary Levels for Exempt Employees
On Friday, November 15, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas vacated the federal Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) final rule (“Final Rule”) raising the minimum salary thresholds for the Fair Labor Standard Act’s (“FLSA”) white collar overtime exemptions. Although it is a decision of a trial level court, and therefore subject…
2025 Massachusetts Paid Family & Medical Leave Rate Increases
By Andrea Hellrigel, Law Clerk
The Massachusetts Department of Family & Medical Leave (DFML) has announced the rates for the Massachusetts Paid Family & Medical Leave (PFML) program for 2025, which will take effect on January 1, 2025.
For employers with 25 or more employees, the overall maximum PFML contribution for 2025 will remain unchanged…
FTC Appeals the Texas Federal Court Order that Invalidated the FTC’s Non-Compete Rule
As we have previously written, on August 20, 2024, a Texas federal district court issued an order setting aside the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) sweeping proposed rule that would ban and render unenforceable most non-compete clauses in employment agreements. The FTC is now appealing that district court order. Specifically, on October 18, 2024, the FTC…
Massachusetts Implements New Law that Expands Covered Sick Time to Include Pregnancy Loss and Failed Adoption, Assisted Reproduction and Surrogacy
Massachusetts Governor, Maura Healey, recently signed into law a new statute under broader legislation titled “An Act promoting access to midwifery care and out-of-hospital birth options” that entitles Massachusetts employees to earned sick time if the employee suffers a pregnancy loss or experiences a failed adoption, assisted reproduction, such as in vitro fertilization, or surrogacy.…
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Finds that the Paid Family and Medical Leave Act Does Not Require an Employer Guarantee the Accrual of Vacation and Sick Time While the Employee is on Leave
The highest state court in Massachusetts, the Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”), recently declared that the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (“PFMLA”), General Laws c. 175M, does not require an employer to guarantee the accrual of vacation and sick time during an employee’s PFMLA leave. Among other things, PFMLA gives eligible employees the right…
Court Rules Retention Bonuses Are Not Wages Under Massachusetts Wage Act
The Massachusetts Appellate Division of the District Court – North District recently issued a decision regarding whether retention bonuses constitute wages under the Massachusetts Wage Act, G.L. c. 149, § 148 (the “Wage Act”). In the matter of Nunez v. Syncsort Incorporated, NO. 23-ADCV-63NO, the court ruled that retention bonuses are not wages under the…
IRS Releases Guidance on Disaster Relief Under Qualified Plans and IRAs
The IRS recently issued a new fact sheet to answer certain FAQs about the rules in SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (the “Act”) that give special rights under certain qualified retirement plans and IRAs to individuals impacted by major disasters that occur or occurred on or after January 26, 2021. The Act was enacted in…
MASSACHUSETTS ISSUES NEW WORKERS’ COMPENSATION NOTICE THAT MUST BE POSTED BY SEPTEMBER 16
The Massachusetts Department of Industrial Accidents recently announced that it has revised the workers’ compensation Notice to Employees poster and has established new notice requirements.…