Employment Law News & Articles
Masks at Work
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend wearing face masks or face coverings when social distancing cannot be practiced. Everyone should wear a face covering if they are around other people with whom...
Parental Leave in the Age of COVID-19
Being a parent can lead to significant stress independent of job considerations, let alone the greater implications of the coronavirus pandemic. With job security at an all-time low, you may be wondering if your job will even be waiting for you when you return from...
Returning to Work: Retaliation for Complaining About Unsafe Working Conditions
If you are required to return to work during the COVID-19 era despite unsafe or unhealthy working conditions, you have a right to file a whistleblower complaint under Section 11(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act). If your employer takes any...
Returning to Work: Reasonable Accommodations
As businesses begin to reopen in Massachusetts, some employees are returning to physical workplaces. Yet many employees may have underlying conditions that could put them at increased risk of severe illness if they contract COVID-19. Accordingly, certain employees may...
Sexual Harassment in the Remote Workplace
The coronavirus pandemic has led to a fundamental shift in the American workplace. With the Bureau of Labor Statistics reporting a 14.7% unemployment rate, more Americans are unemployed now than at any time since the Great Depression. With the exception of essential...
Rights of Employees Diagnosed With COVID-19
If you have been diagnosed with COVID-19, it is important to understand your rights as an employee, from your ability to take protected and paid leave, to actions your employer can take for safety purposes that may seem like an invasion of your personal space or...
Families First Coronavirus Response Act: What You Need to Know
What is the FMLA? The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was passed in 1993. It is a federal law that guarantees employees unpaid leave for medical or family reasons, including their own illness, to take care of an ill family member, or to tend to a newborn (or newly...
Q&A: What Employers Can and Can’t Do in Response to COVID-19
The global coronavirus pandemic has caused unprecedented changes in the workplace. Whether you’re a worker on the frontlines of this crisis, or working from the safety of your home office, it’s important to be aware of what your employer can and cannot do in response...
5 Rights of Furloughed Employees
Your company has put you on furlough, a fancy word meaning “mandated leave without pay.” Many people in Massachusetts are in this position as a result of the COVID-19 emergency because non-essential businesses are closed and not all work can be done remotely. What...
COVID-19 Layoff Separation Agreements – Three Things to Consider
If you are one of the nearly 17 million people who filed for unemployment insurance benefits since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States, you know firsthand the impact of the mass layoffs. Some of those laid off received severance offers from their employers as...