By Alicia J. Samolis and Christopher M. Wildenhain A Rhode Island federal district court has ruled in an employer’s favor in a recent decision concerning an employee arbitration agreement, an intriguing split from a decision months earlier by a separate session of the court. More specifically, in Britto v. St. Joseph Health Services of Rhode...
Client AlertsEmployment & LaborWhy Your Company Will Be in Violation of the Massachusetts Equal Pay Law on July 1st – And How to Fix It
March 28, 2018
By Alicia J. Samolis and Michael A. Gamboli As described in our prior publications, an Act to Establish Pay Equity in Massachusetts (the “Equal Pay Law”) will go into effect on July 1, 2018. In basic terms, the Equal Pay Law requires Massachusetts employers to pay the same compensation to men and women performing “comparable” work. The Equal Pay...
Client AlertsEmployment & LaborProposed Rhode Island Sick Leave Regulations Fail to Provide Clarity and Will Increase Employer Headaches if Finalized
March 14, 2018
By Alicia J. Samolis and Michael A. Gamboli The Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (DLT) has finally released its proposed regulations, 260-RICR-30-05-5 regarding the Rhode Island Healthy and Safe Families and Workplaces Act (the “Sick Leave Law”). As we alerted you in October, the text of the Sick Leave Law – which will require employers with 18...
By Alicia J. Samolis This article was originally published on March 6 by Law360. A federal judge in the Middle District of Florida has allowed a class action to proceed against Amazon, on allegations that Amazon engaged in unfair pre-employment background check practices. The cases, Hargrett v. Amazon and Austin v. Amazon DEDC LLC (Hargrett)[1], which involve...
#METOO MOVEMENT Perhaps no social awareness story has generated more publicity in recent memory than the #METOO movement. In January, PS&H Employment Lawyer, Michael Gamboli joined Juli Parker, Assistant Dean of Students, Director of the Center for Women, Gender & Sexuality at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth and Andre Silva, a Representative from the Massachusetts...
Client AlertsEmployment & LaborRhode Island Paid Sick Leave Law Lacks Clarity on Several Key Issues
October 5, 2017
By Alicia J. Samolis and Michael A. Gamboli After many revisions, the Rhode Island Healthy and Safe Families and Workplaces Act (the “Sick Leave Law”) was signed into law last week. The basics are as follows: The law will go into effect July 1, 2018. The Rhode Island Department of Labor & Training will likely...
Client AlertsEmployment & LaborMassachusetts Employers Take Notice: Evaluate and Comply Now or Risk Paying More Later
August 22, 2017
By Alicia J. Samolis and Michael A. Gamboli The time has come for Massachusetts’ employers to start preparing for the implementation of the law entitled An Act to Establish Pay Equity (the “Law”) that will go into effect on July 1, 2018. The Law represents a significant change to the scope of legal obligations that...
Client AlertsEmployment & LaborAccommodating Medical Marijuana Users: A National Trend?
August 2, 2017
By Alicia J. Samolis and Michael A. Gamboli Marijuana is a Schedule I drug under the federal Controlled Substances Act, and the use, sale and possession of marijuana remains illegal under federal law. In recent years, however, a majority of states (at last count, 29 states and Washington, D.C.) have passed measures that decriminalize medical...
Client AlertsEmployment & LaborMassachusetts Supreme Court Ruling will Lead to More Disappointments for Employers who Purchase EPLI Policies
June 26, 2017
By Alicia J. Samolis Are you sleeping better knowing that you have purchased Employment Practices Liability Insurance (“EPLI”) to cover your company against employment claims? Well it may be time to wake up. Many employers have received rude awakenings about EPLI insurance in the past. Wage and hour claims are often not covered. Leave law...
Lawyers say a recent Superior Court decision finding an employee’s non-compete agreement not assignable to a purchasing business entity is a cue for practitioners to take a closer look at their clients’ employment contracts. The plaintiff business in the case purchased the assets of a salon and spa in October 2014. When one of its...
