Earlier this month, Massachusetts voters approved a ballot question which requires public and private companies in Massachusetts to provide sick time to their employees. Employers with at least 11 employees will have to provide the opportunity for employees to earn paid sick time, while companies with fewer than 11 employees must provide the chance for … Read more
Here’s the familiar nightmare scenario: The demand letter arrives from the lawyer of a former server claiming wage and hour violations at your restaurant. You can’t remember the server, but she claims to have worked at your place a year ago for all of a month and was allegedly required to do more side work … Read more
Chris Vrountas and Adam Chandler appeared before the New Hampshire Supreme Court last week on behalf of the New Hampshire Restaurant and Lodging Association. The firm filed an amicus curiae brief on behalf of the NHLRA in a case concerning the interpretation of New Hampshire’s statutory “ABC Test” which must be applied when determining who … Read more
The federal court in Connecticut recently granted a restaurant chain summary judgment on a race, sex and retaliation claim because the company had proper documentation, acted quickly, and treated people consistently. As we have said on this page in the past, the best way to manage your employees and to improve your position in defense … Read more
The University Risk Management and Insurance Association (“URMIA”) recently announced the release of its annual scholarly publication, the URMIA Journal. This year, the URMIA Journal contains a piece written by Chris Vrountas and Allison Ayer entitled “Policies, Timing Documentation, and Consistency: Four Tools for Colleges and Universities to Manage Employee Relations and Mitigate the Risks … Read more
The fundamental principal of the workers’ compensation scheme in New Hampshire, as in other states, is that employers must pay certain benefits to the employee, such as medical expenses, lost income, and vocational rehabilitation, in order to enjoy immunity from a lawsuit as a result of injuries sustained on the job. But the rising costs … Read more
On Monday, the United States Supreme Court issued two decisions, both in close 5-4 votes, which make it more difficult for employees to succeed in lawsuits against their employer. University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center v. Nassar In University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center v. Nassar, No. 12-484, slip op. (U.S. June 24, 2013), Nassar, … Read more
The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) recently issued a press release discussing the data concerning workplace discrimination claims filed with that agency during the fiscal year 2012 (which runs October 1 – September 30). According to the EEOC, it received 99,412 private sector workplace discrimination charges during fiscal year 2012, and the agency … Read more
A recent ruling of a Federal Appeals Court has placed pro-union decisions made by the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) in legal limbo. In Canning v. National Labor Relations Board, The United States District Court for the District of Columbia ruled late last week that three “recess” appointments that President Obama made to the NLRB … Read more
Two recent cases out of New Hampshire and Massachusetts highlight the contours of individual liability for discriminatory practices under state and federal law. In brief, while federal anti-discrimination laws do not provide for individual liability for supervisors, decision-makers, and other coworkers, both states’ anti-discrimination laws contain language that may subject employees to individual liability for … Read more