Monthly Archives: December 2015

Massachusetts Minimum Wage Increases Effective January 1, 2016

A reminder for Massachusetts employers: effective tomorrow, January 1, 2016, the minimum wage in Massachusetts is increasing from $9.00 to $10.00 per hour.

The minimum rate for tipped service employees is also increasing, from $3.00 to $3.35 per hour. However, employers may only rely on this lesser minimum rate for service employees if they regularly receive more than $20 in tips per month and their average hourly tips plus the minimum service rate equals or exceeds the $10.00 per hour minimum wage.… More

Smoking Gun Evidence or Just a Responsible HR Professional?

Human resources professional play an important role in the workplace by helping front-line managers to understand the discrimination law. Last week, the Massachusetts Appeals Court issued a decision that could be seen as undermining that role, concluding that notes of a telephone call with a human resource consultant might be evidence of pretext. In Wagner v. Baystate Health Inc., the Appeals Court reversed the grant of summary judgment to the employer on Robert Wagner’s claim that Baystate fired him in retaliation for assisting his wife (who was also a Baystate employee) in filing a claim with the MCAD.… More