Monthly Archives: December 2021

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Recognizes Wrongful Discharge Claim for Employees Exercising Rebuttal Rights under Personnel Record Statute

On December 17, 2021, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts (SJC) held that an employee has a cause of action against an employer for wrongful discharge where the employer terminates the employee for exercising the right to file a rebuttal to a document in the employee’s personnel record under the Massachusetts Personnel Record Statute. The SJC concluded in Meehan v. Medical Information Technology, Inc. that the employer’s conduct under these circumstances would violate the public policy exception to at-will employment.… More

New York City Announces COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate for Private Employers

On December 6, 2021, New York City announced a vaccine mandate for all private-sector employers that will take effect on December 27, 2021. The mandate, which will require all in-person employees who are in a workplace with other co-workers to be vaccinated, will affect roughly 184,000 private-sector businesses.

The City will release additional guidance, including information on enforcement and reasonable accommodations, on December 15, 2021. While more information is forthcoming,… More

New York Passes Law Requiring Employers to Provide Notice to Employees of Electronic Monitoring

On November 8, 2021, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law a bill requiring employers to provide written notice to and obtain employee acknowledgments from new hires before they may engage in electronic monitoring of their employees. New York joins Connecticut and Delaware as the only states with such a requirement.

The law, which amends the New York Civil Rights Law and becomes effective May 7, 2022,… More