Tag Archives: Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court

Key Takeaways:

• The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts (SJC) ruled that employees whose claims for untimely payment of overtime arise solely under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) are not entitled to the more generous damages allowed by the Massachusetts Wage Act—including treble damages.
• Per the SJC, the FLSA’s comprehensive remedial scheme for recovery of damages for federal overtime violations precludes an employee from alternatively pursuing remedies under the Wage Act for the untimely payment of overtime wages due solely under the FLSA.…

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Key Takeaways:

• The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts (SJC) has held that employers failing to make payment of earned wages within the time required by the Massachusetts Wage Act are liable for damages equal to three times the amount of the late payment.
• Massachusetts employers are subject to treble damages immediately, even before the employee makes a demand or files a complaint.
• Massachusetts employers should implement measures to ensure that earned wages are paid in a timely manner consistent with the Wage Act to avoid treble damages.…

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Key Takeaways:

• The three-pronged “ABC test” for independent contractor status set forth in the Massachusetts independent contractor statute may apply to franchisors-franchisee relationships in Massachusetts.
• Where a franchisee is an “individual performing any service” for a franchisor, the franchisee is presumptively an employee, unless the franchisor can rebut the presumption by establishing each prong of the ABC test.
• Businesses that engage individuals as independent contractor franchisees must be able to satisfy the ABC test to avoid potential liability for employee misclassification.…

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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

In a landmark decision, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) ruled on Monday that an employee who is fired for testing positive for marijuana due to her lawful off-duty use of medical marijuana can pursue a claim of handicap discrimination against her former employer. With the ruling, Massachusetts has become the first state to afford such job protections to workers who lawfully use medical marijuana. Moreover, the ruling essentially precludes Massachusetts employers from adopting blanket drug-free workplace policies.… More