Massachusetts

Massachusetts has issued strict new travel restrictions, including quarantine requirements, unless the person is coming from a “lower-risk state,” has proof of a negative COVID-19 test, or meets certain narrow exemptions. In response to the COVID-19 epidemic, Massachusetts had initially issued “inst

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announced that Phase III of the Massachusetts Reopening Plan will begin on Monday, July 6, 2020 along with an updated order on gatherings. For the City of Boston, Phase III and the gatherings order will take effect on Monday, July 13. Phase III allows additional

On May 14, 2020, the Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML) issued revised draft regulations to accompany the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) law. The draft regulations come approximately one year after the DFML published “final” regulations and contain many s

On May 27, 2020, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston (FRBB) released the legal forms and agreements for eligible borrowers and eligible lenders to participate in the Main Street Lending Program (MSLP). The FRBB also published updated Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) , which include numerous new ques

On May 18, 2020, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announced details of the Baker-Polito administration’s four-phase approach to reopening Massachusetts and released guidelines and requirements for businesses resuming operations. The process will be data-driven and fluid with the expectation that

On May 18, 2020, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker and the Massachusetts Reopening Advisory Board released the Reopening Massachusetts Report (the “Report”), which provides details regarding the state’s four-phase return-to-work plan . The Report provides that manufacturing facilities may reopen

With less than eight months before benefits become available under the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Law (PFML), the Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave (Department) released proposed amendments to regulations previously finalized on July 1, 2019.

The Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) recently issued new guidance for employers, addressing a number of questions related to the effect returning to work will have on employees’ unemployment benefits and employers’ obligations. The guidance addresses topics including the eff

Massachusetts has issued emergency regulations allowing employers to verify an individual’s identity by teleconference to comply with the state Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) law during the current state of emergency caused by the COVID-19 crisis.

On April 9, 2020, the Massachusetts’ Department of Criminal Justice Information Systems (DCJIS) passed an Emergency Regulation to address the social distancing limitations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Any entity requesting criminal offender record information through DCJIS’s iCORI database (CORI) m

In Jinks v. Credico (USA) LLC (March 31, 2020), Judge Kenneth Salinger in the Business Litigation Session of the Massachusetts Superior Court provided guidance on two important wage and hour issues. First, the court concluded that the “right-to-control” test was the appropriate method for determinin

On Thursday, April 9, 2020, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker’s administration announced the partial implementation of unemployment benefits in accordance with the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).

The current circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 crisis have brought paid family and medical leave to the forefront of the national consciousness. While the federal government and other states have created new, immediately effective, paid family and medical leave laws, Massachusetts has remained c

On March 23, 2020, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker issued an Order requiring all nonessential businesses and organizations to close their physical workspaces and facilities to customers, workers and the public. This Order came days after the Massachusetts Department of Public Health reported th

Over the past few years, legislators and government agencies at both the state and federal levels have pushed reforms limiting the use of non-competes and other restrictive covenants by U.S. businesses. Some of those efforts have extended to covenants that restrict a party’s ability to solicit and/o

Restrictive covenant matters rarely make it through the appellate courts. This is true for a number of reasons, including the fact that the time-sensitive nature of restrictive covenant litigation often compels parties to achieve a resolution before their case can work its way through the court syst

State and local governments have increasingly become targets of cybersecurity attacks. This year cybersecurity attacks on Baltimore and Lincoln County, North Carolina reportedly will cost those government entities $18.2 million and as much as $400,000, respectively to recover from the attacks. Last

After an initial delay, payroll and wage withholdings to fund the Massachusetts paid family and medical leave program are set to begin on October 1. The Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (PFMLA) established a fund that will allow employees in the Commonwealth to begin taking paid leave

After announcing an agreement to delay the start of contributions under the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (PFMLA), the legislature passed a bill amending the law that the Governor subsequently signed and enacted on June 13, 2019. As announced, PFMLA contributions will begin on Octo

On June 13, 2019, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed an emergency bill amending the Paid Family Medical Leave (PFML) law. The bill, and subsequent guidance provided by the Massachusetts Department of Paid Family Medical Leave (Department), change three key deadlines under PFML.