From Lexology, Melissa McDonagh and Kevin Burke report on the recently passed (but not yet signed into law) Massachusetts bill that restricts non-compete agreements and that the restrictions apply to agreements with independent contractors also. Melissa and Kevin write: New Minimum Requirements for Noncompetition Agreements in Massachusetts As noted above, the Act specifically curtails…
From MassLive, Shira Schoenberg reports that Massachusetts Supreme Court Justices encouraged the legislature to clarify the state’s independent contractor laws. Shira writes: several of the justices urged the Legislature to update the state’s independent contractor law to alleviate confusion. Chief Justice Ralph Gants, joined by two other justices in a concurring opinion, said the state laws…
From Framingham Source, Susan Petroni reports tha Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healy joined in a brief to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that supports an interpretation of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) that would say that intentional misclassification of workers as independent contractors to preven them from organizing is a violation of hte NLRA. …
This is a Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court case from 2013 but it came up in a conversation I was having this week. This report of the case comes from Foley Hoag and Christopher Feudo and Michael Rosen discuss the case in which individuals working in New York for a Massachusetts company signed an agreement saying that Massachusetts law…
From JDSupra, Mark Tabakman reports on a settlement between Harvard University and therapists and acupuncturists who alleged that they were misclassified as independent contractors. Mark writes: [Harvard University] has just recently agreed to revise its university-wide worker classification system as part of a settlement of a class action involving allegations of misclassification. The case is entitled Donahue…
From The Boston Globe, Katie Johnston reports on the Appeals Court decision that newspaper delivery drivers were employees and not independent contractors. Katie writes: Delivery drivers for the Patriot Ledger newspaper are employees of GateHouse Media, not independent contractors, the state Appeals Court ruled Tuesday, a decision that could affect other GateHouse drivers but likely won’t have a…
From MassLive.com, Shira Schoenberg reports that the Massachusetts Appeals Court found that a newspaper carrier was an employee and not an independent contractor. Shira writes: A Massachusetts Appeals Court has ruled that newspaper carriers for a major Massachusetts media company must be classified as employees, not independent contractors. The case has larger implications for the…
From MassLive, Shira Schoenberg reports that the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is considering a case in which a newspaper deliverer was classified as an independent contractor and was injured. Shira writes: If a newspaper delivery person gets hurt on the job, should she be eligible for workers compensation? The answer depends on whether she is an…
From the Gloucester Times, Mary Markos reports that judge found a taxi driver to be an employee and not an independent contractors. The judge’s conclusion is different from the decision by the Supreme Judicial Court when it considered whether Boston taxi drivers challenged their classification as an independent contractor. See These Taxi Drivers Are Not Employees Says Massachusetts…
From the National Law Review, Robert Sheridan reviews the developments in 2016 in employment law in Massachusetts including a court decision that said that the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (“FAAAA”) preempts Massachusetts’ stringent independent contractor statute. Robert writes: A Federal Law Preempts, in Part, Enforcement of Massachusetts’ Independent Contractor Statute Against Motor…