Paul Peter Nicolai
Right to Modify Employee Handbook Voids Arbitration
An employer who puts an arbitration agreement in an employee handbook cannot enforce it if it maintains the right to modify the handbook....
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Paul Peter Nicolai
- Mar 7
- 1 min
Wage Act Damages & Fees
An employer failed to pay $8,952.15 in accrued vacation pay when it discharged an employee. It paid the accrued vacation pay three weeks...
Paul Peter Nicolai
- Jan 24
- 3 min
Mandatory Arbitration Nixed For Cases Involving Sexual Assault or Sexual Harassment
In March 2022, Congress passed a law that precludes employers from requiring employees to arbitrate disputes related to sexual assault or...
Paul Peter Nicolai
- Jan 17
- 2 min
Workplace Drug Policies and State Marijuana Laws
Over the last two decades, over two-thirds of the states have passed laws authorizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes by...
Paul Peter Nicolai
- Nov 15, 2022
- 2 min
Employer’s Secret Computer Search Is Unlawful Retaliation
A federal court of appeals has held that a forensic search of an employee’s work computer could constitute unlawful retaliation for an...
Paul Peter Nicolai
- Nov 8, 2022
- 1 min
Labor Antitrust Developments
Antitrust in labor markets is a hot topic for government, business, and labor. The antitrust enforcement agencies, consistent with...
Paul Peter Nicolai
- Oct 25, 2022
- 11 min
Garden Leave and Non-Compete Reform
In 2018, Massachusetts became the first state to provide for garden leave payments – payments to employees forced to sit out employment...
Paul Peter Nicolai
- Oct 11, 2022
- 1 min
Black Lives Matter Case Lost
Employees disciplined for wearing face masks bearing the phrase “Black Lives Matter” had their claims dismissed. The appeals court...
Paul Peter Nicolai
- Oct 4, 2022
- 1 min
93A Defense Defeated
A former employee sued her former employer for trying to enforce a restrictive covenant preventing her from practicing her profession...
Paul Peter Nicolai
- Sep 6, 2022
- 1 min
Workers’ Comp Double Compensation Expanded
An injured employee was awarded double compensation since the employer intentionally failed to take adequate precautions in the face of a...
Paul Peter Nicolai
- Aug 23, 2022
- 1 min
FLSA v. State Law
A jury awarded damages to a group of employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Massachusetts Wage Act even though there...
Paul Peter Nicolai
- Jul 12, 2022
- 2 min
Forced Arbitration of Workplace Sexual Harassment and Assault Claims Now Illegal
Congress passed, and the President has signed into law a transformative bill that allows employees to avoid enforcement of pre-dispute...
Paul Peter Nicolai
- May 10, 2022
- 1 min
Triple Damages For Delayed Wage Payments Required
An employer waited three weeks before paying a terminated employee for accrued vacation time. The lower court found that since the...
Paul Peter Nicolai
- May 3, 2022
- 1 min
ARBITRATION EXEMPTION
An employee claimed her employer’s policy of not compensating merchandisers for an off-the-clock time deprived them of wages earned. The...
Paul Peter Nicolai
- Mar 8, 2022
- 1 min
MA SUPREME COURT SAYS FIRING OVER PERSONNEL FILE REBUTTAL IS UNLAWFUL
An at-will employee fired when he filed a rebuttal letter for inclusion in his personnel file after being placed on a performance...
Paul Peter Nicolai
- Feb 8, 2022
- 2 min
NY Whistleblower Protections Expanded
NY has an expanded whistleblower protection law that significantly boosts protections for private-sector employees claiming retaliation...
Paul Peter Nicolai
- Feb 1, 2022
- 4 min
COVID Vaccination Sweepstakes
In the current environment and with the US Supreme Court knocking out the OSHA rule, employers are looking for creative ways to...
Paul Peter Nicolai
- Dec 28, 2021
- 1 min
MASS ADOPTS FLSA JOINT EMPLOYER TEST
The Massachusetts Supreme Court has decided that a company that entered into a subcontract for regional direct sales services for its...
Paul Peter Nicolai
- Dec 7, 2021
- 4 min
VACCINATION MANDATE PLANNING
Employers continue to grapple with state and federal legislation on COVID-19 vaccinations. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First...
Paul Peter Nicolai
- Nov 30, 2021
- 11 min
OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard On COVID-19 Vaccination or Testing for Larger Employers
NOTE: The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted an emergency motion to stay enforcement of this Standard, finding...
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