Paul Peter Nicolai
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...
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Paul Peter Nicolai
- Nov 8
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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...
Paul Peter Nicolai
- Nov 23, 2021
- 1 min
EXTORTION AS RETALIATION
After getting a judgment against its former employee, the employer seized his minivan. Rather than sell it to satisfy the judgment, the...
Paul Peter Nicolai
- Nov 9, 2021
- 3 min
Antitrust in Labor Markets
The Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) filed its first major no-poach case in 2010, against a group of Silicon Valley...
Paul Peter Nicolai
- Oct 5, 2021
- 1 min
Massachusetts Non-Compete Voided
A Company sued a former employee for violation of a non-compete the employee signed. Because the agreement did not expressly state that...
Paul Peter Nicolai
- Aug 3, 2021
- 2 min
Triple Damages Against Employees
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) recently made clear that Chapter 93A applies to employees who misappropriate their...