I am a small business owner, and I am lucky to have many friends and clients who own their own businesses. I have found that regardless of the backgrounds of these friends and clients, the size of their businesses, or their industries, that a common theme exists: a lack of awareness of potential legal pitfalls that employers can face if they aren’t being proactive. This is not to fault my friends and clients. Heck, I’ve even guided fellow attorneys as to employment matters. Here is a non-exhaustive list of things that should be on your legal...

Crazy times, and our collective health should be at the forefront of everyone’s minds. With that as a given (I hope!), I figured it may be useful to check in on one of my favorite areas of law, employment, to see what employers and employees may expect in the coming weeks with all of this uncertainty around us. BTW, pictured is an actual image of my home office and my coworker, Clover, who likes to roll in dead animal carcasses if given the opportunity. If you are laid off (no expectation of being re-hired) or furloughed (your employer...

The highest state court in Massachusetts (Supreme Judicial Court, or “SJC”) decided this week that an employee who has lawfully used marijuana for medical purposes cannot be subject to any adverse action against her by her employer because of her use of marijuana. This is kind of a big deal, given the number of employers who include marijuana as a no-go in their workplace drug policies. This doesn’t mean blanket protection against getting fired after you’ve been smoking weed or ingesting edibles, though. To understand exactly who this...

The voters in Massachusetts have passed a new law which allows the possession and recreational use of marijuana.  The statute takes effect on December 15, 2016.  With that said, the possession of marijuana will remain illegal under federal law. There are lots of open questions about how the law will be implemented.  Many employers are asking about how to deal with marijuana use in the workplace. For now, employers who do drug testing of employees can breathe a little easier.  The language of the referendum explicitly...

The law of defamation is of growing importance in the area of employment law. Suits brought by employees against employers now account for one third of all defamation actions. For decades, the courts have tried to balance employees’ need for legal redress when employers disparage their reputations, with employers’ need for the free exchange of information. The law is clear on what is required to prove a defamation claim against an employer. In a nutshell, defamation is a false and unflattering statement about an individual that is...

One area of law that has a lot of catching up to do is that of the employee’s rights when the employer terminates her for wholly unfair reasons. Such employer actions are often devastating to the well qualified, hardworking and productive employee who otherwise holds a reasonable expectation that, despite her “at will” status, she would not suffer the trauma and disruption of becoming unemployed for reasons wholly beyond her control. I have found a common misconception in clients that the employer needs a reason, of at least minimal validity,...