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...

Massachusetts has enacted a new sick time law and regulations effective July 1, 2015. The new law, Mass.G.L. c. 149, §148C, allows all employees in Massachusetts to earn sick time. Significantly, the law includes full-time, part-time, temporary and seasonal employees. Regulations further describing the requirements of the new law have been issued by the Massachusetts Attorney General. 940 CMR 33.00 et seq. If an employer has 11 or more employees, the sick time must be paid. For employers with 10 or fewer employees, the sick time may be...

A FRIENDLY PSA REGARDING VIDEO/AUDIO RECORDINGS It seems as though every other day the media is inundated with coverage of a new instance of a civilian exposing police misconduct via recording taken by the civilian. In most instances, the officers under scrutiny appear to be unaware that their acts are being recorded. I bet you didn’t know that, in Massachusetts, that civilian could be prosecuted for a crime for simply making that recording. Massachusetts has a law that prohibits the secret recording of another’s oral communications without...