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Jan 17, 2025 | 
mclane.com | Madeline Lewis |Jessica Oliveri
An employer may seek to reward a long-time or key employee for good work by promising to pay a bonus to the employee upon the employee’s retirement. However, an employer that contemplates putting such an arrangement in place should stop and ask itself one fundamental question: Did it remember 409A?
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Dec 2, 2024 | 
mclane.com | Christopher Walsh |Jessica Oliveri
The COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented changes to the labor market, as workers now seem more and more willing to change jobs on a regular basis. With that level of worker mobility, restrictive covenants in employment agreements are arguably more important than ever before, in order to protect businesses’ legitimate interests in their confidential and proprietary information, trade secrets, intellectual property, and customer relationships.
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Oct 23, 2024 | 
mclane.com | Christopher Walsh |Jessica Oliveri
As we have previously written, on August 20, 2024, a Texas federal district court issued an order setting aside the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) sweeping proposed rule that would ban and render unenforceable most non-compete clauses in employment agreements. The FTC is now appealing that district court order.
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Oct 16, 2024 | 
mclane.com | Madeline Lewis |Jessica Oliveri
Under section 148C of chapter 149 of the Massachusetts General Laws, all employees who work in Massachusetts and who must be absent from work for the reasons described below shall be entitled to earn and use a certain minimum number of hours of sick time.
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Oct 10, 2024 | 
mclane.com | Madeline Lewis |Jessica Oliveri
The highest state court in Massachusetts, the Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”), recently declared that the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (“PFMLA”), General Laws c. 175M, does not require an employer to guarantee the accrual of vacation and sick time during an employee’s PFMLA leave. Among other things, PFMLA gives eligible employees the right to take paid leave to bond with their child during the first year after the child’s birth, adoption, or placement in foster care.
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Oct 7, 2024 | 
mclane.com | Jessica Oliveri |Madeline Lewis
The Massachusetts Appellate Division of the District Court – North District recently issued a decision regarding whether retention bonuses constitute wages under the Massachusetts Wage Act, G.L. c. 149, § 148 (the “Wage Act”). In the matter of Nunez v. Syncsort Incorporated, NO. 23-ADCV-63NO, the court ruled that retention bonuses are not wages under the Wage Act and not subject to strict liability or treble damages under the Wage Act for failure to be timely paid.
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Oct 6, 2024 | 
mclane.com | Christopher Walsh |Jessica Oliveri
Q: I have been reading a lot in the news recently about non-competition agreements, some sort of new federal regulation surrounding them, and court decisions about that regulation. What exactly are non-competition agreements, what is this regulation that I keep hearing about, and can I still include non-competition provisions in employment contracts with my key employees?
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Aug 13, 2024 | 
mclane.com | Madeline Lewis |Jessica Oliveri
New Hampshire has adopted a law that creates a private cause of action for discrimination based on hairstyles related to a person’s ethnicity.
On July 3, 2024, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu signed HB 1169-FN. The law adopts a version of the Model CROWN Act (“Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair”), which has been adopted in some version by 25 other U.S. states. A more detailed description of the Model CROWN Act can be found here.
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Jun 13, 2024 | 
mclane.com | Jessica Oliveri |Patrick Collins
Estate planning is not just about legal documents and financial assets; it’s also about leaving behind your wishes, values, and guidance for your loved ones. While wills and trusts form the backbone of an estate plan, there’s a lesser-known but equally important tool that can significantly impact how your estate is managed: a Letter of Wishes. What Is a Letter of Wishes?
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Mar 20, 2024 | 
mclane.com | Alexandra Cote |Jessica Oliveri
You are on the witness stand in the Probate Court in a will or trust contest, your right hand raised as you get sworn in, readying to testify about a will or trust you prepared decades ago.
