Wrongful Termination Law in Massachusetts

July 10, 2009 By

Wrongful termination is a phrase frequently used by employers and employees alike to cover the whole rubric of potential causes of action that an individual could have against the company when he or she is fired.

Wrongful termination means, simply, that there is some kind of legal action that the an employee may take after being let go by an employer.

There are several discrete categories of wrongful termination in Massachusetts. Under the local law, all employees, unless they have a specific contract that they have negotiated with their employer, either in writing or orally, are At-Will employees.  This means they can leave whenever they choose to, or be let go whenever the employer chooses to let them go.  There are a couple of very narrow exceptions to the At-Will rule in Massachusetts that would constitute Wrongful Termination under the States Law. The exceptions are:

  1. A violation of Good Faith and Fair Dealing, meaning an employer, in a typical case, lets an employee go to avoid paying an employee a commission or large sum of compensation that would normally be due.
  2. Another way to violate the At-Will law is if an employer lets someone go in violation of something called the Public Policy Exception. There are very few Public Policy Exceptions. However, if an employee is serving on a jury, testifying in court, or performing some other act that the government wants to protect, the employer can not fire the employee for those actions.
  3. An employer also cannot fire or discharge someone in Massachusetts if they have a contract that provides otherwise. Sometimes employees have an employment contract that says,  for example,  they can only be fired for specific reasons, such as stealing from the employer, insubordination, or committing a crime. Where a company violates those terms, a breach of contract claim can arise in Massachusetts and that would be Wrongful Termination.
  4. The final category for Wrongful Termination involves discrimination cases. In Massachusetts, and under Federal Law, you can not let an employee go or treat them less favorably because of their race, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, handicap status, or genetic disposition.

If any of these factors are in play in your situation when you are let go from work, call me for a consultation.

If you have questions about Massachusetts employment law, consult an qualified Massachusetts employment lawyer before you take action.

Boston employment lawyer, Attorney Jack Merrill provides legal services to employees and employers throughout the Boston metro and Worcester County region including Ashland, Dedham, Framingham, Franklin, Hopkinton, Maynard, Marlborough, Milford, Natick, Needham, Newton, Shrewsbury, Sudbury, Waltham, and Worcester, Massachusetts.

Filed Under: Employee - Employment Law, Massachusetts Employment Law, Uncategorized, Wrongful Termination Tagged With: , , , , ,

Massachusetts Employment Law: How To Let Your Workers Go

June 9, 2009 By

One thing Massachusetts employers must understand is that you are free to do as you see fit with your employees. You can let them go for any reason, at any time, with or without cause. An employer does not need to be concerned about lawsuits as long as they have covered these three basic areas:

  1. Be sure your employees do not have contracts.
  2. Make sure you don’t discriminate against your employees. You need to look at how a worker was treated and whether or not he or she has made prior claims of discrimination. If they have made claimes, be careful,  retaliation is a viable cause for action.
  3. Pay them all wages they have earned and all money owed to them immediately.

For more discussion about “How To Let Your Workers Go“, watch my video:

If you have questions about an employee or any issue regarding Massachusetts employment law, consult an qualified Massachusetts employment lawyer before you take action.

Boston employment lawyer, Attorney Jack Merrill provides legal services to employees and employers throughout the Boston metro and Worcester County region including Ashland, Dedham, Framingham, Franklin, Hopkinton, Maynard, Marlborough, Milford, Natick, Needham, Newton, Shrewsbury, Sudbury, Waltham, and Worcester, Massachusetts.

Filed Under: Employer - Employment Law, Massachusetts Employment Law, Video on Employment Law, Wages and Commissions, Wrongful Termination Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Employers Beware: Pay Wages on Time

May 14, 2009 By

If there’s one thing Massachusetts courts are making clear lately, it’s that employers better pay their employees what they earn, and they’d better do it on time. They are slapping those who don’t with triple damage awards, adding 12 percent interest, and ordering them to pay their employees’ legal fees. When the bill comes due, employers have good reason to question both their own judgment and that of the well-paid lawyers who advised them.

The Massachusetts Wage Act now says that triple damage awards to employees are mandatory. Workers who don’t get what’s owed to them on time also get their lawyer fees paid by the company. Courts are running hard on these points, showing little sympathy for employers, even those who make good faith errors, and interpreting gray areas in favor of employees. Employers need to understand this and get good legal advice before withholding disputed wages.

In a case I recently tried, Countrywide Home Loans was ordered to pay my client more than $130,000 after refusing to give him deferred bonuses and commissions that totaled about $30,000. In another case, a local attorney was ordered to pay $519,000 plus interest after he failed to pay a referral fee to another lawyer. In both of these cases, the law was read expansively to favor the plaintiff. The message to employers is clear: when in doubt, settle wage disputes or just pay what’s due to your employees. And, by the way, make sure the lawyer you rely on is well versed in this area of law.

Massachusetts employment lawyer Attorney Jack Merrill provides legal services to employees, employers and businesses throughout the Boston metro west and Worcester County region including Ashland, Dedham, Framingham, Franklin, Hopkinton, Maynard, Marlborough, Milford, Natick, Needham, Newton, Shrewsbury, Sudbury, Waltham, and Worcester, Massachusetts.

Filed Under: Employee - Employment Law, Employer - Employment Law, Massachusetts Employment Law, Massachusetts Wage Act, Wages and Commissions Tagged With: , , ,

Supreme Court Tackles Reverse Discrimination

April 24, 2009 By

The political bent of the U.S. Supreme Court is once again on display in Washington. This time, the issue is reverse discrimination, a term generally used to challenge the effects that affirmative action may have on white men.

In a case argued April 22, 2009, white and Hispanic firefighters from New Haven, Connecticut are challenging a city decision to ignore promotional exam results. The 2003 test was created to determine who’d be promoted to captain or lieutenant. When no African Americans scored high enough, New Haven officials worried they’d be sued by minorities and so decided to disregard the test. Instead of avoiding trouble, however, New Haven brought it on themselves. Non-minority firefighters who passed the test now claim they worked hard on what they thought was a fair process only to be denied promotion because of their race.

The Supreme Court will decide whether New Haven’s conduct was discriminatory or not. As usual, the supposedly apolitical Court is split along partisan lines. Discrimination laws are not popular among [Read more...]

Filed Under: Affirmative Action, Employee - Employment Law, Employer - Employment Law, Massachusetts Employment Law Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

COBRA Law Benefits Expanded

March 26, 2009 By

It’s commonly known as the “Stimulus Bill,” and is officially called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This is the huge federal bill passed in February at the urging of President Barack Obama. While the overall idea was to stimulate the American economy, included in the bill’s details are unexpected benefits like the one that laid off employees will enjoy under COBRA. As most know, this federal law guarantees continued health care coverage for workers who lose their jobs, regardless of the reason. Under the Stimulus Bill, employers now must cover 65% of the COBRA premium for employees fired – or laid off, if that term is preferred, the distinction being meaningless in this context – between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009. This percentage must be paid for up to nine months, but applies only to periods of time between [Read more...]

Filed Under: COBRA, Employee - Employment Law, Employer - Employment Law, Massachusetts Employment Law Tagged With: , , , , ,

Massachusetts Attacks Independent Contractors

March 15, 2009 By

In 2004, Massachusetts changed its independent contractor law in a rather radical way. The amendment essentially banned the use of independent contractors in the Commonwealth, regardless whether workers and employers agreed that the arrangement made good business sense. The new law so narrowly defined who could and couldn’t be an independent contractor that most observers figured it represented a case of legislative over-drafting. How, after all, could the state have intended such a radical result when important segments of the business community had for so many years operated openly and productively under the independent contractor model?

Five years later, the anti-contractor law not only is unchanged but is being vigorously enforced under the leadership of Governor Deval Patrick. In 2008, he formed a joint task force to target violators of the independent contractor statute, calling them purveyors of an “underground economy” that underpays employees, reduces state tax revenues, and undermines safety laws. The task force’s mission statement takes an aggressive stand against what’s termed improper employee classification, which the Governor believes affects one in every seven Massachusetts workers. In its one year of existence, the task force has already launched hundreds of coordinated investigations and leveled numerous fines against Massachusetts employers. An anonymous tip line makes starting an [Read more...]

Filed Under: Independent Contractors, Massachusetts Employment Law Tagged With: , , , , ,

Massachusetts Employment Law: Take Care With Interview Questions

February 12, 2009 By

Job interview questions are an often overlooked area of discrimination law but one that can pack a real punch to the jaws of Massachusetts employers who get careless. Many don’t realize that screening out job candidates via seemingly innocent questions that may touch upon age, gender or religion is just as illegal as firing an employee because he’s handicapped. Both federal and state anti-discrimination agencies have produced detailed descriptions of what a job interviewer can say to a candidate and what he can’t. The wrong question can result in a lawsuit almost as easily as other acts of discrimination can.

In some cases, the damages can be quite high. In one, a car dealer was ordered to pay $100,000 to an applicant after it solicited his age on an application just by asking about his military service. The prospective employee never got an interview but sued because, he said, his 1959 [Read more...]

Filed Under: Employee - Employment Law, Employer - Employment Law, Massachusetts Employment Law Tagged With: , , ,

Recovery Act Requires Massachusetts Employers To Pay Cobra Costs

January 14, 2009 By

Most people probably wouldn’t associate a $700 billion-plus economic recovery bill with the plight of former employees who need to make hefty health insurance payments. Then again, most people don’t think like members of the U.S. Congress. Among the many lesser publicized aspects of the latest mega-bill, passed in February 2009, is a requirement that employers who fire employees between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009 pay 65% of their former workers’ health care costs under COBRA for a period of up to nine months.

The benefits payments don’t kick in until February 17, 2009, but workers let go before that date can still enjoy coverage. Under the new law, employers must make the payments first and recoup them through tax credits at year end. COBRA is the federal law that provides for continued health care coverage to employees who lose their jobs, regardless of the reason for separation. Under the 2009 bill, the 65% benefit also applies [Read more...]

Filed Under: Employee - Employment Law, Employer - Employment Law, Massachusetts Employment Law Tagged With: , ,
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