PS&H employment Partner and Chair of the Labor & Employment Group, Alicia Samolis, was quoted in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly discussing a case involving the termination of an employee who subsequently disclosed that she was dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In the case of Trahan v. Wayfair Maine, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals...
PS&H employment Partner and Chair of the Labor & Employment Group, Alicia Samolis, provided comment to the Providence Business News (PBN) on the challenges employers are facing in balancing coronavirus concerns with the risk of unintentionally creating stigma and discrimination. In their recent article on how the coronavirus is impacting employers, the PBN referred to guidance distributed...
Client AlertsEmployment & LaborEngaging Independent Contractors in the Gig Economy: 3 Things for Employers to Know
February 19, 2020
With more and more individuals taking on the so-called “side hustle” of driving for Uber or even entirely leaving the traditional 9 to 5 work life and opting to make the “gig economy” work as their full time occupation, courts across the country are wrestling with the issue of whether these gig economy workers are...
Client AlertsEmployment & LaborCoronavirus: Guidance for Employers
February 19, 2020
Last week, the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) issued Interim Guidance for businesses and employers to plan and respond to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (official name “COVID-19”). The Interim Guidance is designed to help prevent workplace exposure to acute respiratory illnesses, including nCoV (i.e. a new coronavirus that has not been...
ArticlesEmployment & LaborUber Contractor/Employee Status to be Determined by Federal Jury
February 6, 2020
PS&H Employment Partner Michael A. Gamboli, who is based in the firm’s Providence office, is quoted extensively in the February 6 Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly talking about the new “gig economy” and a highly anticipated decision from the federal District Court in Rhode Island, on the issue of whether Uber drivers are employees of the company or...
Client AlertsEmployment & LaborHere We Go Again – For The Second Time – DOL Unveils Final Overtime Rule
September 27, 2019
On Tuesday, September 24, 2019, the United States Department of Labor (“Department”) announced its much anticipated Final Rule raising the salary threshold necessary to exempt certain executive, administrative, and professional employees from receiving overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The Final Rule is set to take effect on January 1, 2020. The...
ArticlesEmployment & LaborIn #MeToo Era, Some Lawyers Fielding More ‘Reverse Discrimination’ Queries
August 26, 2019
PS&H employment partner and Chair of the Labor & Employment Group, Alicia Samolis, spoke with RI Lawyers Weekly on the rising incidence of reverse discrimination inquiries and matters that she is seeing. Attributed at least in part to the #MeToo movement and increased focus on diversity and inclusion efforts, Samolis commented that, “What I have seen, at...
By Alicia J. Samolis & Geri Rosman 1. MEDICAL AND RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA IN THE WORKPLACE. Employers in the Northeast are faced with mounting questions arising from the legalization of medical and recreational marijuana. One challenge is handling compliance with drug-free workplace requirements associated with federal funding or contracts without discriminating against employees. Another involves the potential...
Client AlertsEmployment & LaborUpdate: Massachusetts Paid Family And Medical Leave – Deadline For Employer Contributions Extended To October 1, 2019
June 12, 2019
As has been widely rumored, the Commonwealth has decided to delay the July 1 implementation of the Massachusetts paid family and medical leave law (“PFML”). A joint statement by Massachusetts Governor, Charlie Baker, Senate President, Karen Spilka, and House Speaker, Robert DeLeo explains: [T]he deadline to begin employer contributions to the PFML program has been...
Client AlertsEmployment & LaborOne Epic Year Later: Have You Implemented A Mandatory Arbitration Agreement Yet?
May 17, 2019
By Alicia J. Samolis, Michael A. Gamboli and Christopher M. Wildenhain A year ago, the United States Supreme Court issued its seminal decision in Epic Systems v. Lewis, which confirmed that employers may use mandatory individual arbitration agreements without fear of the National Labor Relations Act (see our prior client alert for more details). In Epic’s wake, some employers,...
