By Alicia Samolis and Michael Gamboli Pursuant to the new law legalizing recreational marijuana in Rhode Island, private employers are now prohibited from firing or taking other disciplinary action against an employee for recreational marijuana use outside the workplace. The narrow exceptions to the prohibition are as follows: Employees cannot be “under the influence” at work....

The Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training’s (“RIDLT”) much anticipated Proposed Regulations (“Regulations”) to the Rhode Island Pay Equity Law (the “Act”) have arrived.  As we previously discussed, on July 6, 2021, Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee signed the Act into law, which goes into effect on January 1, 2023.  The crux of the Act prohibits an...

By Alicia Samolis and Michael Gamboli It is well known that if a Massachusetts employer terminates an employee, the employer risks being liable for three times the amount of wages owed if payment is not made on the last day of employment. A lesser known corollary to this rule based upon Massachusetts caselaw was that...

On March 24, 2022, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) determined that the Massachusetts independent contractor statute (G. L. c. 149, § 148B) applies within the franchisor-franchisee context and does not conflict with a franchisor’s disclosure obligations under federal law. In the case of Patel v. 7-ELEVEN, Inc. (“7-Eleven”), several franchisees operated 7-Eleven convenience stores throughout Massachusetts...