Employment Law
Sometimes it can feel helpless as an employee with an employment law issue. It might seem like your employer has all the power and holds all the cards. At Cohen & Lucyniak, P.C. our attorneys are intimately familar with the ins and outs of employment law. Even though employers in Massachusetts have the power to hire and fire employees at will, employees are entitled to be treated with respect and paid there fair wage; that means employers are required to provide employees with a work environment free from harrassment, to pay their employees minimum wage and to pay their employees every dollar they earn, including overtime, on time. If you have had any issues with your employment Cohen & Lucyniak, P.C.’s Boston attorneys can help.
Late, Underpaid and Unpaid Wages
It should go without saying: You work. You then receive compensation for that work. Unless you don’t. Perhaps it’s just an oversight by your employer or maybe it was intentional, either way you are entitled to be paid your earned wages on time, every time.
If you have not received compensation for work performed, or are not paid the wage promised by your employer, you may be entitled to your unpaid wages and significant punitive damages too. We can help you get back what you earned. We are passionate about helping you recover the funds you worked so hard to earn. Contact our office today to schedule a free consultation!
Do I Have a Claim for Unpaid or Incorrect Wages?
Believe it or not, the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was passed in 1938 to help protect employees in the aftermath of the Great Depression. This act protects your right to earn at least the federal or state minimum wage, to be paid for every hour worked, to keep your tips, and to limit deductions from your paycheck.
So how is this relevant to you specifically? How do you know if your employer’s conduct violates state or federal labor laws? We will present you with the options for challenging your employer’s potentially illegal conduct, and help you determine if your case is worth pursuing. If you are not paid any of the following, you have a claim:
- Minimum wage
- Overtime (more than 40 hours in one week or 80 hours over two consecutive weeks)
- For break time provided by law (or are not offered breaks)
- For off-the-clock work
- For time necessary to put on / take off safety or other work-related gear or uniforms
- For unused accrued vacation time
- For unused accrued sick time
- For work-related travel time, such as traveling between job sites or from job sites back to the office during work hours
- For premium overtime pay for legal, straight-hour maximum times
Regardless of your employer’s reason for not paying or not paying on time, you are entitled to your wages. Even an oversight by your employer is no defense.
Keep in mind: it is always good practice to keep your paystubs in either physical or electronic form. That way you can review your hours and your pay to make sure they match, and to ensure that you are receiving the correct pay for the hours you’ve worked. If you’ve received a paycheck for incorrect wages, and are required to cash that check before the next pay period, keep a copy of that check for your records.
Our attorneys will provide you with an in-depth analysis of the legal action available to reclaim your unpaid wages, and will then collaborate with you to formulate an informed, sound plan of action. We are always transparent about our legal fees and other litigation costs, and in most cases we will work on a contingency fee, which means we don’t get paid unless and until you get paid.
Don’t hesitate to call us today – we want to assist you in any way we can.
How Am I Protected by Massachusetts Law?
Just as the Fair Labor Standards Act protects employees on a federal level, Massachusetts has labor laws that protects the citizens of the Commonwealth. Under these laws, employees must:
- Be paid for all time worked
- Be paid on time
- Receive paystubs
- Have access to their employer’s record of their hours and pay
Common violations of these laws include:
- No pay for working through meal breaks
- Working off the clock to meet deadlines (even if a manager directs you not to do so)
- Not getting paid for on-call time when you cannot leave the job site or are not effectively free to use your time while on call
- Not being paid overtime, sick time or vacation time.
You must be paid for all the time you worked if you are an hourly employee. If you feel your rights as an employee have been violated, you can file a complaint with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Fair Labor Division. In addition, we strongly urge you to contact an attorney as soon as possible to review your case. Our team is well-versed in how Massachusetts laws work to protect your pay and your rights. We are also aware of how scary it can be to file a claim against the very entity who has been providing your livelihood. But keep in mind that it is illegal to fire an employee for filing a wage claim. Cohen & Lucyniak is on your side – we are here to ensure that our state and federal laws are upheld in your favor. We expertly and relentlessly advocate for you from start to finish. Schedule a free consultation with one of our Boston Employment Law specialists today!
Severance and Non-Compete Agreements
Occasionally when you employemnt is terminated your employer may ask you to sign a severance or non-compete agreement. These agreements have a major impact on your rights as an employee.
Typically, these agreements are fair and helpful in facilitating an amicable seperation of employement, but sometimes they can strip an employee of their valuable rights.
Due to the impact a severance or non-compete agreement can have on your rights, it is important that you have those agreements reviewed by an experienced attorney before signing. The attorneys at Cohen & Lucyniak, P.C. are familar with all types of employment agreements and how they affect your rights.
Severance Agreements
- Perhaps you see the writing on the wall – layoffs are coming and you want to be prepared. This advanced preparation can help temper the emotional shock of a layoff. Typically when a company must downsize their employee pool through layoffs, they offer severance packages. A severance package is a negotiation between an employer and an employee, which offers financial terms such as cash payouts and continued benefits when an employee leaves the company. Often, severance agreements contain clauses where you waive your right to sue the employer for wrongful termination, discrimination, harrasssment or wage violations.
Our Boston-based boutique law firm has an experienced team of attorneys who are well-versed in the laws surrounding severance packages. Some of the common severance package disputes include:
- Discrimination (age, sex, race, nationality, sexual orientation, etc)
- Potential fraud / misrepresentation in the way the package was negotiated – for example, you were tricked into signing a different agreement than the original
- The terms of the package
- Non-payment of severance, or withholding payment
It is important to note that courts usually uphold severance agreements, as they are mutually undertaken, with each party agreeing to uphold their end of the agreement. So what can you do to avoid filing a severance package lawsuit?
- Never sign a severance agreement until you have read it.
- Thoroughly read the entire package, making note of terminology or unclear language. Keep in mind that under federal age discrimination laws, it is now routine in most companies to allow workers 21 days to review their severance packages.
- It may seem unimportant, but having an attorney review your severance package is critical in ensuring that the terms of the agreement are in your favor. At Cohen & Lucyniak, we invest the time to review each clause of your package with you, enabling you to digest the terms of the entire package before you sign on the dotted line. Besides the value of the package, our attorneys also look for certain clauses that should be included:
- Payout for unused vacation or unreimbursed expenses
- A thorough explanation of benefits you will receive upon separation, such as continuation of health care / COBRA
- A mutual release of claim, which ensures neither you nor your employer can make further legal claims against one another. This includes legally blocking your employer from making disparaging comments about you to other employees, company executives or future employers
Don’t let the intricacies of a severance package add to the stress of a layoff. We are here to advocate and guide you to being confident when you sign your severance agreement. Call us today!
Non-Compete Agreements
Generally, a non-compete agreement places certain limitations on an employee’s ability to work for a competitor, or to start a competitive business following their departure. In Massachusetts, the law works in favor of the employee, as it bans non-compete agreements made with employees who are classified as “non-exempt” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The law also prohibits non-competes with employees who are terminated without cause, or laid-off.
One of the most common situations surrounding non-compete agreements is that they are simply forgotten about. You may have been in your job for years, and not remember signing a non-compete, only to be completely shocked when you are on the receiving end of a lawsuit after you’ve accepted a new job.
Let us help you determine whether or not your non-compete agreement is enforceable, and if you are in violation of that agreement. And if for any reason you are in violation of an enforceable non-compete agreement, we can help defend you from your former employer. Contact our office today and schedule a free consultation.
