Employment

The relationship between employers and employees can be an adverse and contentious one. Disputes often arise with respect to:

• Wage and hour claims
• Overtime disputes
• Misclassification of independent contractors
• Wrongful discharge
• Unlawful discrimination on the basis of gender, age, disability and other protected interests
• Non-competition covenants
• Non-disclosure agreements

The firm's attorneys are well versed in these areas of the law and frequently handle disputes before the courts and the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.

Representative Matters:

• We have negotiated favorable settlement agreements for multiple corporate clients faced with class action wage and hour suits from current and former employees.
• Severance: We negotiated a favorable severance package for our client whose employment was terminated by an international technology company, including significantly reducing the scope and enforceability of our client’s non-competition, non-solicitation, non-disclosure, and other restrictive employment agreements.
• Non-payment of wages: We defended a local landscaping company against a former employee’s claims of non-payment of wages, including paying improper rates for public construction projects. This allowed our client to negotiate a favorable resolution of the dispute.
• For a software development company, we defended against claims that the company and its owners violated Massachusetts and federal wage and hour laws. This ultimately allowed our clients to obtain and capitalize on lucrative intellectual property.
• For a Greater Boston-area insurance broker we successfully overturned a default judgment against them and successfully resolved highly-contentious “non-compete” claims against a key employee.
• Wage & Hour: We defended a multi-state assisted living provider and its owners against claims that they violated Massachusetts and federal wage and hour laws. This allowed our clients to negotiate a favorable resolution of such claims.
• Successfully resolved a class action wage-and-hour suit against a local limousine company faced with financial ruin in the event that its former employees prevailed at trial. This allowed the company to survive and remain family-owned.
• We obtained a favorable jury verdict for a project manager who incurred substantial financial losses arising out of his employment with a Boston-area engineering firm.

For more information, visit our Labor & Employment Practice Group section.