Answers Posted By Judith Miller

Answer to New job responsibility imposed by Employer

Assuming that you do not have an employment contract and you are an at-will employee, your employer can change or increase your job duties at any time, and you can be terminated if you refuse to do the new job duties. Having said that, I wonder whether you are appropriately being paid as a salaried exempt employee, or whether you are really a non-exempt employee. The classification as exempt or non-exempt is very fact-specific to your particular job. If you are misclassified and you should be non-exempt, then your employer would be required to pay you overtime for any hours you work in excess of 40 in any week.

posted Feb 28, 2013 11:54 AM [EST]

Answer to Can I waive my FLSA right to overtime

The short answer is no, you can't waive your right to overtime pay. You might try to convince them to decrease your base wage as the 911 dispatcher so that the total amount they pay you ends up being the same, but it will be difficult to convince the town to do this.

posted Jul 5, 2011 1:59 PM [EST]

Answer to are there any mitigating factors which would nullify the employers rights in a non-compete cause?

Whether a non-compete agreement is valid depends on many factors such as whether it was signed at the time the employee began working, whether the employee changed jobs and did not sign a new non-compete, whether, based on the language of the agreement, the two businesses are actually competing. In addition, your agreement may include a non-solicitation provision which allows you to compete with your former employer but does not allow you to solicit your former employer's clients. Thus, whether or not your agreement is enforceable depends on the specific language of the agreement and the specific facts of your former employment and your new job.

posted Jan 30, 2010 05:45 AM [EST]

Answer to is my non-compete enforceable

Whether a Massachusetts non-compete agreement is enforceable depends on a number of different factors, including the circumstances surrounding execution of the agreement, the terms and wording of the agreement, and the nature of the business of the existing and competing companies. These determinations are very fact intensive. If you would like to discuss the matter further, please contact me.

Judith A. Miller
Miller Employment Law Group LLC
617-969-2900
millerjudi@aol.com

posted Aug 6, 2009 12:29 PM [EST]

Answer to Retroactive pay without signed agreement

Change in commission plan

There are two general rules that apply to your situation. First, unless you have a written employment contract which contains a specific agreement for continued employment for a particular term and states that your commissions/salary cannot be changed, an employer can change an employee's compensation, going forward, unilaterally, without the employee agreeing to the change or signing an agreement. Thus, once the commission plan is changed, the employer can pay according to the new plan as of the date you were notified of the change, even if you did not sign the commission plan agreement. What the employer cannot do, is retroactively change your commission plan. Thus, if the employer changed the way it computed commissions which were earned before you received notice of the change in the commission plan, the employer has probably violated the Massachusetts Payment of Wage Law.

posted Mar 19, 2009 07:36 AM [EST]

Answer to Loss of vacation and holiday time from employer

vacation pay

It would seem that the prior owner terminated your employment with that entity when it sold the business, and thus the prior owner should have paid you the vacation you had accrued. You can file a claim against the prior owner with the Massachusetts Attorney General's office.

posted Mar 6, 2009 10:22 AM [EST]

Answer to Medical/Dental Benefit Changes for LTD recepients

insurance payment

The employer is correct here. Assuming that the employer has more than 50 employees and is subject to the Family and Medical Leave Act, after the employee has been out of work for 12 weeks, the employer can terminate the employee and the employee will have to pay 100% of insurance premiums via COBRA. (If they have fewer than 50 employees, they do not have to hold the job open for even 12 weeks.) Thus, paying 1/3 of the insurance premium is far more than they are required to do.

posted Feb 11, 2009 05:19 AM [EST]

Answer to Exempt to non-Exempt to avoid severance payouts

wage classification

Whether an employee is exempt or non-exempt from the payment of overtime is determined based on the requirements of state and federal law, and is not an internal company decision. It may be that the employees who were reclassified from exempt to non-exempt should have been paid overtime all along, and such employees might have a claims for overtime wages. Severance pay, on the other hand, is not a requirement of either state or federal law, so an employer can set the policy in whatever way it chooses (or it does not have to pay any severance at all). Please call me if you would like to explore the overtime issue further.

posted Dec 9, 2008 08:46 AM [EST]

Answer to Severance Agreement Review

severance package

Michael--

I am a specialist in employment matters and have been practicing in this area of law for more than 20 years. Please see my website www.milleremploymentlaw.com />
I would be happy to review the agreement for you--feel free to call me at my office, 617-312-1254. BTW, I see that you live in Dover--I live in Sherborn.

Judi Miller

posted Sep 17, 2008 2:24 PM [EST]

Answer to FMLA lawyer in MA

FMLA lawyer

I am a Massachusetts attorney and I advise clients on issues relating to the Family and Medical Leave Act. Please feel free to call me at my office--Judi Miller 617-969-2900.

posted Jan 30, 2008 07:38 AM [EST]