Employment

Smith Lee Nebenzahl Employment and Labor Law Practice

Employment Termination

Though Massachusetts is an employment "at-will" state, the law does prohibit gender discrimination, age discrimination, race discrimination, national origin discrimination, sexual orientation discrimination, and adverse employment actions that retaliate for an employee's exercise of his or her legal rights (for example, complaining about workplace safety conditions, failure to pay overtime or other wage and hour violations), or where the termination is clearly contrary to public policy (for example, termination of or retaliation against an employee for doing something that the law requires or refusing to do something that the law forbids).

Post-Employment Obligations

An employer may seek to enforce a non-compete agreement or a nondisclosure agreement after the termination of employment.  Some of these employment agreements- in particular, a non-compete agreement that unreasonably interferes with a person's ability to earn a living- may be unenforceable under Massachusetts law.

An employer also has important obligations to the employee on termination of employment, including full and immediate payment of wages earned and accrued but unused vacation pay.  Failure to pay these wages upon termination is a violation of the Massachusetts Wage Act, and can result in significant penalties.  

Unemployment Benefits/Unemployment Appeals

Even if your employment was terminated for "cause," you may still be eligible to receive unemployment benefits.  If your former employer disputes your entitlement to unemployment benefits, you should seek a lawyer's advice to determine if the termination of your employment was for a disqualifying reason.

Examples of current and former employment matters at Smith Lee Nebenzahl:

• Claims of wrongful termination in violation of public policy;  

• Claims for unpaid overtime or wages;

• Claims involving enforcement of non-compete agreements;

• Claims under the Massachusetts independent contractor law;

• Trade secret claims;

• Claims of gender discrimination, race discrimination, age discrimination, national origin discrimination 
  and disability discrimination under federal and state laws;

• Advocacy before the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance to obtain unemployment benefits.