The Massachusetts legislature, meeting in Constitutional Convention (ConCon) this week gave procedural approval to placing a constitutional amendment on the ballot in 2022. The proposal would amend the state constitution by allowing for classes of taxpayers to be taxed at different levels – more specifically, imposing an additional 4% surcharge on incomes exceeding $1 million.…
Read More »A number of cities across the country have adopted some form of soda tax over the past few years, but no such surcharges have been imposed at the state level since 1992. Arkansas, Tennessee, Virginia & West Virginia all have soda taxes, while they are preempted by Arizona, California and Michigan. But the dearth of…
Read More »Massachusetts has relieved a little bit of the pressure on businesses relative to applying for an exemption under the state’s new paid family and medical leave mandate. The original legislation (aka, the “Grand Bargain”) allowed businesses to offer employees a more generous private alternative if they so choose and then apply for an exemption from…
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Dunkin’ franchisees from across New England gathered in late April for the annual NE regional meeting. DDIFO invited new business members to join the event at the Sheraton Needham Hotel. Labor attorney Dan Field, a former Chief of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Fair Labor Division, was a featured speaker and touched on critical issues like…
Read More »The Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development released a model of the notice that employers will be required to provide to their existing employees by May 31, 2019. The Paid Family and Medical Leave benefit was created by the poorly-named Grand Bargain that Governor Charlie Baker signed into law last June. Although employers…
Read More »Within the past few weeks, both the city of Philadelphia and the state of New Jersey passed legislation mandating that retail establishments not refuse to accept payment in the form of cash. Opponents of cashless stores contend that enough people do not have credit cards or bank accounts to justify the legislation as a means…
Read More »Although many in the business community saw the “Grand Bargain” (the name given to a legislative/gubernatorial deal to raise wages and mandate paid leave in Massachusetts) as troublesome, but palatable, it appears that the regulations to implement the law could be ‘the straw that breaks the camel’s back’! At the first of seven planned public…
Read More »After battling all through last year over the issue, democrat NJ Governor Phil Murphy agreed with the democratic-controlled legislature on a bill that will lead to a state minimum wage of $15 per hour as soon as 2024. Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, who has not always seen eye to eye with Murphy, finally brokered the…
Read More »For those who thought the idea of the so-called Millionaire Tax had run its course, think again. You will recall that Massachusetts advocates had teed up a ballot question for last November’s ballot that would have allowed the Bay State to apply a 4% surcharge to incomes over $1 million. The Massachusetts Supreme Court ultimately…
Read More »We’ve been advised by our employment counsel, Morgan Brown & Joy of an apparent glitch in Massachusetts’ legislation signed into law back in the summer. The law, known as the “Grand Bargain” for reasons that elude me, included a 5-year gradual elimination of mandatory premium pay for work on Sundays and holidays in exchange for…
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