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Thank you for visiting the website of the Law Office of Leslie Lockard, P.C.
After practicing for many years as a partner at a law firm in Boston's Prudential
Tower, I started my own firm in the Norwood/Route 128 area.
For more than 20 years, I have specialized in employment law, including:
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maternity/family responsibility/ caregiver laws, including FMLA and Mass. Maternity
Leave Act
See my BLOG on this topic, below
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employment litigation (I have won about 95% of my cases taken to trial)
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disability law, discrimination and sexual harassment
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employee compensation issues
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overtime pay and overtime exemption law
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employee handbooks
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employment, noncompetition and severance agreements
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independent contractor issues
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employee terminations and layoffs
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affirmative action plans
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I have twice been named in Boston Magazine as one of the best attorneys in Massachusetts. |
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You can also click to read more client testimonials
and informative FAQs about various aspects of employment law,
such as maternity/paternity/caregiver rights, sexual harassment and overtime and
compensation law. And you can sign up for updates I send out about important new
developments in the field of employment law.
I would be happy to meet or talk with you to see if I can help you.
Feel free to email or call me.
| BLOG ON NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN MATERNITY AND FAMILY RESPONSIBILITY LAWS AND POLICIES
IN THE WORKPLACE |
MARCH 29, 2009 The First Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers
Massachusetts) has issued the decision of Chadwick v. Wellpoint Inc., in
which it decided that the Plaintiff, Laurie Chadwick, a mother of triplets and another
young child who was denied a promotion, should be permitted to take her case to
trial. A lower court had dismissed her case, largely because the employer had given
the promotion to another woman who also had children, although she had fewer and
older children than Ms. Chadwick. The Court found the following evidence to be sufficient
to allow Ms. Chadwick to go to trial:
- Her qualifications for the promotion were significantly better than those of the
woman who got the promotion.
- Two months before denying her the promotion, Ms. Chadwick's supervisor had said
to her "Oh my--I did not know you had triplets. Bless you!!"
- In telling her that she did not get the promotion, the supervisor said "It was nothing
you did or didn't do. it was just that you are going to school, you have the kids
and you just have a lot on your plate right now".
The Court decided that the fact that the employer had given the promotion to a woman
with two children, and thus apparently was not biased against all women, would not
justify discrimination against one particular woman. Moreover, a stereotypical view
that a women with four young children couldn't also be a capable employee could
well have been applied less strongly to a woman with just two older children.
This type of claim is sometimes referred to as a "sex plus" claim. That is, Ms.
Chadwick claims that she faced discrimination because of being a woman plus being
a mother. The court explained that the term "sex plus" does not mean that more than
simple sex discrimination must be alleged for a case to go forward to trial. Instead,
the term "sex plus" just describes a situation in which not all women are subjected
to discrimination, only women who fall within a ceratin subset, in this case, mothers
of young children".
JANUARY 16, 2009 A new comprehensive set of regulations implementing
the federal Family and Medical Leave Act have just taken effect today. These new
regulations create many significant changes and expansions in the law regarding
the FMLA. To read more details about what the new regulations require of employers
and employees, click on FAQs, and then click on my article entitled: FAMILY AND
MEDICAL LEAVE ACT REGULATIONS EFFECTIVE JANUARY 16, 2009 GREATLY EXPAND THE FMLA,
PLACING NEW OBLIGATIONS ON BOTH EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYEES
OCTOBER 24, 2008 The Massachusetts sex discrimination and maternity
leave laws apply only to employers of 6 or more employees. However, the Massachusetts
Supreme Judicial Court has just decided that an employee who is fired due to pregnancy,
but works for an employer with fewer than 6 employees, can bring suit under a different
state law, the Massachusetts Equal Rights Act. This means that the obligation not
to discriminate on the basis of pregnancy now applies to even the smallest employers.
The name of the newly decided case is Tracy Thurdin v. SEI Boston, LLC.
JULY 22, 2008 The Boston Globe reported today that an increasing
number of businesses are adopting compressed 4 day work weeks, so that employees
work 4 ten-hour days per week. Among the reasons given for adopting shorter workweeks
are:
- attracting and retaining good employees by allowing them more time with their children,
- energy savings derived from using minimal heat and electricity on the 5th day when
the business is closed
- allowing employees to save on the expected high cost of gas this year, since they
will be commuting to work one less day per week.
Of course not every business can operate on a four day per week schedule. If you
would like to see a list of some of the family supportive policies different types
of businesses have been adopting, click on FAQs, then click on my article entitled
WORK/FAMILY BALANCE: MATERNITY, PATERNITY, CHILD CAREGIVER, FAMILY RESPONSIBILITY
AND FAMILY LEAVE RIGHTS IN THE WORKPLACE. (The list appears at the end of this article).
FEBRUARY 2008 - THE FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT (FMLA) HAS BEEN
AMENDED AND EXPANDED TO PERMIT EMPLOYEES TO TAKE 26 WEEKS OF LEAVE TO CARE FOR SERIOUSLY
INJURED OR ILL MILITARY FAMILY MEMBERS, AND TO TAKE LEAVE FOR MILITARY SERVICE RELATED
"EXIGENCIES". (To read more details about this, click on FAQs, and then click on
my article on this topic).
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Testimonials |
"Thank you so much for handling my case so skillfully on our way to victory. Your skilled guidance, your superb confidence-building manner, and your kind, warm handling of all our encounters eased the pain of confronting this difficult situation. Again I thank you for all your help and friendship."
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Contact Info |
Leslie Lockard
The Law Office of Leslie Lockard, P.C.
Norwood Corporate Center
1500 Providence Highway (Route 1) – Suite 33
Norwood, MA 02062
Phone: (781) 551-0800
FAX: (781) 551-0801
Llockard@leslielockard.com
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