The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit recently affirmed a district court finding that the Massachusetts Wage Act did not apply to a person who mostly lived and worked in Florida. While the court’s decision in Viscito v. National Planning Corp. suggests that this is a fact-specific question, it offers guidance for employers trying to determine what law applies to their out-of-state employees or “wandering workers.”
Background
The plaintiff in this case was a financial advisor who had a business (and staff of his own) in Springfield, Massachusetts. In 2013, plaintiff signed an agreement to be affiliated with National Planning Corporation (NPC), a California-based financial services company. In December 2014, he became a resident of Florida and thereafter spent more than half his time working from Florida.
In 2017, plaintiff’s relationship with NPC ended. He then filed a lawsuit against NPC, claiming that he had been misclassified as an independent contractor under Massachusetts law and was owed wages under the Massachusetts Wage Act.
The Court’s Decision
The district court sided with NPC. The First Circuit agreed, finding the plaintiff could not sustain his claim because Massachusetts law did not apply to him. The appellate court first observed that, when determining what law applied, it had to determine which state “has the more significant relationship to the transaction” between the parties. This test looks at all the circumstances of the parties’ relationship....
Jake Tapper said that CNN would continue to report the news ‘no matter how many lies this administration or the Iranians tell’ Bookmark popover Your support helps us to tell the storyRead moreSuppo...