Trial Verdict 2016-4: Boston Partner Scott Burke & Of Counsel Jacqueline Welch

Boston Partner Scott Burke and Of Counsel Jacqueline Welch successfully defended a real estate broker in a jury trial against claims by a former real estate salesperson for gender discrimination, sexual harassment, religious discrimination, hostile work environment and for violation of the Massachusetts Wage Act by paying her as an independent contractor instead of as an employee. The Supreme Judicial Court had decided last year in Monell v. Boston Pads, LLC, 471 Mass. 566 (2015) that real estate salespersons did not fall under the state statute defining independent contractors. The SJC, however, did not give any guidance on what criteria would apply in determining when a real estate salesperson was properly treated as an independent contractor or an employee. The trial is believed to be the first in the Commonwealth on this issue.