Michelle De Oliveira
Director
Michelle De Oliveira represents businesses in all aspects of employment-related matters.
A significant aspect of Michelle’s practice is devoted to providing businesses and human resources professionals with day-to-day employment law counsel and advice on issues such as, wage and hour, hiring practices, employee discipline, employee terminations, leaves of absence, allegations of discrimination or harassment, and reasonable accommodation requests.
Her practice also includes drafting and reviewing employee handbooks and policies, and conducting internal investigations in response to discrimination, harassment, or other employee misconduct allegations. Given Michelle’s keen eye for compliance and breadth of experience working with businesses to mitigate potential litigation-related risks when addressing personnel matters, Michelle often conducts trainings on issues such as discrimination and harassment prevention, as well as best management practices.
Michelle advises clients, both employers and individuals, on employment agreements, including without limitation, restrictive covenants, and separation agreements, along with confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements.
Though always poised to resolve matters outside of court, Michelle represents clients in litigation before state and federal courts, administrative agencies such as the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, and any other applicable forum. Michelle’s practice also entails representing clients in mediation.
Michelle also maintains a general litigation practice, representing clients in commercial litigation matters. Business professionals appreciate Michelle’s analytical approach to understanding the facets to their business disputes.
A regular presenter at seminars and training sessions, Michelle also frequently publishes articles on an array of employment-related topics, has co-authored a chapter for Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education on Massachusetts’ independent contractor statute, and has been frequently quoted in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly publications. She edited and updated the Massachusetts Employment Law Manual on pregnancy discrimination and served as assistant editor for the legal update series for the Benefits Quarterly, a national journal for health and retirement benefits.
Michelle served as Chair of the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Section Council. She has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® and has been selected for inclusion in the Massachusetts Super Lawyers Rising Stars list each year from 2017 to 2022.
Professional Associations
- Women’s Bar Association
- Massachusetts Bar Association
Live Programs and Webcasts
- Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, “How to Analyze & Frame an Employment Case”
- Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, “Types of Employment Discrimination Cases”
- ABC Massachusetts, “HR Best Practices with Leaves of Absences, FMLA & PFML”
- Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, “Best Practices for Crafting & Negotiating Employment Agreements & Contracts”
- COVID-19’s Everlasting Impact in the Workplace: Vaccine Mandates, Returning to the Office, Managing Remote Work, Reasonable Accommodations & Interjurisdictional Employers
- Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, “What All Law Firm Managers Need to Know About Employment Law”
- Post Covid-19 employment litigation is coming. How can Employers Avoid it?
- Marijuana in the Workplace
- Employment Law 101, Discrimination & Sexual Harassment
- HR & Families First Coronavirus Response Act
- Employer Considerations in the Midst of COVID-19
- Managing a Changing Workforce During COVID-19
- Complying with New DOL Guidelines
- COVID-19 and the Workplace: What Employers Should Know & Perspectives from the DOL and the AGO
- Post-COVID-19 Employment Litigation is Coming. How Can Employers Prepare
Publications
- National Labor Relations Board Expands Joint Employer Rule
- Are Out-Of-State Employees Afforded Protections Under The Massachusetts Wage Act And Massachusetts’ Anti-Discrimination Statute?
- NLRB Adopts New Framework to Evaluate Whether a Workplace Policy is Lawful
- Quoted in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, “NLRB prompts review of severance agreements”
- Quoted in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, “Four-day work week wave may have crested”
- Quoted in Bloomberg Law, “No Mercy’ Ruling Leaves Employers Sweating Late Paychecks” [This article is published and available on mass.gov as a resource for Massachusetts law about wages.] “Federal Trade Commission Proposes Rule to Ban Non-Competition Agreements”
- “Plaintiff Succeeds In Establishing Prima Facie Case Of Age Discrimination Where Employer’s Overarching Discriminatory Animus Tainted an Otherwise Neutral Reduction In Force Decision”
- PFML Update: Employers Must Issue 2023 Rate Sheet by December 2, 2022, Provide Employee Notice, and Publish Updated PFML Workplace Poster
- EEOC Updates Its Guidance To Address COVID-19 Workplace Testing
- Employers: The Time Is Ripe For Management Training
- Employer on the Hook for Treble Damages for Failure to Pay Earned Vacation on Employee’s Termination Date – And Paying Wages Before Employee Files Complaint is No Excuse
- The Massachusetts Independent Contractor Chapter, MCLE’s 5th Edition 2020, with 2022 Supplement of Massachusetts Employment Law
- OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard Requiring COVID-19 Vaccination Or Weekly Testing For Large Employers Shut Down, But First A Bumpy Rollercoaster Ride
- Employer COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates
- Massachusetts Ending COVID-19 Temporary Emergency Paid Sick Leave on March 15, 2022
- United States Supreme Court Halts Enforcement Of OSHA’s ETS for Private Employers with 100+ Employees
- Massachusetts Adopts CDC’s Newly Issued Guidance Relating To Isolation & Quarantine; Interplay with OSHA’s ETS
- Massachusetts’ Independent Contractor Test Does Not Apply When Determining Whether An Entity Is A Joint Employer, The FLSA Test Will Apply
- Court Temporarily Halts Enforcement Of The Federal Contractor COVID-19 Vaccination Mandate
- Two Days After OSHA’s Issuance Of The Emergency Temporary Standard Regarding COVID-19 Vaccination And Testing For Employers With 100+ Employees, A Court Halts Enforcement
- OSHA Issues Emergency Temporary Standard Regarding COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing For Employers With 100+ Employees
- Guidance Issued for Federal Contractors on Vaccine Mandate and Requirements for Masking and Social Distancing
- Covid-19 Emergency Paid Sick Leave Extended Through April 1, 2022
- News From the White House: COVID-19 Vaccination Mandates for Federal Workers, Federal Contractors & for Employers with 100+ Employees
- As of May 29, 2021, the Mask Mandate Will Be Lifted in Massachusetts For Those Who Are Fully Vaccinated
- New Development for Massachusetts Employers: COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick Leave
- CDC Lifts Mask Requirement for Those Who Are Fully Vaccinated—But Massachusetts Employers Should Hold Tight
- Employers Beware: Practical Implications Of Governor Baker’s Newly Issued Travel Order, Effective August 1, 2020, in the Workplace
- DOL Guidance On The Families First Coronavirus Response Act
- DOL Announcement: Families First Coronavirus Response Act Effective on April 1st &
Model Notice - Paid Sick Leave & Tax Credit For Businesses On The Horizon As The Families First Coronavirus Response Act Is Signed Into Law
- Coronavirus: What All Employers Should Know
- COVID-19: Changes in The Landscape Of Unemployment Benefits, Layoffs Versus Furloughs & The WARN Act.
- Pregnant Workers Fairness Act: What Every Employer Should Know
- Massachusetts Employer Not Allowed To Enforce Non-Compete Against Its California Employee
- U.S. Department of Labor Updates Regulations Relating to the Regular Rate Under the FLSA
- U.S. Department of Labor Implements New Overtime Rule & Increases Salary Threshold for FLSA Exemptions