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Crown
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year. While Massachusetts has not yet been con- fronted with a suit under the CROWN Act, a violation under the expanded protection may result in liability under the state’s anti-discrimination statutes (which provides for the award of lost wages, emotional dis- tress, punitive damages, and attorney’s fees).
Going forward, the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) has been tasked with promulgating rules or issuing guidelines regard- ing the discrimination protections expanded by the CROWN Act. In addition, the Massachusetts Depart- ment of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has been authorized to provide written guid- ance interpreting the Act. Nonetheless, employers and schools should not wait for the MCAD or DESE guidelines and should amend their equal employ-
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former employees anonymously review companies. Employees can (and probably will) share their nega- tive feedback with co-workers, which could serve as the catalyst for good employees to start looking for a new job. It’s no secret that hiring and retaining quali- fied employees seems to be getting harder and harder each day.
Moreover, quiet firing is often the byproduct of a poor manager or supervisor who is unwilling to do one of the more difficult parts of their job — perfor- mance management.
So what should employers do? First, leaders should insist on managers and supervisors using tra- ditional methods to address problematic behavior, such as coaching and progressive discipline. Should those efforts prove unsuccessful, managers and supervisors need to be ready to have the difficult con- versation necessary to terminate the employee.
ment opportunity policies, anti-discrimination poli- cies, and any grooming or other appearance-related policies to ensure that the language appropriately reflects the added protections to race as a protected class.
To ensure compliance with the CROWN Act, employers and schools may want to consider avoid- ing language in their grooming or personal appear- ance policies that categorizes specific hairstyles or textures as ‘unkempt’ or, in the alternative, ‘socially acceptable.’ Such choice of words can create a pre- sumption that some hairstyles or textures are less socially acceptable than others.
Instead, employers can enforce grooming require- ments specific to a certain position or function of the job that apply to all employees regardless of race, hairstyle, or texture, such as a requirement to keep hair away from the face or pulled back. This same approach can apply to school grooming and uniform
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create a hostile work environment that is tied to an employee’s protected characteristics, such as gender or race. Creating a hostile work environment or reducing
an employee’s hours could also be considered an adverse employment action, which can lead to claims of discrimination or retaliation.
policies as well. Employers and schools should make efforts to ensure that the policies are enforced equally to all employees, students, and other individuals rather than selectively.
Employers and schools should also inform their managers, teachers, and other employees regard- ing policy changes and provide training on how to address potential policy violations. These preventive measures will help to ensure a welcoming environ- ment for all hairstyles, textures, and the like that are historically associated with race in the work and school settings as required by the CROWN Act. u
Briana Dawkins is an associate in Bulkley Richardson’s Employment and Litigation practices.
HR leaders should also be stepping in to prevent quiet firing from becoming a thing. This should involve regular check-ins with managers to talk about difficult employees and proactively asking how they are trying to solve the problem. Hopefully, the answer is performance management. If it’s not, maybe the manager is the one who needs some coaching and/or discipline. u
John Gannon is a partner with the Springfield-based law firm Skoler, Abbott & Presser, specializing in employment law and regularly counseling employers on compliance with state and federal laws, including family and medical leave laws, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and the Occupational Health and Safety Act; (413) 737- 4753; [email protected]
Quiet
It is unlawful for an employer to
Cyber
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for a cyber-resilient Massachusetts,” said Stephanie Helm, director of the MassCyberCenter. “The key word is ‘resilient,’ as no organization is suc- cessful 100% of the time when it comes to defending against cyberattacks. With the new monitoring capabilities, organizations can increase awareness, detect intrusions faster, and respond more quickly to an incident.”
STCC President John Cook agreed, noting that “this cybersecurity award will be transformative for our region and higher education. As one of the most pervasive liabilities for our busi- nesses and communities, these funds ensure a regional center that will be
a nexus for the cyber workforce with hands-on learning, in addition to establishing a resource for protecting our community partners against cyber- security threats.”
Statewide Strategy
The grants are part of the Com- monwealth’s ongoing investment in cybersecurity resiliency and workforce development. The award to CyberTrust Massachusetts is from the Massachu-
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“An Act Relative to Immediate COVID- 19 Recovery Needs,” which provided $15 million to the MassCyberCenter to incentivize the creation of regional SOC services and expand the cyber
setts Cybersecurity Innovation Fund and will support the organization’s operating expenditures for a period of six months and will fund a contract for cyber-range services for one year.
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big because not a lot of states do this. We expect to see this grow around the state and for Massachusetts to become a leader in cyber education.
workforce in the state, including a focus on “underserved and underrepresented populations.”
“Springfield Union Station is a world-class transportation hub that will now be home to a world-class cyber- security training and security-management
speakers for training — IT experts who hail not only from the area colleges and universities, but from large employers such as Baystate Health, MassMutual, and even the military.
“STCC is well-known and right around the corner, with 200 students in these programs right now,” she told BusinessWest. “We’re hopeful this will also boost interest in coming not only to STCC to explore these programs, but also to the other colleges we work with, which have strong programs as well.”
At STCC, she pointed out, many stu- dents hail from Western Mass. and then stay here, so any effort on the college’s part to train the future cybersecurity workforce will strengthen the sector locally.
“We’re hoping to make an impact in this area, to give back to local commu- nities by educating students and keep- ing them close,” Kaselouskas added. “This program is going to be pretty big because not a lot of states do this. We expect to see this grow around the state and for Massachusetts to become a leader in cyber education.” u
Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]
This program is going to be pretty
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“Leaders in the state’s cybersecurity ecosystem have been contributing to the establishment of CyberTrust Mas- sachusetts because they see the imper- ative to help protect the undersecured and are passionate about training the next generation of our cyber workforce, including those from currently under- represented populations,” said Jay Ash, chair of the CyberTrust board of direc- tors and president and CEO of the Mas- sachusetts Competitive Partnership.
Meanwhile, the grants to STCC and Bridgewater State were generated by
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center,” Neal said. “The Baker-Polito administration has worked hand in hand with the city of Springfield, the STCC team, and my office to make this a reality.”
Kaselouskas believes the new SOC and cyber range can help Greater Springfield become a key region for the cybersecurity sector in the Northeast.
“Union Station obviously has a long history in Springfield, and the location is really centralized, and we’re hoping it will be a hub,” she said, adding that the facility could also bring in guest