John Tocci manages Tocci & Lee’s employment counseling and litigation practice. His practice area encompasses a broad spectrum of employment matters.
Mr. Tocci provides counsel with regard to employee hiring, retention, discipline and discharge, government audits and employer self-audits and employer compliance with state and federal employment laws and regulations. His practice also includes preparing and negotiating employment contracts, non-competition agreements and personnel policies. He performs workplace investigations and assists employers with their own investigations. Mr. Tocci also represents businesses and individuals involved in employment litigation, commercial contract litigation and other business litigation in state and federal court, including appeals courts, in administrative fora and in arbitration.
Mr. Tocci served for ten years as a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association (the “MBA”) Labor & Employment Section Council, including two years as its Chair. He also served as a Member of the MBA’s House of Delegates. He is currently a member of the MBA Judicial Administration Section Council. He also currently serves as the Management Chair of the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (the “MCAD”) Parental Leave Regulations Committee, which is charged with drafting regulations interpreting the Massachusetts Parental Leave Act (formerly the Massachusetts Maternity Leave Act) for presentation to the MCAD and as a member of the Paid Family Medical Leave Committee, which is charged with working with the Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave to streamline regulations and processes. Mr. Tocci is the Chair of the Dedham Commission on Disability and is a Director of the Institute for Health and Recovery, a statewide service, research, policy and program development agency focused on addressing substance abuse and trauma.
Mr. Tocci’s involvement in bar and community groups throughout his career includes a term as President of the Justinian Law Society (also known as the Massachusetts Italian Bar Association) from 2012 to 2014. He served as a member the MCAD Disability Discrimination Guidelines Subcommittee and has trained MCAD personnel on applicable legal standards. Mr. Tocci also routinely participates in employment law-related educational events including, in recent years, events sponsored by the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce, and for legal professional organizations such as the MBA, the Boston Bar Association and Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education. Mr. Tocci is frequently published or quoted in employment related news articles and has appeared several times as a guest on “NightSide with Dan Rea” on WBZ radio to discuss employment-related issues.
Mr. Tocci has been named by Super Lawyer Magazine as a “Massachusetts Super Lawyer” each year since 2008, a “New England Super Lawyer” each year since 2011 and a “Super Lawyer – Business Edition” since 2012. Mr. Tocci is admitted to practice in Massachusetts and New Hampshire and before the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. He earned his B.A. from Boston University and was awarded his J.D., magna cum laude, from The American University, Washington College of Law in 1992.
