New England Biz Law Update

Last month the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“the Office”) announced its cooperation in a Department of Justice investigation into a trademark scam perpetrated by two California men that defrauded about 4,446 people of $1.66 million. The investigation resulted ...

On November 22, 2016, the Massachusetts Division of Banks (“DOB) announced that it has returned approximately $2.3 Million to 1,673 Massachusetts residents, as part of a settlement with an online payday lender. The payday lender allegedly issued payday loans with interest rates ...

Article by  Joel S. Telpner, originally posted by blog.sandw.com. Many unknowns If you’re like me, you are constantly receiving alerts from consultants, law firms, policy shops and others, all predicting how the Trump Administration is going to dramatically change, or even ...

On October 28, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal in the matter of Gloucester County School Board v. G.G., which asks the Court to weigh in on the issue of restroom access for transgender students.  The ...

On November 22, 2016, a federal judge in Texas issued a nationwide injunction preventing the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) from implementing its new overtime rule. The rule – which would have raised the salary threshold below which employees must ...

As the Obama administration winds down, its regulators are showing no signs of letting up.  Last week the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) decided that it should no longer be constrained by its subpoena power when it seeks to obtain ...

On December 1, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor’s new overtime rule will take effect. Most significantly, effective December 1, 2016, the minimum salary a worker must be paid to qualify for the executive, administrative, and professional exemptions will increase ...

The Massachusetts Appeals Court recently issued an opinion in ZVI Construction Co. v. Levy, et al., 90 Mass. App. Ct. 412 (2016) refusing to override the terms of a written confidentiality agreement entered into between parties to a mediation. The ...

Seyfarth Synopsis:  In Weavexx, LLC the Board deferred to an arbitrator’s finding that the employer had the right to change its payday and pay cycle without first bargaining.  The bigger question is how much longer will such charges be deferred ...

An order from the District of Massachusetts sheds light on how the Supreme Court’s June 2016 decision in Halo Electronics v. Pulse Electronics is being interpreted by the district courts. The Memorandum and Order by Chief Judge Patti B. Saris denied a request for enhanced ...