New England Biz Law Update

Underperformance can drain team productivity, lower morale, and signal to other employees that mediocrity is acceptable. It can also jeopardize business outcomes and drive away high-performing employees. The key for employers is knowing when to act and how to do so without inviting legal trouble.

A recent amendment to a Virginia statute potentially widens employers’ exposure to personal injury and wrongful death liability.

China’s 996 model — 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week — was sold as a path to speed, discipline, and dominance. In reality, it became a case study in how overwork corrodes the very foundation of business success.

Imagine rolling out a generative AI chatbot for your customer service platform to improve response times and efficiency and to lower costs. While it appears promising for a while, it all grinds to a halt when the chatbot recommends illegal return policies or offers inaccurate safety advice on regulated products or even misrepresents the company’s obligations.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed suit against an auto parts manufacturer, asserting that it violated federal law when it refused to allow an older, female worker with a disability to re-enter its apprenticeship program.

Mandatory arbitration clauses are increasingly common in construction contracts. Arbitration, sometimes referred to as “trial-light,” is a judicial process where an arbitrator (usually a lawyer or a former judge) receives evidence, hears from witnesses, and makes a binding decision resolving the dispute.

North American manufacturers are demonstrating resilience in the face of economic uncertainty, though significant challenges remain, according to a 2025 manufacturing benchmarking study released by Wipfli, a consulting and accounting firm.

Employers in Oregon are facing new restrictions in hiring when it comes to applicants’ ages, thanks to House Bill 3187.

Artificial intelligence development is moving at a fast pace and the faster it moves, the more rapidly the courts will need to play catch up, according to some area lawyers, who add insight to the issue.

The very thing leaders wish away is the same thing that makes an operation exceptional. Invite it in. Give it direction. And suddenly, the breeze you crave isn’t because the people part vanished; it’s because it finally has a path to follow.