New England Biz Law Update

The American Bar Association has filed suit in federal court seeking to prevent the Federal Trade Commission from applying a new anti-identity-theft regulation to practicing attorneys. The regulation, called the “red flags” rule, requires businesses that possess sensitive identification information about their clients to safeguard that data against ID theft. Such businesses must establish policies and procedures on how to recognize and deal with identity-theft red flags.

A lawyer who recently won a Massachusetts Wage Act lawsuit against a Boston restaurant says she is disappointed the judge in the case did not address a hotly debated issue in the employment bar: whether last year’s mandatory treble damages bill applies retroactively.

Even where formal complaint not filed

Even though no explicitly discriminatory statements were made to a working mother passed over for a job promotion, a recent 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling reiterates that circumstantial evidence is often enough to allow a suit to get to a jury, according to several lawyers familiar with the case.

Employment lawyers warn that a recently filed bill calling for a ban of all non-compete agreements in Massachusetts would be a crippling blow for local businesses

Even though e-mail was factually correct

Concerned lawyers and business leaders can breathe a little easier after learning that they have been given an additional five months to comply with sweeping new regulations governing data breaches in Massachusetts. The Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation, ...

Suggest bleak economy will be a factor

The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination has quietly announced it is now applying the Massachusetts Maternity Leave Act to both women and men – a move that will force employers throughout the state to update their employment policies and handbooks.

Employment defense lawyers say a new damage provision in the Massachusetts Wage Act is so bad for businesses that some companies likely will pack up and leave.