New England Biz Law Update

It was up to an arbitrator and not a judge to determine whether a mandatory arbitration agreement signed by an unpaid intern governed a sex discrimination/retaliation claim that arose after she became a paid employee, the Massachusetts Appeals Court ruled. ...

Tagged with: Arbitration employment law

A subcontractor that hired field technicians to install cable, phone and internet for Cox Communications customers misclassified the workers as independent contractors, a U.S. District Court judge in Rhode Island has found. Defendant M+M Communications required the workers to attend ...

Tagged with: employment law Fair Labor Standards Act

A U.S. District Court judge in Rhode Island has found that a sales professional could bring a misrepresentation claim against her former employer for allegedly allowing her to believe certain transactions she closed would count toward incentive bonuses that it ...

An employer did not discriminate against an employee by firing her for misconduct she attributed to post-traumatic stress disorder, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. Plaintiff Kirstie Trahan allegedly referred to certain co-workers as “bitches” on more ...

A tax consultant should not have been found liable for misappropriating trade secrets after he used his ex-employer’s allegedly proprietary “tax arbitrage” strategy in providing services to its former clients, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. The ...

“Brand representatives” who demonstrated products and provided free samples at retail stores were exempt from overtime requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act, a U.S. District Court judge in Massachusetts has decided. Defendant Summit Retail Solutions sent the plaintiff employees ...

An insurance carrier did not abuse its discretion by attributing the death of an ERISA plan participant in a car crash to a pre-existing condition and denying his widow’s claim for accidental death benefits, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of ...

A Delaware choice-of-law provision was properly applied in enforcing a non-solicitation agreement against a former sales employee who went to work for a competitor, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has determined. Defendant Timothy Day and his onetime employer, ...

A business that provides sales and marketing services to energy and wireless companies was not the “joint employer” of door-to-door salespeople hired by one of its subcontractors, a judge in Massachusetts’ Business Litigation session has decided. Defendant Credico (USA) LLC ...

A biotech company that terminated an executive before he reached certain equity incentives under his contract did not breach the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. Abiomed hired plaintiff ...