New England Biz Law Update

An employer could not enforce a mandatory arbitration provision included in its handbook to block a lawsuit by an employee who claimed she suffered retaliation after requesting maternity leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act, a U.S. District Court ...

Tagged with: July 1 2013 issue

An insurance salesman could sue his former employer under the Massachusetts Wage Act for failing to pay him “discretionary” commissions he claimed he earned before he was given notice of his termination, a U.S. District Court judge in Boston has ...

Tagged with: April 30 2013 issue

A union’s “job-targeting program” that subsidized union employers’ bids for steel-erecting jobs did not violate antitrust laws, even though a jury found that the union engaged in illegally coercive tactics in implementing the program, a U.S. District Court judge in ...

Tagged with: April 30 2013 issue

A Boston law firm whose payroll company allegedly stole more than $500,000 of its money could not bring a negligence suit against the banks at which the company maintained accounts, a U.S. District Court judge has decided.

Tagged with: April 30 2013 issue

A business consultant who was fired after a negative performance evaluation could sue her employer for gender discrimination based on evidence that a manager who had taken part in the evaluation process had previously engaged in allegedly sexist behavior toward ...

Tagged with: February 28 2013 issue

A nurse who was fired for insubordination after refusing to carry out an order she felt she could not handle while recovering from a serious injury could sue her employer for retaliation under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the 1st ...

Tagged with: February 28 2013 issue

A high-end manufacturer of luxury goods was not entitled to a preliminary injunction restricting the use of its trademarked name by an off-price retail chain, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has decided.

Tagged with: February 28 2013 issue

African-American police officers who were fired or suspended after failing hair-sample tests to detect illegal drug use could not sue the city of Boston for discrimination, a U.S. District Court judge has ruled.

Tagged with: Nov. 30 2012 issue

A former policeman who claimed the city that had employed him violated a settlement agreement to reimburse him for unpaid vacation time could not sue the municipality under the Wage Act, the Appellate Division of the District Court in Massachusetts ...

Tagged with: Nov. 30 2012 issue

A veterinarian who was fired after she complained about her employer’s failure to deposit withheld contributions into her retirement account in a timely manner, but subsequently refused the employer’s offer of reinstatement, could not sue for breach of fiduciary duty ...

Tagged with: Nov. 30 2012 issue