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Author Archives: New England Biz Law Update staff

Federal court reduces ‘nominal’ damages in wrongful discharge suit

Jury box

A U.S. District Court judge in Massachusetts has reduced a jury’s award of $150,000 in “nominal” damages to just $1. The case, Lawless v. Town of Freetown, involved a wrongful discharge suit brought by a municipal employee against her former ...

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Care.com to pay $8.5M in FTC settlement

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has ordered Care.com to pay $8.5 million to settle allegations of deceptive practices. Care.com, an online “gig work” platform connecting families with childcare and senior care providers, has been accused of misleading both caregivers and ...

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Federal court overturns FTC’s noncompete rule

Federal Trade Commission

In a ruling with nationwide effect, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas blocked the enforcement of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) new rule intended to restrict the use of most non-compete agreements. The rule, which would ...

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NLRB decision ends practice of consent orders

Construction worker

The National Labor Relations Board has decided that it will no longer accept “consent orders,” where an Administrative Law Judge resolves an unfair labor practice case based on terms offered by the respondent but objected to by both the charging party ...

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New Mass. pay transparency law seen as kinder than other states

Job listing screenshot

At the end of its recently concluded session, the Massachusetts Legislature hopped aboard a trend that gives employees and applicants more information about the pay ranges for jobs they are seeking or already hold. But in doing so, legislators seemingly ...

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Federal court rules against FTC noncompete ban

Employee noncompete agreement

Earlier this month, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida issued a preliminary order finding that the Federal Trade Commission’s noncompete ban was unlawful. However, the ruling only applies to the plaintiff who brought the lawsuit. This ...

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State noncompete act precludes forfeiture of severance

Employment agreement

A 2018 Massachusetts state statute that prohibits certain noncompete agreements rendered invalid a provision requiring a former employee to forfeit severance payments for violating a non-solicitation clause originally included in an employment contract executed in 2017, a trial court judge ...

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EEOC sues publishing company for disability discrimination

North Carolina-based publishing company Champion Media, LLC allegedly violated federal employment laws when it refused to hire a deaf job applicant because of her disability and refused to provide her with a reasonable accommodation, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ...

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Minority owner of LLC can bring Wage Act claim

Business meeting

A minority shareholder in a limited liability corporation could be considered an employee for purposes of bringing misclassification and Wage Act claims, a Superior Court judge in Massachusetts has ruled. Plaintiff James Raleigh was a member and 10-percent owner of ...

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NLRB issues ‘Fair Choice-Employee Voice’ final rule

Construction worker

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued its Fair Choice–Employee Voice Final Rule in late July, restoring three policies that the agency says provide workers with a “fair opportunity” to decide whether they want union representation in the workplace and a process ...

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