New England Biz Law Update

In August, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision holding that Walmart’s policy of refusing to provide light duty assignments to pregnant workers did not violate current law. In the case, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ...

The Massachusetts Appeals Court has ruled in a split decision that a terminated employee could bring a “cat’s paw” discrimination claim based on evidence that a corporate reduction in force was tainted by age bias at upper levels, even if ...

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has ordered Dollar General to pay approximately $1.3 million over workplace safety issues at three Georgia stores. The news of these significant fines is a wake-up call for employers nationwide to ensure they ...

The yearly quota for H-1B visas has been reached for fiscal year 2023. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) accepts petitions for H-1B visa and H-1B visa advanced degree applicants. The H-1B visa cap for fiscal 2023 is 65,000 ...

A provision in the Massachusetts state budget would have amended the state’s Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (PFMLA). But the governor has not signed the amendment. Legislation would have allowed employees to use their accrued paid leave to supplement ...

You’ve just received notice that an employee has been arrested. A local news outlet is calling to confirm the person’s employment history and the employee rumor mill is already active. Now what? First consult legal counsel, inside or outside your ...

Massachusetts has become the latest state to ban discrimination based on natural hairstyles. On July 26, 2022, Governor Charlie Baker signed the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (“Crown”) Act. The act prohibits hair discrimination in workplaces ...

The World Health Organization has declared monkeypox to be a health emergency, and several U.S. states have followed suit. Monkeypox is not expected to reach pandemic levels, but employers may wish to review their infectious disease and other relevant workplace ...

Eventually, most organizations will face a complaint of wrongdoing involving a company employee, or worse, a company leader. When such complaints arise, the company should respond with a prompt, thorough, and fair investigation. Typically, it’s not a question of whether ...

In July, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that it had entered into a conciliation agreement with a dermatology practice for violating the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act (GINA) after it collected COVID-19 test results for employees’ family members. The ...