New England Biz Law Update

Due to an inadequate registration process, Uber could not compel two of its users to arbitrate their discrimination claims against the company, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled on Jan. 4. “The app’s registration process did not provide users with ...

The Civil Defense Act provides authority for Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker’s March 10 declaration of a state of emergency and subsequent emergency orders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and those actions did not violate the state or federal constitutions, ...

The U.S. Department of Labor on Oct. 6 issued an Interim Final Rule that updates the prevailing wage methodology the department uses in several foreign worker programs. Through a review of the Permanent Employment Certification, H-1B, H-1B1, and E-3 Visa programs, the department said it ...

The U.S. Department of Labor on Sept. 22 announced a proposed rule clarifying the definition of an employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act as it relates to independent contractors. The department’s proposed rule would adopt an “economic reality” test to ...

A ruling on joint motions to dismiss filed by 19 multinational oil and gas company defendants in a climate change suit brought against them by the state will have to await decisions in cases that present similar questions of “stream ...

One way to look at what the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is being asked to decide in Kauders, et al. v. Uber Technologies Inc., to be argued on Sept. 10, is whether our e-commerce learning curve has reached the point at ...

A collection agency that was not party to a contract between a business and a consumer could not compel arbitration of the consumer’s claims against the collection agency over its practices, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled. Consumer advocates ...

The federal government has agreed to rescind the recently announced federal policy that would have barred all international students from remaining in the United States if they took only online classes. U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs announced the ...

Two Washington state Native tribes have sued a group of insurance providers led by Boston-based Lexington Insurance Co., claiming the carriers have not covered claims for business losses resulting from the coronavirus. The Suquamish and Port Gamble S’Klallam tribes and ...

Columbia Gas of Massachusetts has been ordered to pay a $53 million criminal fine for causing a series of natural gas explosions in the Merrimack Valley that killed one person and damaged scores of homes and businesses. The utility was ...