New England Biz Law Update

The Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (“FIRRMA”), which was signed into law by President Trump on Aug. 13 as part of the omnibus John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (“NDAA”), expands the jurisdiction and ability of the Committee ...

By now, many employers are aware that Massachusetts law governing non-competition agreements is changing at the end of this month. A non-competition covenant or agreement is a provision in either an employment agreement, offer letter or separate agreement where an ...

On September 7, 2018, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court refused to enforce a non-competition and non-solicitation agreement between a Massachusetts company and its California-based former employee who joined the employer’s competitor in California. The SJC reached this decision, in Oxford Global ...

The retail industry closely guards customer and distribution lists, the software and code for the operation of its websites and downloadable mobile apps, and, in many cases, algorithms used to evaluate and monitor sales trends. In many cases, these valuable assets ...

Seyfarth Synopsis: Employment in healthcare occupations continues to outgrow all other industries, as the American population continues to age and nursing home and hospital services expand. Healthcare workers face a range of safety issues, such as ergonomics, blood borne pathogens, and ...

A new ruling was recently released by the Internal Revenue Service that presents a very intriguing possibility for employers looking to economically support employees with student debt burdens. The idea is that an employee can receive the economic equivalent of ...

A business plaintiff’s assertion of a Chapter 93A claim could boomerang where the plaintiff moves to dismiss a Chapter 93A counterclaim. That’s a key takeaway from Judge Kaplan’s decision in Microsemi Corp. v. Langlois. We’ll start with a bit about the ...

After many years of debate, the Massachusetts Legislature passed a comprehensive non-compete reform bill. If Governor Baker signs the bill into law (as is expected), the new law would prohibit employers from requiring that certain types of employees sign non-competition ...

Seyfarth Synopsis:  Just when employers thought they were safe to restrict offensive speech and restore decorum in the workplace, a recent decision by the Board serves as a stark reminder that offensive workplace speech may still find protection under the National Labor Relations ...

The Massachusetts Equal Pay Act became effective on July 1, 2018. It calls for all Massachusetts employers, irrespective of size, to pay men and women the same for comparable work. The new law, which amended G.L. c. 149, Section 105A, ...