Seyfarth Synopsis: The government’s anti-discrimination watchdog can be extremely aggressive in pursuing discrimination claims, including pursuing those claims after an employer files for bankruptcy. Normally, after a bankruptcy petition is filed, the Bankruptcy Code’s automatic stay enjoins other actions against the ...
Read More »U.S. Supreme Court’s new term includes major employment cases
In spite of all the controversy swirling around Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to take Justice Kennedy’s seat, it’s business as usual at the U.S. Supreme Court as the justices kicked off a new term on Oct. 1. Does the ADEA’s 20-employee ...
Read More »Foreign Investment and Export Control Reform 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 ...
Read More »Changes to MA non-competition laws starting Oct. 1
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 ...
Read More »SJC refuses to enforce Massachusetts noncompete on California employee
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 ...
Read More »New Massachusetts Trade Secret Laws Effective October 1, 2018
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 ...
Read More »Workplace safety comes to the forefront for expanding healthcare industry
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 ...
Read More »Student loan debt and 401(k) plans
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 ...
Read More »Plaintiff’s Chapter 93A claim boomerangs when plaintiff moves to dismiss Chapter 93A counterclaim
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 ...
Read More »Massachusetts Legislature passes non-compete reform bill
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 ...
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