New England Biz Law Update

In the wake of mass shootings, environmental disasters, industrial accidents, drug and tobacco use pandemics, and other tragedies, retirement plan investors are paying more attention to selecting or rejecting investments based on perceived public policy benefits or detriment.  For example, ...

The Massachusetts Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“PWFA”) went into effect on April 1, 2018.  The purpose of the law is to provide greater workplace protections to pregnant women and nursing mothers.  The legislation prohibits employers from discriminating against employees because ...

On February 21, 2018, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals issued new guidance regarding when and how the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) protects union “salting” campaigns.  A “salting” campaign involves union members, known as “salts,” who seek to secure ...

On April 2, 2018, the Superior Court of Suffolk County, Massachusetts denied Equifax, Inc.’s motion to dismiss the Commonwealth’s case against it related to the company’s widely publicized 2017 data breach.  Although the ruling does not determine who will ultimately ...

Seyfarth Synopsis: Seyfarth’s Pay Equity Group is pleased to release two reference guides: the 2018 Trends and Developments in Pay Equity Litigation Report and the 2nd Annual 50-State Pay Equity Desktop Reference. Yesterday, April 10, 2018, was Equal Pay Day.  While there are ...

Just about everyone is familiar with the image of the unpaid intern as the lowly office gofer sent to fetch coffee and do other menial tasks in exchange for nothing more than “experience.” However, when done well, internships give students ...

The Fifth Circuit vacated the Department of Labor’s long-suffering conflict of interest rule (commonly referred to as the “fiduciary rule”), holding that the rule exceeds the scope of DOL’s regulatory authority.  The decision means that the expanded definition of fiduciary, ...

Since the Supreme Court’s decision inAlice Corp. v. CLS Bank in 2014, there has been an increasing trend in district courts granting pretrial dispositive motions to effect early dismissal of patent infringement cases under 35 U.S.C. § 101. Last month, however, ...

Earlier this year, the Department of Justice, Civil Division, issued two policy memos that will directly affect its civil enforcement priorities, particularly with regard to healthcare and life sciences companies. The first memo, issued January 10, 2018, and publicly leaked ...

On February 27, 2018, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 4296, which would reduce the operational capital requirements imposed on financial institutions.  The bill passed with a 245-169 vote.  As could be expected from such deregulatory legislation, only 19 ...