New England Biz Law Update

An employer violated the Massachusetts Wage Act when it refused to pay a fired employee for his unused vacation time, the state Supreme Judicial Court has decided. The employer — whose written policy provided that any employee who left on ...

An employer that fired a worker without providing the prior warning or suspension called for under the disciplinary policy in its personnel manual violated an implied employment contract, the Massachusetts District Court/BMC Appellate Division has ruled. The plaintiff employee did ...

Patent litigation filings in Massachusetts spiked earlier this year, which some believe may be the result of new local rules implemented in U.S. District Court last fall. But while lawyers and judges report that the commonwealth has become a more ...

A coherent body of caselaw on matters affecting the business community is an essential ingredient for a vibrant economy. Clear precedents help businesses structure their transactions consistently with the law, thereby reducing their exposure to liability. Unfortunately, the courts do ...

By Stephen M. Honig In the most recent issue of New England In-House, we summarized the articulated Securities and Exchange Commission agenda: proxy reform, heightened disclosure on governance issues, focus on risk management and enhanced compensation disclosure. Since then, we ...

Many in-house counsel lack insurance coverage for their actions as attorneys. Is this an acceptable risk? If not, what can you do about it? There has been no shortage of headlines in recent years indicating that in-house counsel face increasing risks of liability and regulatory scrutiny.

Workers in the current economy are facing considerable stress, with many of them living paycheck to paycheck. Many are one emergency away from financial ruin. The troubled economy has resulted in companies looking to find ways to help employees in ...

Attorneys who represent companies seeking leniency for possible antitrust violations are hailing recent moves by the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice to clarify aspects of its longtime leniency program.

Even though no explicitly discriminatory statements were made to a working mother passed over for a job promotion, a recent 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling reiterates that circumstantial evidence is often enough to allow a suit to get to a jury, according to several lawyers familiar with the case.

For the first time, employers are required to pay a subsidy for former employees’ use of COBRA, and experts caution that they could see their overall health costs rise as a result.