New England Biz Law Update

A Massachusetts federal judge has refused to release jurisdiction over local wage claims against a Texas employer, overriding jurisdictional arguments and contractual provisions linking aspects of the employment relationship to Texas law and courts. In Berrey v. Evolve Cellular, Inc., ...

Tyson Foods is facing a new class action lawsuit alleging that the company failed to properly consider religious accommodation requests and automatically placed employees with religious objections to its COVID-19 vaccine mandate on unpaid leave. Filed in federal court in ...

Mishandled workplace investigations can paralyze HR departments and leave companies on precariously thin legal ice. Without adherence to clear guidelines and best practices, probes meant to provide answers can instead raise more questions, undermine employment relationships and open organizations to ...

The Texas Supreme Court has ruled that third-party entities hired by employers to administer drug tests do not owe a common-law negligence duty to their clients’ employees. This decision follows a previous ruling that employers who conduct drug tests in-house ...

The recently released “Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence” contains provisions focused specifically on addressing rising concerns over AI’s impacts on the future of work. While stopping short of immediate policy actions, ...

A federal judge has ruled that a former office manager can move forward with his lawsuit alleging that the university he worked at unlawfully refused to rehire him in retaliation for his complaints of wage violations and age discrimination. The ...

A $8.3 million judgment awarded to police officers for unpaid detail wages has been overturned on appeal, with a federal appeals court finding no violation of the Massachusetts Wage Act occurred. The ruling demonstrates how ambiguous contract language can backfire ...

A controversial new regulation expanding the concept of “joint employment” under federal labor law is set to take effect in February, potentially making it easier for Americans to unionize. However, the measure has sparked backlash from the business community and ...

A recent appeals court ruling reinforced that under federal wage law, employees must be paid for all work required of them, even if occurring outside normal shifts. The decision upheld a $17.78 million judgment against New York City for unpaid ...

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued a final rule that expands the standard for when two businesses are considered joint employers under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The rule replaces a standard last updated in 2020 and ...