New England Biz Law Update

A fired employee cannot sue for severance pay under the Massachusetts Wage Act, a Superior Court judge has ruled.

Tagged with: May 31 2012 issue

The fallout from the firing of Henry C. Suominen Jr. has stretched across eight years, producing a lawsuit, a jury trial, an appeal and a second jury trial.

Tagged with: May 31 2012 issue

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued updated guidance on employers’ use of criminal background checks in making employment decisions. According to EEOC officials, the new guidance, the first since the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1991, which ...

Tagged with: May 31 2012 issue

New rules simplifying and speeding up the process for union organizing elections went into effect on April 30. The rules establish pre-election hearings to determine whether there is a “question of representation” to be resolved by an election, rather than ...

Tagged with: May 31 2012 issue

The Department of Labor has launched an effort to increase enforcement actions by its Employee Benefits Security Administration, the agency in charge of administering and enforcing ERISA regulations. The agency saw a record number of enforcement actions in 2011. It ...

Tagged with: May 31 2012 issue

The recent ruling from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission holding that transgendered workers can bring bias claims under Title VII is a “game changer” in employment discrimination law and could lead to claims under the act based on sexual orientation.

Tagged with: May 31 2012 issue

Local securities lawyers say a 2nd Circuit ruling defines for the first time the meaning of “domestic transaction” under a test laid out by the U.S. Supreme Court in its landmark 2010 Morrison, et al. v. National Australia Bank Ltd., ...

Tagged with: May 31 2012 issue

A Massachusetts three private-jet charter flight salesmen from soliciting customers from their previous employer Superior Court judge has held that a non-compete, non-solicitation clause barred.

Tagged with: May 31 2012 issue

The fallout from the firing of Henry C. Suominen Jr. has stretched across eight years, producing a lawsuit, a jury trial, an appeal and a second jury trial.

Tagged with: April 30 2012 issue

State employees seeking to file suit under the Family and Medical Leave Act’s self-care provision face an unlikely future after a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

Tagged with: April 30 2012 issue