New England Biz Law Update

For two years, employers have been waiting for federal regulators to clarify just what the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act means for them. Now that wait is over.

Tagged with: employment law Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act Jan. 2011 issue

Workplace romances can be perilous in the best of circumstances. But when an employee is fired after his sweetie files a discrimination complaint against the company, can he sue for retaliation under Title VII?

Tagged with: employment law Jan. 2011 issue workplace relationship

Class-action lawsuits pitting privacy advocates against an industry built on buying and selling state motor vehicle records have resulted in contradictory rulings in federal courts across the country over the last few years.

Tagged with: Jan. 2011 issue selling motor vehicle records

An amendment to the state’s workers’ compensation statute that quietly went into effect in November for the first time gives employees, business competitors and others the power to sue a Massachusetts employer for failing to pay its workers’ comp insurance ...

Tagged with: insurance Jan. 2011 issue workers' comp

A rule that lawyers and judges in Massachusetts and beyond have been using to determine damages in patent infringement cases has been abolished by the Federal Circuit Court.

Tagged with: Jan. 2011 issue patent infringement

A Massachusetts Superior Court judge recently shed some light on the secretive world of arbitration by lifting a blanket confidentiality clause that had veiled documents in a dispute between a Wall Street brokerage firm and a former employee.

Tagged with: Jan. 2011 issue

The U.S. Department of Justice’s controversial decision to file criminal charges against Lauren C. Stevens, a North Carolina attorney employed by drug manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline, raises questions about whether lawyers working for companies are now firmly in the government’s enforcement crosshairs ...

Tagged with: Jan. 2011 issue

Defining exactly what, if any, right to privacy employees enjoy is something the U.S. Supreme Court has been hesitant to do.

Tagged with: Nov. 2010 issue

An employee who had to share a small office with a supervisor who allegedly refused to respect her personal space could later sue the supervisor for creating a hostile work environment, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.

Tagged with: Nov. 2010 issue

Massachusetts Superior Court judge in the Business Litigation Session has found that a damaging e-mail a defendant inadvertently forwarded to opposing counsel was privileged and should therefore be stricken from the case.

Tagged with: Nov. 2010 issue