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New MCAD regulations facing pushback from bar
Employment lawyers and civil rights groups oppose MCAD procedural changes, citing online portal mandate and expanded dismissal powers.
Financial services firm settles discrimination claim
The plaintiff was a middle-aged white woman who worked for a financial services firm. She had gender discrimination claims under Chapter 151B for failure to receive an internal promotion and also claims under the Massachusetts Equal Pay Act because she was not paid commensurately with some of her male colleagues.
Employment – Disability – Transfer
Where a plaintiff employee of a defendant airline has alleged discrimination on the basis of his hearing loss, the airline’s motion for summary judgment should be denied in part, as a reasonable jury could find that the airline failed to provide a reasonable accommodation by not transferring the plaintiff back to a ticket counter position.
Labor – Discrimination – Disparate treatment
Where a Boston firefighter who unsuccessfully sought a religious exemption from vaccination and testing requirements has filed a complaint against his union, the complaint should not be dismissed, as the factual allegations are sufficient to state plausible claims of disparate treatment religious discrimination under Title VII and Chapter 151B and breach of the duty of fair representation.
MCAD filing not required for high school sex abuse claim
Appeals Court says student can sue city for teacher’s sexual abuse without filing with MCAD, rejecting city’s immunity claim.
Employment – Retaliation – Age discrimination
Where a defendant employer has moved for summary judgment, that motion should be allowed as to the plaintiff’s claims under G.L.c. 151B and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, which are time-barred, but denied as to the plaintiff’s retaliation claims because he was demoted the day he returned from leave, an action which is sufficiently proximate to support causation.
Plaintiff need not prove handicap to sustain retaliation verdict
1st Circuit rules that a worker can claim retaliation under Massachusetts law even without proving a disability, after being fired for requesting accommodation.
Employment – Retaliation – Accommodation
Where a jury found that a defendant employer retaliated against a plaintiff by terminating him “for requesting or using a reasonable accommodation” in violation of G.L.c. 151B, §4(4), the district court's denial of the employer’s motion seeking judgment as a matter of law should be affirmed, as the record was sufficient to support the jury's conclusion that the plaintiff suffered an adverse[...]
Remote exec can bring bias claim against California employer in Massachusetts
The Massachusetts-based general counsel of a Silicon Valley company can sue her California-based supervisor in Massachusetts for wrongful discharge under Chapter 151B, a U.S. District Court judge has held.
Employment – Retaliation – Pretext
Where a plaintiff has alleged that he was retaliated against in violation of Title VII and G.L.c. 151B when he was suspended and then terminated, the defendants’ motion for summary judgment should be denied because the evidence identified by the plaintiff gives rise to a genuine dispute of material fact as to whether the defendants’ proffered reasons for the adverse employment actions were pre[...]
Employment – Chapter 151B – Employer status
Where a hearing commissioner found that a respondent discriminated against a complainant on the basis of sex and pregnancy in violation of G.L.c. 151B, that finding should be upheld despite the respondent’s claim that it did not have enough employees to be subject to Chapter 151B.
Employment – Chapter 151B – Employer status
Where a defendant was awarded summary judgment on a plaintiff’s claims of disability discrimination under G.L.c. 151B, §4, that judgment should be affirmed because the plaintiff admits that he was not employed by the defendant.
Verdicts & Settlements
- Injury during baby’s adenoidectomy leads to stroke
- Construction worker’s hand caught in cement mixer
- Worker trapped in freezer, dies during steam cleaning
- Pedestrian, 69, hit by motor vehicle while in crosswalk
- Four-vehicle pileup leaves driver with spinal cord injury
- Nursing home staff blamed for kidney-failure death
- Pharmacy’s late delivery blamed for patient’s death
- Man, 25, drowns after swimming lesson at fitness club
Opinion Digests
- Jurisdiction – Forum selection clause – Non-signatory
- Criminal – Responsibility
- Attorneys – Lien
- Landlord and tenant – Default judgment
- Zoning – Constructive grant – Comprehensive permit
- Fraud – False Claims Act – Settlement share
- Civil practice – Discovery – Cybersecurity
