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Employment – Race – Hostile work environment
Where a defendant has moved to dismiss a plaintiff’s G.L.c. 151B complaint, that motion should be denied in part, as additional development of the record is required to determine whether the actions of a supervisor created a hostile work environment based upon race, but a disparate treatment count must be dismissed because the plaintiff’s allegations do not amount to a material change in the c[...]
Employment – Contractual limitations period – Chapter 151B
Where a plaintiff has alleged racial discrimination in violation of G.L.c. 151B, a motion to dismiss the complaint based on a 180-day limitations period in the plaintiff’s employment contract should be denied, as that contractual provision does not specifically mention claims of discrimination and, thus, does not clearly and unmistakably apply to Chapter 151B claims.
Employment – Disparate treatment
Where summary judgment was awarded to the defendants on a plaintiff’s claims of hostile work environment, retaliation, and disparate treatment, that judgment should be vacated as to claims under G.L.c. 151B and Title VII premised on a theory that the State Police engaged in disparate treatment.
Employment – Chapter 151B – Employer status
Where a defendant has moved for summary judgment on a plaintiff’s two G.L.c. 151B claims, that motion should be allowed because the defendant — a Delaware corporation with a principal place of business in Texas — was not the plaintiff’s employer.
Employment – Vaccination – Religious exemption
Where a plaintiff has filed a Chapter 151B complaint alleging that the commonwealth wrongfully terminated his employment when, following the denial of his application for a religious exemption, he refused to comply with the commonwealth’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, the complaint should not be dismissed despite the commonwealth’s argument that the plaintiff has not identified a religious practic[...]
Employment – Statute of limitations – Continuing violation theory
Where a motion has been filed to dismiss claims of discrimination and retaliation under G.L.c. 151B, that motion should be allowed in part and denied in part, as the complaint is untimely as to discriminatory and retaliatory acts that allegedly occurred before September 2019 but is timely as to the period between September 2019 and June 16, 2021.
Virginia employee’s Wage Act, discrimination claims survive dismissal
A recent denial of a defendant’s motion to dismiss offers the latest reminder to employers that it may not be so easy to get out from under the employee-friendly provisions […]
Employment – Standing – Former employee
Where a defendant hospital has moved for summary judgment on a G.L.c. 151B discrimination complaint filed by a plaintiff, that motion should be allowed because the plaintiff did not have […]
Employment – Chapter 151B – Wage Act
Where a plaintiff has asserted claims under G.L.c. 151B and the Massachusetts Wage Act, a motion to dismiss should be denied despite the defendants’ argument that the plaintiff’s alleged contacts […]
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
