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Retirement – Creditable service – Res judicata
Where a petitioner has filed an appeal challenging the retirement allowance calculation made by the State Board of Retirement, the board’s calculation should be upheld because the doctrine of issue preclusion precludes the petitioner from arguing that she should be credited with 18 years, nine months and seven days of creditable service.
Walmart sold gun to employee who shot himself. Is retailer liable?
A federal jury weighs whether Walmart is civilly liable for selling a shotgun to an employee whose suicide managers allegedly failed to prevent.
Employment – Wage Act – Fees
Where a Wage Act judgment has been challenged on appeal, so much of the judgment as denied the plaintiff counsel fees must be vacated, as a remand is necessary for a determination whether the plaintiff was the prevailing party within the meaning of G.L.c. 149, §150.
Employment – Vaccination – First Amendment
Where the plaintiffs, 11 current and former employees of the defendant Woods Hole, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority, requested preliminary injunctive relief from the defendant’s vaccination policy adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was not an abuse of discretion for a U.S. District Court judge to deny that request, as the defendant had legitimate interests in preventin[...]
Massachusetts suit over alleged insurance brokerage raid just one of many
Brown & Brown accuses rival broker Howden of trade secret theft, employee poaching, and unfair competition in a sweeping Massachusetts lawsuit.
State appellate review board issues call for pro bono attorneys
The Division of Administrative Law Appeals is expanding a pro bono program to connect volunteer lawyers with unrepresented parties in agency appeals.
Employment – Lie detector – Notice
Where a plaintiff job applicant has brought a purported class action alleging that the defendant employer deprived him and other applicants of their statutorily guaranteed right to notice that it is unlawful in Massachusetts to administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment, the plaintiff lacks standing to sue as a “person aggrieved” under the statute because he was never subjecte[...]
Employment – Chapter 93A – Trade secrets
Where a plaintiff has moved for leave to file a second amended complaint, that motion should be allowed as to a G.L.c. 93A count against a former executive but otherwise denied on futility grounds.
Truck-driving instructor not entitled to overtime pay
A Massachusetts judge ruled a CDL instructor at a for-profit truck-driving school is exempt from overtime under the Wage Act as a teaching professional.
Judge lets wrongful termination suit against PI firm proceed
A Massachusetts judge allowed key claims to proceed in a lawsuit alleging wrongful termination, retaliation, and unpaid commissions at a personal injury firm.
Employment – Wage Act – ‘Teaching professional’
Where a defendant school for tractor trailer training has moved to dismiss an overtime claim brought by a plaintiff who worked as an instructor, that motion should be allowed because the plaintiff is a “teaching professional” and therefore exempt from the overtime pay requirement of G.L.с. 151, §1A(3).
White cop dating Black coworker claims hostile workplace
The plaintiff, a white female, was a Boston police officer who graduated from the Police Academy on April 10, 2018. At that time, she was appointed as a probationary police officer.
