Tag: Massachusetts

New Massachusetts Law Changes Employer Obligations for Personnel Records

by Susan G. Fentin Governor Deval Patrick recently signed the Massachusetts Economic Development Bill into law. The law, which is retroactively effective to August 1, includes some well-known provisions that authorize a new state sales tax holiday and grant tax breaks for certain businesses. The bill, however, also contains several lesser-known provisions, including one that […]

Medical Marijuana Compassionate Use Laws Among 2010 Legislative Actions

by Lorraine Yeomans The 2010 state legislative sessions have kicked off across the nation, and one of the first pieces of legislation to be signed into law this year was a bill legalizing the use of medical marijuana. On January 18, as one of his last acts before leaving office, New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine […]

Happy Anniversary, Mr. President

Today marks the one-year anniversary of President Obama’s Inaugural, and my guess is that he’s not doing a lot of celebrating. That’s because yesterday, in a special Senate election to fill the late Ted Kennedy’s seat, Massachusetts voters elected a Republican to represent them. President Obama and Democrats across the country must be asking themselves […]

Appalling Reference Issue HR Pros Should Watch Out For

by Michael B. Leahy Recently, our colleagues in California brought a shady — and possibly criminal — Web-based reference service to our attention. What we saw shocked us. HR Guide to Employment Law: A practical compliance reference manual covering 14 topics, including hiring Every excuse in the book! CareerExcuse.com supplies fraudulent job references to employers […]

Wal-Mart Settles Another Wage and Hour Class Action

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer, has kicked off the holiday shopping season with a costly expense. The company has agreed to pay $40 million in the most recent of a string of wage and hour class-action settlements that have challenged the retailer over the past 12 months. Last December, the company agreed to […]

Some Things Stay the Same under the ADA Amendments Act

by Timothy F. Murphy This week, to review what has and hasn’t changed under the amended Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), we’re taking a look at a disability discrimination cases that deals with essential job functions and reasonable accommodation. Determining the truly essential functions of a job is often at the heart of a disability […]

Connecticut Court Overturns Ban on Same-Sex Marriages

Connecticut has become the third state to legalize same-sex civil marriages, which California and Massachusetts already recognize. The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled 4-3 to overturn a lower court ruling that denied same-sex couples the right to marry on the grounds that existing laws allowing civil unions afforded them sufficient rights. Gay and lesbian couples sought […]

Employers Bear Brunt of Proof in USERRA Cases

The First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently developed a new two-part test for determining discrimination based on military service under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). This newly created test may prove problematic for employers. To find out why, read on. Basic Training for Supervisors: easy-to-read guides to avoid legal hazards, […]