January 2019

Corporate insolvencies and near insolvencies regularly generate significant claims and litigation initiated by creditors seeking payment of unsatisfied indebtedness and judgments. On December 28, 2018, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) rendered a significant decision addressing claims of a class of employee creditors of a Delaware corporation. The employees sought to recover damages from officers […]

The United States Supreme Court remains active during this fall’s term in determining employers’ rights and obligations when companies include an arbitration agreement in their employment or independent contractor agreements. The United States Supreme Court ruled in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis in May 2018 that class action waivers are enforceable in arbitration clauses which […]

In 2010, Massachusetts was one of the first jurisdictions to adopt a “Ban the Box” law, which prohibits employers from asking about an applicant’s criminal record on an employment application. The purpose of these laws is to help applicants with criminal records overcome certain barriers in obtaining employment. In addition to the prohibition regarding criminal […]

In 2019, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will once again mail no‑match letters to employers that have submitted a wage report containing a reported name, Social Security number (SSN) or a combination thereof for an employee which do not match SSA’s records. The no‑match letters will advise employers that the issuance of the letter: does […]

After 16 years of debate and discussion, the New York State Legislature recently passed the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (“GENDA”), which would amend the New York State Human Rights Law to expressly prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression. Under the Act, gender identity or expression is defined as “a person’s actual […]