By: Laura M. Raisty and Michelle M. De Oliveira

On July 31, 2024, Governor Maura Healey signed into law An Act Relative To Salary Range Transparency, making Massachusetts the twelfth state to pass a pay transparency law. The law requires covered employers to provide pay ranges in job postings and pay information directly to employees and applicants upon request. Moreover, […]

By: Drew Colby

One of the most dangerous clauses in any construction contract is the claims clause.  The claims clause provides relief (monetary and/or time) for changes in the work.  This clause can be a landmine for owners and trades alike.  Claims clauses typically have four components; namely, (1) is the work really a change; (2) when must notice be […]

By Greg Vanden-Eykel, Esq.

Many of our clients maintain offices, hire employees, and transact business in Rhode Island.  Primarily, many focus on complying with Massachusetts law given their principal places of business.  However, it is critical for employers to understand that transacting business in Rhode Island often triggers Rhode Island employment laws – even if employees work remotely from Rhode […]

By: Michael P. Sams, Esq. and Joshua D. Klebanoff, Esq.

Suffolk Construction’s 43 floor mixed use project in the Magic City was anything but after the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida recently found Suffolk Construction’s inability to manage the “flow” of the project as general contractor so egregious that it constituted “active interference” with […]

By: David Viens

Introduction

A recent Massachusetts Appeals Court case involving a dispute arising from a failed restaurant demonstrates the often-elusive nature of what is known as the “implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.”  The case, Classic Restaurant Concepts, LLC v. President and Fellows of Harvard College (“Classic Restaurant”), involved a commercial lease dispute between Classic Restaurant Concepts, LLC […]

By: Michael P. Sams and Samantha Corcoran

The Tocci Building Corp. v. IRIV Partners, LLC et al. decision involved a construction project on Summer Street in Boston in which the Prompt Pay Act applied. The Prompt Pay Act applies to private construction projects in Massachusetts where the general contract value exceeds $3,000,000. The Act does not […]

By: Michelle M. De Oliveira and George Barclay

Commission-based employees are entitled to, and must receive, separate and additional payments for overtime and hours worked on Sundays—and an employer’s failure to issue such payments violates the Massachusetts Wage Act. 

On March 28, 2024, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) issued a decision in

By: John F. Nagle and Matthew C. Welnicki

Recently, the Massachusetts Business Litigation Session of the Superior Court (“BLS”) was asked to evaluate whether an “agreement to agree” in a letter of intent was binding.  A central issue in the dispute was the impact of the equitable doctrine of judicial estoppel – one of the parties sought […]

By: Michelle De Oliveira and Parker Williams

On April 1, 2024, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) published a final rule, amending its existing “walkaround” rule, and expanding employees’ rights by allowing employees to designate non-employee third parties as their employee representative during OSHA inspections. The new rule’s effective date is May 31, 2024.

Current […]

By: Laura M. Raisty

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“PWFA”), which has been in effect since June 2023, is intended to safeguard the rights of pregnant employees in the workplace. Among its protections is the requirement that employers provide reasonable accommodations to ensure pregnant employees can continue working safely and effectively, unless doing so would cause […]