Don’t Get Burned by Summer Interns

by Allyson Kurker

For many of us, summers past were spent working as unpaid interns. When set up properly, these arrangements epitomized the notion of a win-win relationship. The intern beefed up her resume by gaining experience no one would pay her to…more

Federal Court Offers Guidance re Arbitration of Employment Claims

by Allyson Kurker

Employers should think twice before relying on the arbitration provision contained in an Employee Handbook because for the second time in as many years, a Massachusetts federal court has refused to enforce such a provision. In July…more

Managing the Haze of the New Medical Marijuana Law

by Allyson Kurker

On November 6, 2012, Massachusetts voters approved a ballot measure making Massachusetts the eighteenth state to decriminalize the use of medicinal marijuana. The law became effective yesterday, January 1, 2013. The Massachusetts…more

Mass High Court Rules Out-of-State Contractors Subject to MA Wage Laws

by Allyson Kurker

In Taylor, et al. v. Eastern Connection Operating, Inc., the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) ruled that workers of a Massachusetts-based company, who lived and performed services in New York, enjoyed the protections of the Massachusetts…more

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

by Allyson Kurker

In a decision handed down on March 4, 2013, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court dealt a blow to a Massachusetts employer that made gratuitous severance payments to a former employee in a bid to avoid litigation. Dixon v. City of…more

Office Romances Gone Awry

by Allyson Kurker

Even if your office does not resemble the hotbed of sexual activity depicted at the advertising agency Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce on TV’s Mad Men, chances are that romances are brewing. In a survey of office workers just released by…more

SJC Refuses To Enforce General Release of Wage Act Claims

by Allyson Kurker

At some point, all employers will be in the unenviable position of wanting or needing to terminate an employee. Given the emotional consequences of being fired, coupled with the difficult job market, many terminated employees will sue…more

Temporary Workers, Permanent Obligations: What Employers Must Know

by Allyson Kurker

On January 31, 2013, Massachusetts will become the second state to require staffing agencies to provide basic job information to employees assigned to temporary or part-time jobs. An Act Establishing a Temporary Worker’s Right to Know…more

California Appellate Courts Clarify and Limit Plaintiffs’ Recovery for Medical Expenses

by Kimberly Jackanich | Sedgwick LLP

Throughout the years, plaintiffs’ attorneys in personal injury actions have tried to present the entire amount of medical expenses billed in efforts to increase the plaintiffs’ recovery. Despite the irrelevance of these bills to the…more