A recent Ogletree Deakins internal benchmarking survey of nearly 1,100 companies revealed that a chief concern of employers was how to hire and retain employees. The survey included companies of all sizes, varying from fewer...more
It is well known that opioid overdoses have occurred at epidemic levels in the United States for years. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), opioid overdose deaths have increased from 21,089...more
On July 11, 2023, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) declined to extend its early COVID-19 emergency orders to the time limits established for filing a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against...more
The August 3, 2021, report regarding the sexual harassment allegations brought against former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, “Report of Investigation into Allegations of Sexual Harassment by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo”...more
Last November, South Dakota voters approved Amendment A, which allowed for the recreational use of marijuana by individuals 21 years and older (and for possession of up to 1 ounce). On February 8, 2021, a South Dakota judge...more
We would all be excused for wanting 2020 to disappear in a fog of medical marijuana. Here is a recap:
As we predicted in 2019, most of this year’s action concerned medical and recreational marijuana. Not to be missed,...more
12/28/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Drug Testing ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
Recreational Use ,
Transportation Industry
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC), the Commonwealth’s highest court, recently clarified the standards applicable to analyzing nonsolicitation and anti-raid restrictive covenants following the sale of a business -...more
2/18/2020
/ Anti-Raiding ,
Appeals ,
Corporate Sales Transactions ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Enforceability ,
Judicial Review ,
MA Supreme Judicial Court ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Reversal
Can two judges on the same court reach contradictory conclusions about the enforceability of the same arbitration agreement presented to two employees in the same manner? In Rhode Island, the answer is yes, as the U.S....more
California is a state of pioneers. It is in the vanguard of new legislation, often adopted later by other states. It is also known for its financial ventures into new technologies and research—ventures in amounts greater than...more
On January 4, 2018, Attorney General Jeff Sessions reversed the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) position on enforcement of federal marijuana laws. Under the Obama administration, the DOJ adopted a hands-off approach to...more
On July 17, 2017, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued a unanimous ruling in Barbuto v. Advantage Sales and Marketing, LLC, allowing medical marijuana users to assert claims for handicap discrimination under the...more
7/19/2017
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Drug Testing ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Essential Functions ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Interactive Process ,
MA Supreme Judicial Court ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
State Law Claims
In a recently issued trial court decision, Callaghan v. Darlington Fabrics Corp., a Rhode Island Superior Court justice held that an employer could not deny employment to an applicant licensed under state law to possess and...more
On February 6, 2017, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Wyandotte County, Kansas, did not violate the U.S. Constitution by discharging an employee in a safety-sensitive position after he tested positive for cocaine...more
On November 8, 2016, voters in several states passed medical or recreational marijuana measures each of which will likely impact employers. As this area of law is developing quickly, and since the Trump administration’s...more
While prescription drug use and abuse pose serious concerns for the health and safety of workplaces, two recent cases filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) suggest that employers need to be very...more
On May 11, 2016, the First Circuit Court of Appeals issued the latest of several decisions supporting and furthering federal preemption of the Massachusetts independent contractor statute for businesses that qualify as motor...more
On August 27, 2015, a three-member panel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued Manhattan Beer Distributors, LLC and Joe Garcia Diaz, (29-CA-115694) finding that an employer had unlawfully denied an employee his...more
A federal appellate court recently reinstated a lawsuit brought by a dining services employee who claimed that she was sexually harassed by a male coworker. According to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, a reasonable jury...more
9/14/2015
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Arbitration ,
Background Checks ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Deflategate ,
Electronic Payment Transactions ,
Employee Benefits ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Minimum Wage ,
NFL ,
OSHA ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sick Leave ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Title VII ,
Tom Brady ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Investigations
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended (ADA) considers alcoholism to be a “disability.” Individuals who suffer from alcoholism are entitled to the protections of the ADA just as those with significant mental...more
8/17/2015
/ Alcohol Testing ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Drug & Alcohol Abuse ,
Drug Testing ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Medical Examinations ,
Mental Illness ,
Popular ,
Screening Procedures
Over the years, the topic of workplace investigations has gained increasing importance in the HR and employment law world. Now, with investigations routinely making headlines, they have become a part of our popular culture as...more
8/3/2015
/ Best Management Practices ,
Deflategate ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Football ,
Internal Investigations ,
Popular ,
Standard of Proof ,
Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) ,
Tom Brady ,
Workplace Investigations ,
Young Lawyers
On May 22, 2015, in an unpublished decision, Judge Andrew W. Roraback of the Connecticut Superior Court (Waterbury Judicial District) found that Connecticut’s statutory restrictions on urine-based drug testing did not apply...more