A federal jury in Massachusetts has found a construction company and its CEO liable in the gross amount of $650,000 after they reported an injured employee to immigration authorities in retaliation for his application for workers’ compensation benefits. In 2017, José Martin Paz Flores, an employee of Tara Construction, Inc. fell off a ladder while working and broke his leg.…
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Developments in the Dynamic World
of Business and Employment Law
Two new Supreme Court decisions will make it easier for some employees to keep their cases in court, and out of arbitration. In Southwest Airlines Co. v. Saxon, issued on June 6, 2022, the high court ruled that ramp supervisors working for Southwest Airlines are “engage in foreign or interstate commerce” and thus are exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act…
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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit is poised to decide whether, and to what extent, long-haul trucking companies must pay drivers for time spent in sleeper berths while the trucks are on the road. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) generally requires that these workers be paid minimum wage for “working time.” Whether “working time” includes drivers’ time…
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B&B Partner David E. Belfort was recently invited by “The Boston Globe” (‘Globe’) to comment on a case involving a claim of reverse race discrimination where a white applicant was asked in her job interview about the impact of “white privilege” on her ability to perform the job. In the March 9, 2022 issue of The Globe, Attorney Belfort was…
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B&B Attorney Eric LeBlanc was quoted in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly’s February 25, 2022 edition concerning the recent decision in Chapoteau, et al. v. Bella Sante, Inc., et al. At issue in this case was whether massage therapists at a day spa were entitled to time-and-a-half pay on Sundays pursuant to Chapter 136, § 6, of the Massachusetts “Blue Laws,” which…
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The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in Reuter v. City of Methuen recently issued a decision ruling that in wage violation cases, subject to the Wage Act, G.L.c. 149, triple damages are triggered when an employer fails to pay a fired employee earned wages on the day of termination. Beth Reuter, an employee of the City of Methuen, was owed $8,952.15…
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A stylist who opened her own shop won’t be facing legal claims from her former salon, after B&B Attorneys Eric LeBlanc and Michaela May successfully moved to dismiss all of the salon’s five counterclaims against their client. The salon alleged that the stylist had breached a non-competition agreement by servicing clients and opening her own shop following her separation from…
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B&B Partner David E. Belfort was recently called upon by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly (“MLW”) to comment on the Massachusetts U.S. District Court decision of Rivera v. Altranais Home Care LLC. The case was featured in the January 28, 2022 issue of MLW in an article titled “Failure-to -Accommodate Claim Survives Summary Judgment” and centered on a decision issued by Judge…
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