On January 12, the Supreme Judicial Court issued an opinion, In the Matter of a Grand Jury Investigation, which held that a grand jury subpoena, issued to a law firm for a cell phone containing text messages or other communications that the Commonwealth contended were evidence of a crime, and…
The United States Justice Department (DOJ) recently announced that it will interpret Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as protecting transgender employees from discrimination in the workplace. In a December 15, 2014 memo to U.S. Attorneys, Attorney General Eric Holder stated that he has “determined that the…
“Eyewitness misidentification is the single greatest cause of wrongful convictions nationwide, playing a role in 72% of convictions overturned through DNA testing.” —Innocence Project. Two cases recently decided on the same day by the Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) have made important strides in helping prevent wrongful convictions due to misidentification. …
A new federal spending law enshrines in statutory form the policy that federal agents will no longer seek to interfere with medical marijuana retail establishments in states where they are legal. As Massachusetts law with regard to marijuana possession and use continues to evolve, this change lessens the likelihood that…
Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court ruled that, under federal law, employees only have to be paid for time spent working or on activities necessary to perform their jobs – even if their employers require them to be there longer. In Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc. v. Busk, employees of a…
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Young v. UPS, a case that examines what protections pregnant workers have under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (“PDA”). As I explained in detail earlier this week, the issue in Young is whether an employer who accommodates some of its workers by…
When she became pregnant in 2006, Peggy Young’s doctor told her not to lift more than 20 pounds during the early part of her pregnancy, and no more than 10 thereafter. Upon hearing of this restriction, Young’s employer, UPS, refused to let her stay in her job, as she occasionally…
The image of an informant wearing a wire or secretly recording phone conversations during a criminal investigation is extremely common on television and in the movies. In Massachusetts, however, the use of a wiretap as an investigative tool of law enforcement is subject to extremely strict limits and protections that…
Researchers at Harvard Business School (HBS) and Hunter College recently issued a report based on their survey of more than 25,000 HBS graduates on issues related to work, family responsibilities, and the gender gap in senior management positions in the workplace. The study concludes that these highly educated and ambitious…
Just over 36 years ago, on October 31, 1978, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (“PDA”) was signed into law, extending the protections of Title VII to pregnant women. This summer, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued new enforcement guidance on pregnancy discrimination, explaining how both the PDA/Title VII and the…