One area of law that has a lot of catching up to do is that of the employee’s rights when the employer terminates her for wholly unfair reasons. Such employer actions are often devastating to the well qualified, hardworking and productive employee who otherwise holds a reasonable expectation that, despite her “at will” status, she would not suffer the trauma and disruption of becoming unemployed for reasons wholly beyond her control. I have found a common misconception in clients that the employer needs a reason, of at least minimal validity,...

In re Female Marines Lawyers savvy on the subject of illegal discrimination in the form of “profiling” should be curious about a recent Marine Corps study comparing all male combat units to those that are mixed, i.e. “integrated” with women. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and the Chief Marine Kahuna (I forget his name) are considering what to do with a recent study that determined, empirically, that all-male squads performed better in the areas of speed, “lethality,” marksmanship (markswomanship?), and generally, in the performance of basic...

I have noticed a disturbing increase in the number of unsolicited letters and telephone calls being made by law firms to accident victims. These law firms review police blotters to look for auto accidents, and then reach out to accident victims who are identified in the police reports. These contacts can be annoying and confusing, but unfortunately, they are allowed (with a few exceptions). This drags down the reputation of the legal profession and reinforces the stereotype of the ambulance chaser. The worst way to hire an attorney is to...

You don’t need a signed document to have a binding settlement agreement. This was always a concern that needed to be considered with oral negotiations, which can amount to enforceable, oral contracts. But with the age of electronic media also came a flood of litigation about the enforceability of an agreement that is reached via email even if it is never signed by the parties on a paper document. For example: lawyer one sends lawyer two a proposed agreement that the lawyers think may eventually result in a “Settlement Agreement” to be...

Massachusetts has enacted a new sick time law and regulations effective July 1, 2015. The new law, Mass.G.L. c. 149, §148C, allows all employees in Massachusetts to earn sick time. Significantly, the law includes full-time, part-time, temporary and seasonal employees. Regulations further describing the requirements of the new law have been issued by the Massachusetts Attorney General. 940 CMR 33.00 et seq. If an employer has 11 or more employees, the sick time must be paid. For employers with 10 or fewer employees, the sick time may be...

A FRIENDLY PSA REGARDING VIDEO/AUDIO RECORDINGS It seems as though every other day the media is inundated with coverage of a new instance of a civilian exposing police misconduct via recording taken by the civilian. In most instances, the officers under scrutiny appear to be unaware that their acts are being recorded. I bet you didn’t know that, in Massachusetts, that civilian could be prosecuted for a crime for simply making that recording. Massachusetts has a law that prohibits the secret recording of another’s oral communications without...