Massachusetts Sick Time Law: A Primer
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...
OUR VIEW: OBERGEFELL v. HODGES
The same sex marriage decision “moves (us) one step closer to being reminded of our impotence.” These are the last words in Justice Antonin Scalia’s dissent, Scalia -father of nine children (God forbid that one be gay). Joining Scalia in his deep support for procreation, Chief Justice Roberts tells us that it is the state’s prerogative (not the federal government’s) to reward couples who make and raise children in a stable home with the respectability (and assorted other benefits) of being married. So. . . . recent Supreme Court wisdom is...
A FRIENDLY PSA REGARDING VIDEO/AUDIO RECORDINGS
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...
Rev. Curtis Dias files discrimination complaint against Bristol Co. Sheriff’s Department
DARTMOUTH, MA — The Rev. Curtis Dias, a full-time community reentry mentor in the sheriff’s department, says his superiors purposely used profane language around him and treated him differently than other coworkers. Read more.
MATTAPOISETT FIRE DEPARTMENT: Charges dismissed, Patrick Saltmarsh resigns
MATTAPOISETT – A divisive and tumultuous chapter in the history of the Mattapoisett Fire Department appears to have come to an end with the resignation of the town’s first full-time fire inspector. Read more
Lessons Learned From Judge Wapner
“Don’t take the law into your own hands: you take ’em to court.” We have all heard that familiar catch-phrase from the TV show People’s Court. But, People’s Court was not actually a “court” – it was a binding arbitration between the parties. (By the way, in cases where the plaintiff won, the producer paid the judgment. But, that’s a story for another day.) So, what is arbitration? What is mediation? How are they different from a court trial? Mediation and arbitration are two types of alternative dispute...