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Liz Valerio and Nick Dominello to Present at 2021 Massachusetts Association of School Business Officials (“MASBO”) and Massachusetts Association of School Personnel Administrators (“MASPA”) Annual Law Day
Posted: /in Events, News /by Heather McCarthyOn Tuesday, April 13, 2021 Liz and Nick will present at the MASBO/MASPA Annual Law Day webinar. Liz and Nick will be discussing trends in collective bargaining and COVID related concerns including vaccine rollout, remote learning options in the future and ongoing expectations for families and staff.
VDH Files Amicus Brief in First Circuit Case That Validates Maine Tuition Program
Posted: /in News /by Heather McCarthyVDH attorney John Foskett worked with the National School Boards Association and the four state school boards located in the First Circuit and filed an amicus brief. The plaintiffs claimed that Maine’s tuition assistance program violates the First Amendment’s bar on religious discrimination because, while it permits school districts that are unable to offer a […]
DESE Adopts New Student Learning Time Regulations
Posted: /in News /by Heather McCarthyRecently, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (“DESE”) approved emergency regulations relative to student learning time in light of hybrid and remote learning models. Districts will be required to provide a certain amount of live and synchronous instruction to students. Effective January 19, 2021, 603 CMR 27.00 now requires that schools operating in […]
Labor and Employment Updates for 2021
Posted: /in News /by Heather McCarthyEmployers can expect several changes to come in 2021. As detailed further below, there are many upcoming changes to federal and state laws that require employers be prepared. Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) In 2020, the federal government passed the FFCRA, which encompassed two acts providing leave time to certain employees impacted by COVID-19: […]
Four VDH Attorneys Named 2020 Massachusetts Super Lawyers and Rising Stars
Posted: /in News /by Heather McCarthyRobert D. Hillman and John Foskett have been named Massachusetts Super Lawyers for 2020 and Nicholas J. Dominello and Jennifer F. King have been named Massachusetts Rising Stars. Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. This selection process […]
CERB Rules That Teachers Participated In Illegal Strike
Posted: /in News /by Heather McCarthyThe Commonwealth Employment Relations Board (“CERB”) recently issued a decision holding that Andover Public Schools teachers participated in an illegal strike in violation of G.L. c. 150E, § 9A when they refused to enter school buildings on the first work day of the school calendar for 2020-2021 and insisted instead on performing their work outside […]
Department of Labor Revises Regulations on Families First Coronavirus Response Act
Posted: /in News /by Heather McCarthyFollowing a decision from a federal court in New York vacating portions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) regulations, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently published revised regulations addressing the court’s decision. Notably, the revisions establish a new definition for a “health care provider” after the New York court found the previous definition […]
Reminder – New Title IX Regulations Going Into Effect on August 14, 2020
Posted: /in News /by Heather McCarthyToday, August 14, 2020, the new Title IX regulations, enforced by the U.S. Department of Education (“DOE”), will go into effect. As discussed in our May 13, 2020 advisory on this topic, available here, the regulations have many new requirements for sexual harassment policies and procedures that need to be in effect by August 14, […]
Federal Court Vacates Portions of FFCRA Regulations
Posted: /in News /by Heather McCarthyYesterday, a federal court vacated portions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) regulations. In April, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued regulations interpreting the FFCRA, which provides paid leave time to employees impacted by COVID-19. The New York Attorney General challenged portions of the regulations, and the matter proceeded to a U.S. […]
DESE Permits 2020-2021 School Year Delay and Student Learning Time Reduction
Posted: /in News /by Heather McCarthyThe Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (“DESE”) is permitting school districts to delay the start of the 2020-2021 school year by 10 days but not later than September 16, 2020, reducing the student school days to 170 days from the current 180 day requirement for the 2020-2021 school year. Waivers may be available […]