In what appears to be the first reported decision by an appellate court in the country, on October 18, 2018 the Massachusetts Appeals Court has ruled that a student did not “enter the military” or, therefore, become emancipated for purposes of  child support when he obtained an Army ROTC scholarship. VDH attorney John Foskett represented […]

On October 3, 2018, the Supreme Judicial Court sustained an arbitration award reinstating a police officer who had filed a police report that the arbitrator found was “intentionally misleading” but not “intentionally false” and that did not result in a wrongful arrest, a wrongful prosecution, or a deprivation of civil rights. The decision, City of […]

In Tortolano v. Lemuel Shattuck Hospital, No. 17-P-631 (2018), the Appeals Court has reiterated that employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”) and its respective grievance procedure must exhaust that procedure before bringing a breach of contract claim.  Additionally, the Appeals Court held employees challenging overtime wages pursuant to M.G.L. c. 149, § 30B […]

On August 10, 2018, Governor Baker signed a bill reforming the use of non-competition agreements in employment contexts. The bill, referred to as the Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act (the “Act”), goes into effect on October 1, 2018 and does not retroactively impact contracts entered into before that date. Definition of “Non-Competition Agreement” The Act defines […]

This is a brief overview of the Massachusetts substance abuse screening regulations that were signed into law in 2016 and are applicable to all public school districts. As a reminder, the regulations impose new requirements on school districts for the 2018-2019 school year. An Act Relative to Substance Use, Treatment, Education and Prevention (the Law) […]