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VDH Files Amicus Brief for M.A.S.C. in Appeal of Decision Sustaining Local Board’s Policy Barring Disruption During Public Comment Sessions
Posted: /in News /by Heather McCarthyOn November 2, 2022, the Supreme Judicial Court will hear oral argument in Barron, et al. v. Southborough Board of Selectmen, et al., No. SJC-13284. The case is an appeal from a Superior Court decision that rejected a challenge to a local select board’s enforcement of its policy against speech during the public comment session […]
Four VDH Attorneys Named 2022 Massachusetts Super Lawyers and Rising Stars
Posted: /in News /by Heather McCarthyRobert D. Hillman and John Foskett have been named Massachusetts Super Lawyers for 2022 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 includes […]
Massachusetts Announces 2023 Paid Family and Medical Leave Contribution Rates and Benefit Amounts
Posted: /in News /by Heather McCarthyThe Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave recently announced changes to the employer contribution rates and benefit amounts under the Paid Family Medical Leave Act (PFMLA). Effective January 1, 2023, the contribution rate for employers with 25 or more covered individuals will be reduced to 0.63% of covered employees’ eligible wages from the current […]
SJC Holds that Certain Crimes Committed After Retirement Can Result in Pension Forfeiture
Posted: /in News /by Heather McCarthyOn September 6, 2022, the Supreme Judicial Court issued a decision in Mahan v. Boston Retirement Board, No. 13208 (2022), holding that the pension forfeiture provisions of G.L. c. 32, § 15(3) and (4) apply to an individual whose criminal activity occurs after the individual has retired from public service. The SJC’s conclusion means that […]
SJC Upholds MIAA’s Decision That Fifth-Year Senior is Not Eligible for Athletic Participation
Posted: /in News /by Heather McCarthyOn August 29, 2022, the Supreme Judicial Court issued a decision in Abner v. Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, No. 13224 (2022). The court upheld a determination by the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (“MIAA”) that a high school senior who had repeated his junior year and had played four prior years of high school athletics was […]
Follow Up: Statute Limits Impacts of SJC Decision that Payments Made in Lieu of Vacation Time Are Not Included in Pension Calculation
Posted: /in News /by Heather McCarthyOn August 4, 2022, Governor Baker signed into law an act that limits certain impacts of the Supreme Judicial Court’s recent decision in Joseph O’Leary v. Contributory Retirement Appeal Board, No. 13229 (2022). The SJC concluded that payments made in lieu of vacation leave are not “regular compensation” for purposes of retirement calculations. The Legislature […]
SJC Concludes that Payments Made In Lieu of Vacation Time Are Not Included in Pension Calculation
Posted: /in News /by Heather McCarthyOn August 11, 2022, the Supreme Judicial Court issued a decision in Joseph O’Leary v. Contributory Retirement Appeal Board, No. 13229 (2022), holding that payments made in lieu of unused, accrued vacation time are not “regular compensation” for the purpose of calculating a public employee’s retirement allowance under the Contributory Retirement Law, G.L. chapter 32. […]
Massachusetts Appeals Court Clarifies The Correct Recipient of a Presentment Letter for Claims Against a Public School Under the Massachusetts Tort Claims Act
Posted: /in News /by Heather McCarthyOn August 10, 2022, the Massachusetts Appeals Court issued a decision in John Doe v. Cambridge Public Schools, 21-P-877, dismissing an elementary school student’s complaint of negligent infliction of emotional distress because the student failed to meet the presentment requirement of the Massachusetts Tort Claim Act (the MTCA), G.L. c. 258, § 4, when he […]
Massachusetts Enacts Law Banning Discrimination Based on Natural and Protective Hairstyles
Posted: /in News /by Heather McCarthyOn July 26, 2022, Governor Charlie Baker signed into law An Act Prohibiting Discrimination Based on Natural and Protective Hairstyles, Chapter 117 of the Acts of 2022 (the “Act”). The Act prohibits discrimination based on race-related hairstyles in the workplace, schools, and places of public accommodation. The Act has two important components. First, it expands […]
Massachusetts to Provide Free School Meals for All Students in 2022-2023
Posted: /in News /by Heather McCarthyAs part of the Fiscal Year 2023 state budget, signed by Governor Charlie Baker on July 28, 2022, all K-12 public-school students in Massachusetts will be eligible for free school lunches this coming school year. The budget allocates a one-time investment of $110 million to support a pilot program providing school meals for all. Over […]