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SJC Concludes that Payments Made In Lieu of Vacation Time Are Not Included in Pension Calculation

On 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

On 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

On 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

As 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 […]

Massachusetts Legislature Extends Remote Meeting Bill Through March 2023

On July 16, 2022, Governor Baker signed into law a new session law, An Act Relative to Extending Certain State of Emergency Accommodations, which extends certain COVID-19 related measures including provisions regarding holding remote meetings and remote public access to meetings. This extension expires on March 31, 2023. This extension allows public bodies to continue […]

Extension Of Remote Open Meeting Bill Remains Pending In Massachusetts Legislature

On February 15, 2022, Governor Baker signed into law a new session law, Chapter 22 of the Acts of 2022, which extends certain COVID-19 related measures including provisions regarding holding remote meetings and remote public access to meetings. This extension expires on July 15, 2022. The Senate budget bill includes a provision that would extend […]

Supreme Court Rules That A Public School Violated The First Amendment By Disciplining Coach For Field Prayer

On June 27, 2022, the United States Supreme Court issued a 6-3 decision in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, No. 21-418 (2022), holding that a public school district violated the First Amendment rights of its high school football coach, Joseph Kennedy, when it suspended and later non-renewed him for praying quietly and without his players […]

SJC Decides that Non-Exempt Employees Cannot Receive the Massachusetts Wage Payment Law Remedies for the Untimely Payment of FLSA Overtime

On April 14, 2022, the Supreme Judicial Court issued a decision holding that employees whose sole claim for untimely overtime wages rests on the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C., § 203, can only recover the remedies provided under the FLSA and cannot use the Massachusetts Wage Payment Law, G.L. c. 149, § […]

SJC Decides That Employers Are Strictly Liable for Treble the Amount of Wages, Including Accrued, Unused Vacation That is Not Paid on the Date of Termination

On April 4, 2022, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued a decision in Reuter v, City of Methuen, No. 13121 (2022), holding that an employer who failed to pay a discharged employee for accrued vacation time on the day of her termination, as required by the Wage Act, G.L. c. 149, §148, is strictly liable […]

Supreme Court Decides That an Elected Public Board Did Not Violate the First Amendment When It Censured One of Its Members

On March 24, 2022, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision in Houston Community College System v. Wilson, No. 20-804 (2022), holding that an elected member of a public body does not have a First Amendment claim arising from that body’s verbal censure of the member. The Court’s decision was limited to the narrow […]