New England In-House

With today’s increased focus on diversity and inclusiveness in the workplace, some employment attorneys are reporting that employees are raising more concerns about so-called “reverse discrimination.” “People are generally more aware now that they may have legal rights in employment, ...

Reversing its own precedent on the issue, a three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has held that the federal False Claims Act’s first-to-file rule is nonjurisdictional, thereby limiting a court’s analysis of competing first-to-file claims to ...

A company could not be held liable for disability discrimination when it was not aware of the medical condition of a former employee who brought suit, a U.S. District Court judge in Rhode Island has held. The plaintiff, David Saad, ...

A former graduate student’s lawsuit claiming that Rhode Island College violated his rights to freedom of speech and expression and retaliated against him for his conservative viewpoints raises questions for a jury to decide and therefore should have survived the ...

In a split decision, a three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has reiterated that the pleading standard for a retaliation claim under the federal False Claims Act differs from the standard applicable in a suit alleging ...

A federal judge has ruled that a cleaning company was not a “joint employer” for purposes of a wage claim under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Rhode Island Minimum Wage Act. Integral to the summary judgment ruling in ...

A jury’s award of unpaid future sales commissions could not be trebled under the Massachusetts Wage Act, a Superior Court judge in the Business Litigation Session has ruled. In an opinion disposing of post-trial motions, Judge Kenneth W. Salinger determined ...

A recent holding from the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is a reaffirmation that ERISA’s “duty of prudence” for fiduciary managers of employer-sponsored retirement plans speaks to process, not investment results, attorneys say. The plaintiffs in the case contended ...

In a ruling examining the interplay between social media and the workplace, the Rhode Island Supreme Court has held in a split decision that there was insufficient evidence to show an employee’s Facebook post was “connected with his work” so ...

It would be hard to fault anyone for assuming that the legal department of a 110-year-old property and casualty insurance company with a national reach must be a large operation. After all, Amica Mutual Insurance Co. is under the eye ...