May 21, 2010

Federal Court Finds SOX Whistleblower Provisions Cover Employees of Private Firms Acting Under Contract to Public Mutual Funds

By Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.

By Allen B. Roberts, Douglas Weiner

The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts held in Lawson v. FMR LLC (pdf) that SOX coverage can apply not only to employees of publicly traded companies, but to employees of private management services firms as well.

The typical business model in the financial services industry is that public mutual fund companies generally have no employees of their own, but are managed by private investment advisors. The public company’s investment assets are thus managed by employees of a private employer. 

Posted in Legal Updates | North America
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May 19, 2010

Breastfeeding Moms at Work

By Karen Sutherland

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was recently amended to allow nursing mothers to take unpaid breaks to express breast milk at work.  This amendment is codified at 29 U.S.C. 207(r)(1).  It requires an employer to provide a “reasonable” break time for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child for one year […]

Posted in Legal Updates | North America
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May 18, 2010

DAVIS MALM ATTORNEY DAVID RAPAPORT SERVES AS A KEYNOTE SPEAKER

By Davis Malm
May 18, 2010 – Boston, MA
For more information contact: Jeanie Griggs
(617) 589-3895; jgriggs@davismalm.com

On May 5, Davis Malm attorney David Rapaport served as a keynote speaker at the 2010 Employer Recognition Breakfast hosted by the Greater Worcester Employment Resource Collaborative. Mr. Rapaport focused his address on the precedent-setting case of his client and co-keynote speaker, Alan Labonte, who was discriminated against by a Boston law firm. Mr. Rapaport emphasized not only the message to employers that they must observe the rights of persons with disabilities, but also how important it is to hire them. The award ceremony recognized area employers who went “above and beyond” expectations in promoting the hiring of qualified persons with disabilities.

Posted in News | North America
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May 13, 2010

Connecticut Increases Civil and Criminal Penalties for Misclassifying Employees as Independent Contractors

By EBG RSS

Joining Nebraska, New Jersey, Maryland, Minnesota, and Illinois, on May 5, 2010, Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell signed into law Public Act 10-12, “An Act Implementing the Recommendations of the Joint Enforcement Commission on Employee Misclassification” (“the Employee Misclassification Act”). The principal impact of the Employee Misclassification Act is to increase criminal and civil penalties on employers for misclassifying employees as independent contractors. Under current law, the civil penalty for misclassifying employees is $300.00 for each violation. The Employee Misclassification Act increases that penalty to $300.00 per day for each violation. Thus, if an employer misclassifies a worker as an independent contractor and continues that misclassification for one year, the civil penalty for this error would rocket from $300.00 to $109,500.00 ($300.00 per day times 365 days), a 36,500 percent increase. In addition, the Employee Misclassification Act makes the misclassification of workers as independent contractors a felony if done with the intent to harm the State with respect to workers compensation insurance payments or the Second Injury Fund.

Posted in Legal Updates | North America
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May 12, 2010

Beyond the Administrative Process — Courts Show Receptivity to Arbitration of Certain Whistleblower Claims

By Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.

Like several other statutes, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (“SOX”) requires whistleblowers to initiate their complaints by an administrative filing with the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. But when a preferred outcome in that designated arena appears unlikely, a whistleblower may be allowed to abandon the administrative process before a final order issues and seek a new opportunity in court.  Faced with the prospect of another round of de novo litigation, employers may turn increasingly to pre-dispute arbitration agreements as an alternative to litigating in court.

As exemplified by Stone v. Instrumentation Laboratory Co.(4th Cir. 2009) (pdf), filing an administrative complaint and participating in the administrative process, as required by SOX, do not foreclose access to a federal court before the issuance of a final administrative order. The court explained that the preclusion doctrine, intended to avoid duplicative litigation, does not bar de novo consideration by a federal district court if a lawsuit is filed at least 180 days after the administrative filing and before the Department of Labor has issued a final decision, even where administrative proceedings have progressed to Administrative Review Board consideration of an administrative law judge’s dismissal of a complaint. 

Posted in Legal Updates | North America
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May 12, 2010

New Book Inspires Women Leaders and Helps Support Women’s Organizations

By Frances Green

I am excited to bring to your attention an inspirational new book about women leaders, the proceeds of which will support several women’s organizations globally. The book, Goddess Shift: Women Leading for a Change, is an anthology of personal stories written by 43 women in leadership positions about how they have empowered themselves to create change in all walks of life.

I am honored to be one of the contributors to the book. Other contributors include women leaders in many fields, including entertainment (Oprah Winfrey), finance (Suze Orman), government (Sonia Gandhi), sports (Venus & Serena Williams), social change and philanthropy (Angelina Jolie), journalism (Barbara Walters), and literature (Sue Monk Kidd). In my chapter, I discuss the driving forces that have shaped my professional journey from corporate executive to the convent of the Maryknoll Sisters to living and working in Japan to law school and, finally, to a career as a trial lawyer and co-founder of a women’s initiative.

Posted in Legal Updates | North America
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May 11, 2010

DAVIS MALM ATTORNEY LAURIE ALEXANDER-KROM PARTICIPATES IN BOSTON BAR ASSOCIATION "LAW DAY IN THE SCHOOLS" PROGRAM IN BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS

By Davis Malm
May 11, 2010 – Boston, MA
For more information contact: Jeanie Griggs
(617) 589-3895; jgriggs@davismalm.com

Davis Malm attorney Laurie Alexander-Krom recently participated in the Boston Bar Association’s “Law Day in the Schools ” program. Ms. Alexander-Krom led an interactive program on the United States Constitution for first and third graders at the Beethoven School in West Roxbury. Each year, 100 volunteer lawyers and judges visit classes of all levels throughout Boson as part of this outreach program designed to combine civics with information about choosing the law as a career.

Laurie Alexander-Krom practices in the employment law and litigation areas. She advises employers, employees, and business executives in all aspects of employment-related issues and policies including hiring, FMLA leave and ADA compliance, discrimination, wage and hour, employee terminations, and severance agreements.

About Davis, Malm & D’Agostine, P.C.
ded in 1979, Davis Malm is a premier mid-sized, full-service New England firm. The firm provides sophisticated, cost-effective legal representation to local, national, and international public and private businesses, institutions, and individuals in a wide spectrum of industries. The attorneys at the firm practice at the top level of the profession and deliver successful results to clients through direct partner involvement, responsive client service, and practical and creative problem solving.

Posted in News | North America
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May 10, 2010

DAVIS MALM ATTORNEY ROBERT J. GALVIN QUOTED IN NOTED CONDOMINIUM RESOURCE HOALEADER.COM

By Davis Malm
May 10, 2010 – Boston, MA
For more information contact: Jeanie Griggs
(617) 589-3895; jgriggs@davismalm.com
Posted in News | North America
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May 10, 2010

DAVIS MALM ATTORNEY ROBERT J. GALVIN COMPLETES UPDATES TO MASSACHUSETTS CONDOMINIUM LAW AND CROCKER’S NOTES ON COMMON FORMS

By Davis Malm
May 10, 2010 – Boston, MA
For more information contact: Jeanie Griggs
(617) 589-3895; jgriggs@davismalm.com

Davis Malm attorney Robert J. Galvin, editor and co-author of Massachusetts Condominium Law, recently completed the 2010 revision of his materials in this leading legal treatise published by Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc. (MCLE), the continuing legal education arm of the Boston Bar Association and the Massachusetts Bar Association.

Posted in News | North America
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May 9, 2010

Lidings represents the interests of Turkish Airlines in a consumer dispute

By News and Press Releases

Lidings represents the interests of Turkish Airlines in a consumer dispute

Posted in Europe | News
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