Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is well-known for lobster, the New England Patriots and the Boston Red Sox. The state falls in the First Federal Circuit Court System. More than 80% of the New England residents live in the greater-Boston metro, making it the most populous and a highly influential city in the state’s history, industry, and academia. Both Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are in the Boston area and are ranked as two of the top universities nationally and worldwide.

The government of Massachusetts is laid out in the Constitution of the Commonwealth.  The state government, like the federal government, consists of three branches: executive, legislative and judicial. The executive branch is controlled by the governor and consists of over 150 state agencies. The governor also has a cabinet consisting of ten secretaries.  The legislative branch consists of the General Court, broken into two branches the Massachusetts Senate, which has 40 members, and the Massachusetts House of Representatives with has 160 members, and all members in both houses are up for election every two years.  Although a few remain, most county governments were dissolved in the 1990s and 2000s.

The judiciary of Massachusetts consists of the court of last resort, the Superior Court which is the court of last resort.  The Massachusetts District Court, also known as the District Court Department of the Trial Court hears a wide range of criminal, civil, housing, juvenile, mental health, and other types of cases.  The Land Court has limited subject-matter jurisdiction related to real property. Massachusetts also has a Housing Court, Probate and Family Court, Juvenile Court and Boston’s Municipal Court.

Massachusetts is also known for its liberal legislation. On May 17, 2004 it became the first US state to legalize Same-sex marriage, after a state court determined that exclusion of same-sex couples right to a civil marriage was unconstitutional. On November 8, 2016, the state also legalized marijuana under the Marijuana Legalization Initiative.  Massachusetts has progressive laws related to employment and has passed an Equal Pay Ordinance and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, and legal analysis of both pieces of legislation are available on the National Law Review.

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Jan
10
2022
Five Fast Facts on Boston’s Indoor Vaccine Mandate Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.
Jan
10
2022
Will A Starbucks Union Affect Your Morning Cup Of Coffee? Barnes & Thornburg LLP
Jan
7
2022
SMART Program Doubles Capacity Mintz
Jan
5
2022
Massachusetts DPH Delays Enforcement Penalties for State Surprise Billing Law Foley & Lardner LLP
Jan
4
2022
Massachusetts Employers Cautioned Regarding Performance Review Rebuttals Hunton Andrews Kurth
Jan
3
2022
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Rejects “ABC Test” for Determining Joint Employment Under Minimum Fair Wage Law Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.
Jan
3
2022
Time Is Money: A Quick Wage-Hour Tip on …Did You Remember to Make Necessary Changes to Comply with New 2022 State and Local Wage-Hour Laws? Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.
Dec
23
2021
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Rejects Use of Independent Contractor Statute for Joint Employment Status Determination Mintz
Dec
23
2021
Skyports Partners with MassDOT for Drone Operations and Testing Robinson & Cole LLP
Dec
23
2021
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Rules in Favor of Worker Fired for Rebutting Negative Performance Improvement Plan Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.
Dec
22
2021
Massachusetts Adopts Mask Advisory in Response to Surging COVID-19 Cases Jackson Lewis P.C.
Dec
22
2021
Massachusetts SJC Finds a Public Policy Exception to Employment At Will Under the State Personnel Records Law Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.
Dec
22
2021
Massachusetts High Court Rules “ABC” Test Is Inapplicable To Joint Employer Status Hunton Andrews Kurth
Dec
21
2021
Massachusetts Creates Exception to At-Will Employment for Employees Exercising the “Right of Rebuttal” Proskauer Rose LLP
Dec
21
2021
Boston: Proof of COVID-19 Vaccination to Enter Certain Indoor Venues; Workers Must Be Vaccinated Jackson Lewis P.C.
Dec
21
2021
Minimum Wage Increases in 2022: A Chart of Upcoming Changes and Interactive Map Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.
Dec
17
2021
Massachusetts High Court Clarifies Test to Determine Joint Employer Status under State Wage and Overtime Statutes Proskauer Rose LLP
Dec
15
2021
Law of the Land - Real Estate Litigation Newsletter (December 15, 2021) Goulston & Storrs
Dec
9
2021
Appeals Court Resurrects Neighbors’ Claims Against Noisy Vineyard Venue Pierce Atwood LLP
Dec
9
2021
Smart Health Cards, Vaccine Passports, and Privacy Robinson & Cole LLP
Dec
8
2021
Massachusetts Considering Comprehensive Privacy Bill Containing Private Right of Action and Record Breaking Liquidated Damages Provision Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP
Dec
6
2021
Jury Awards Millions to Boston Detective in Glass Ceiling Discrimination Case Bachman Law
Dec
1
2021
Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave: 2021 End-of-Year Update Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.
Nov
29
2021
Supreme Court Declines to Hear Challenge to Massachusetts Privacy Law Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP
Nov
29
2021
Ethylene Oxide Legislative Updates CMBG3 Law
Nov
24
2021
Coalition of State Attorneys General Investigating Instagram’s Effects on Children Hunton Andrews Kurth
Nov
22
2021
Weekly Bankruptcy Alert (For the Week Ending November 21, 2021) Pierce Atwood LLP
Nov
22
2021
Massachusetts DPH Issues Two Orders To Ensure Continued Availability of Health Care Provider Workforce Robinson & Cole LLP
Nov
10
2021
Boston Requires Carbon Neutrality for Existing Buildings Goulston & Storrs
Nov
2
2021
Law of the Land - Real Estate Litigation Newsletter November 2, 2021 Goulston & Storrs
Nov
1
2021
Weekly Bankruptcy Alert: November 1, 2021 (For the Week Ending October 31, 2021) Pierce Atwood LLP
Oct
28
2021
PE Firm Pays Record Settlement for Allegedly Deficient Health Services: Identifying Traps for the Unwary Foley & Lardner LLP
Oct
27
2021
Court Approves Settlement with HelloFresh Over Alleged TCPA Violations Hunton Andrews Kurth
Oct
25
2021
Weekly Bankruptcy Alert - For the Week Ending October 24, 2021 Pierce Atwood LLP
Oct
25
2021
Offshore Wind Development May Get a Boost from Massachusetts Mintz
Oct
22
2021
Massachusetts Court Ruling Highlights Importance of Employer Responses to Personnel File Requests in Motions to Compel Arbitration Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.
Oct
21
2021
Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave—Updates from the Department Mintz
Oct
19
2021
Weekly Bankruptcy Alert (For the week ending October 17, 2021) Pierce Atwood LLP
Oct
15
2021
Federal Court Addresses Mass. Non-Compete Law, Speaks to Adequacy of Consideration Nelson Mullins
Oct
5
2021
Massachusetts Updates Paid Family and Medical Leave Contribution Rates, Maximum Benefit Payment Limits for 2022 Jackson Lewis P.C.
Sep
30
2021
Massachusetts COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick Leave Extended to April 1, 2022 Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.
Sep
30
2021
Massachusetts Extends COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick Leave to April 2022 Jackson Lewis P.C.
Sep
24
2021
Massachusetts Department of Revenue Stops Applying COVID-19 Telecommuting Policy, Returns to Location of Work Performed McDermott Will & Emery
Sep
22
2021
Supreme Judicial Court Clarifies Breadth of COVID-19 Tolling Order Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.
Sep
22
2021
Law of the Land - Real Estate Litigation Newsletter (September 22, 2021) Goulston & Storrs
Sep
22
2021
Probate & Fiduciary Litigation Newsletter - September 2021 Goulston & Storrs
Sep
21
2021
Mass. High Court: Three-Year Clock for Wetlands Protection Act Enforcement Actions Re-Starts With Every Sale of Property Pierce Atwood LLP
Sep
21
2021
Meanwhile in Massachusetts…..New Bill Would Outlaw Using Local Area Codes Unless Caller is In State–$10K in Damages Available Troutman Amin, LLP
Sep
20
2021
Weekly Bankruptcy Alert September 20, 2021 (For the week ending September 19, 2021) Pierce Atwood LLP
Sep
13
2021
Novel Massachusetts Decision Finds Waiver of Right to Compel Arbitration Based on Pre-Litigation Actions Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.
 

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