News
Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane ERISA Partner Katherine Hesse Elected as Advisory Director of the International Foundation of Employee Benefits
Katherine A. Hesse, a partner with Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP, and Chair of the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans’ Government Liaison Committee, was recently elected to become a member of the Board of Directors when the group convened for their annual midyear board and committee meetings at the end of July in Girdwood, Alaska. Ms. Hesse will begin her term as an Advisory Director starting January 1, 2020 and will serve through December 31, 2022.
The International Foundation is governed by a Board of Directors consisting of labor trustees, management trustees and benefit plan administrators (salaried and contract) of multiemployer or single employer employee benefit plans in the United States and Canada. The eight Advisory Directors are respected practitioners in professions in or related to the employee benefits field, such as accountants, actuaries, attorneys, consultants and investment advisors, as well as nationally prominent persons in such areas as education, government, labor, and management. The election makes Ms. Hesse one of two attorneys serving as an Advisory Director.
In addition to being voted in as an Advisory Director, Ms. Hesse also presented the annual Government Liaison Committee midyear update to the Board of Directors. She will be presenting on suspension of pension benefits because of prohibited employment at their annual meeting in San Diego on October 22, 2019.
Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP Partner Prevails in U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
Attorney Felicia Vasudevan, a partner at Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP, received a favorable decision on behalf of her client, Marshfield Public Schools. The Plaintiff appealed the district court’s judgement that upheld a decision of the Massachusetts Bureau of Special Education Appeals (“BSEA”). However, as the notice was filed more than 30 days after entry, the First Circuit ultimately dismissed the appeal for being untimely. The Plaintiff also appealed the district court’s order, denying her motion to vacate. Read More
New Features of Public Participation at School Committee Meetings
Following our Alert from March 16, 2023, Civility is Dead – The Supreme Court Rules Municipal Control of Public Speak Limited to Reasonable Time/Place/Manner Restrictions, which discussed the holding to the Supreme Judicial Court’s decision in Barron v. Kolenda and the Town of Southborough (SJC-13284), we promised to bring you more detailed guidance on developing a Public Speak policy for your public body or municipality. The Barron case involved a constitutional challenge to the Town of Southborough’s public comment policy, which attempted to impose a code of civility on members of the public who participated in public comment before public bodies. In Barron, the court interpreted the state constitution to mean that public bodies may request, but not require, that public commentators be respectful and courteous. Instead, a public body may set restrictions on reasonable time, place, and manner comments to ensure that the meeting retains an orderly and peaceable manner.
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