News
Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP Presents Their Annual Labor & Employment Law Update Virtually
The MHTL 2020 Annual Labor & Employment Law Update, which was originally planned to take place in April of 2020, was presented virtually on October 29th. Among the speakers were partners of the firm Kier Wachterhauser, Sarah Spatafore, Nan O’Neill, and Kathy Murphy presenting to roughly 300 registrants.
Mr. Wachterhauser and Ms. Spatafore presented on lessons from the year’s top cases and a regulatory and statutory update. Ms. O’Neill, along with Mr. Wachterhauser presented a toolkit for meeting reasonable accommodation obligations. Ms. Spatafore and Ms. O’Neill reported on internal investigations in the 2020 context. Then after a brief break the attorney’s held a COVID-19 update panel. The panel focused on recent COVID-19 developments employers must consider when making a variety of business and employment decisions, including return to work protocols, remote work issues, COVID testing, and wage and hour implications.
Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP has been presenting their annual Labor & Employment Law Update for many years. The program was held virtually but was still able to help employers navigate the complex field of labor and employment law. This session concentrated on evolving employment-related laws, regulations, and trends in today’s workplace.
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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