News
Massachusetts COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick Leave
On May 28, 2021, Governor Baker signed into law an Act providing for Massachusetts COVID-19 emergency paid sick leave, the text of which can be found at https://malegislature.gov/Bills/192/H3702/House/Bill/Text. This law took effect immediately on May 28, 2021. The law directs federal funds received by the Commonwealth in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency into the new COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick Leave Fund. A website has been established regarding this new leave, which can be found here – https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-temporary-emergency-paid-sick-leave-program.
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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