News

Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP Partner Presents Annual Labor Law Update

 

Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP Partner, Michael Maccaro, presented the Annual Labor Law Update for the Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA) earlier this month. The MMA made a last minute decision to cancel their annual conference, which takes place every January, due to the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the state. However, they were able to quickly coordinate with speakers to conduct their presentations virtually. Mr. Maccaro’s presentation provided an overview of selected case law developments, including decisions from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, the Massachusetts Appeals Court, the Massachusetts Superior Court and the First Circuit Court of Appeals. Additionally, he discussed  the current Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) statistics and the impact from COVID-19, as well as selected decisions from the MCAD. Lastly, Mr. Maccaro gave an overview of recent and pending legislation, such as the Emergency COVID-19 Paid Sick Leave, Juneteenth, MA Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (PFML), the Massachusetts Police Reform and OSHA.

 

Michael Maccaro’s practice is focused on the areas of labor and employment in the public and private sector, litigation, and employee benefits. Prior to joining Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP, Mr. Maccaro served as Associate General Counsel for a large public sector labor union.  He has litigated numerous matters, negotiated hundreds of contracts and has argued before various state courts, appellate courts, and administrative agencies throughout New England.  Mr. Maccaro has served as an Adjunct Professor at the Massachusetts School of Law where he has taught legal writing and appellate advocacy. He is the 2019 recipient of the Cushing-Gavin Award for excellence in providing management labor relations legal counsel. Attorney Maccaro is also involved with training new lawyers on arbitration best practices. He graduated from Bates College in 1996 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Chemistry and received his Juris Doctor in 2004 from Northeastern University School of Law.

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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

Legal Updates

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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