Today’s Boston Globe reports that some school districts in the state with high schools under construction don’t want to comply with the state’s “potty parity” law, 248 CMR 10.10(18), which sets out the number of toilets required for men and women at public facilities so that   …Continue Reading Potty Parity Law Applies to Everyone

Within the past hour, Gov. Patrick signed S.800 repealing the 1913 law (MGL c.207, s.11-12) that barred couples from marrying in Massachusetts if that marriage was prohibited in their home state. The law had stopped same-sex couples from nearly all other states from marrying here.   …Continue Reading 1913 Law Repealed

In two cases decided today, Matsuyama v. Birnbaum and Renzi v. Paredes, the Supreme Judicial Court announced that patients can recover for a reduction in the chance of survival due to medical malpractice. “Where a physician’s negligence reduces or eliminates the patient’s prospects for achieving   …Continue Reading SJC Adopts “Loss of Chance” Doctrine

In Charron v. Amaral, the Supreme Judicial Court yesterday denied a pre-marriage right of consortium to a same-sex couple who would have been married had the law allowed it, and did marry when permitted to do so. This is in keeping with Massachusetts caselaw that   …Continue Reading No Pre-Marriage Benefits for Same-Sex Couples

It was announced today that the Governor signed into law the Oceans Act of 2008. According to the Governor’s office the legislation “will require Massachusetts to develop a first-in-the-nation comprehensive plan to manage development in its state waters, balancing natural resource preservation with traditional and   …Continue Reading Oceans Act of 2008

In two decisions released today, Comm. v. Disler and Comm. v. Filopoulos, the Supreme Judicial Court has interpreted the Child Enticement Law, MGL c.265, § 26C to require the Commonwealth to affirmatively prove intent to lure an underage individual. The decisions hold, in part: “The   …Continue Reading SJC Clarifies Child Enticement Law

We have a chat service through which we can direct you to information about Massachusetts law, but we are delighted to point you to a complementary service for Federal and state government information: Government Information Online (GIO). According to their site, “Through Government Information Online   …Continue Reading Source for Government Info

“An employer’s mere contention that it could not reasonably accommodate an employee is insufficient,” according to the Supreme Judicial Court in MBTA v. MCAD, decided Friday. A person granted a conditional offer of employment had religious beliefs which prohibited him from working Friday evenings, and   …Continue Reading Religious Accommodation in Employment