This is the first of a three part series on disputes between business owners in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Co-Owners of a business; whether it be a corporation, limited liability company or otherwise, in New Hampshire and Massachusetts have fiduciary obligations to each other as well as to the company. When one or more of them decide to leave the…
In some cases, the payment of child support is highly emotional. Some parents who are ordered to pay child support do so with great reluctance. In some instances, the parent ordered to pay child support will purchase items for the children and/or provide funds directly to the children and then attempt to decrease the child support by the amount given…
Employment discrimination laws do not protect an employee who is part of a racial minority from adverse employment action. The law protects her from having an adverse employment action against her because of a racial animus or an adverse employment decision being made that, while not based upon racial animus, still has a disparate impact on her because of her…
There are occasions when a parent’s visitation/parenting time must be monitored in order to ensure the protection and safety of the child/children. The levels of supervision vary depending upon the facts of each situation. Some supervised visits may be able to take place in public with a supervisor monitoring off at a safe distance. Other extreme cases require the visitation…
As discussed in detail in last week’s Telegraph article (click here to access), the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Riley v. California on cell phone privacy provides a clear indication that the highest court of this nation deems cell phone privacy worthy of substantial legal protection. Basically, the Court held that police generally may not, without a search warrant,…
On June 13, 2014, the New Hampshire Supreme Court issued an opinion that stated that an obligor’s incarceration makes him/her ineligible for a reduction in child support. In the case of In re: Lounder, the child support obligor was incarcerated in February 2013 after he committed arson. At the time of his incarceration, he was ordered to pay $109.00 per…
In the June 18, 2014 opinion of England v. Brianas, the New Hampshire Supreme Court held that an attack by a woman’s estranged boyfriend upon her new companion does not necessarily expose her to civil liability. In the England case, Ms. Brianas had a former boyfriend who was demonstrating signs of jealously and instability. For example, he would leave abrasive…
On April 18, 2014, the First Circuit Court of Appeals, which hears appeals for both New Hampshire and Massachusetts Federal Cases, noted in the case of Eric Newman and Nestor Patague v. Advanced Technology Innovation Corp. that the regular hourly rate for purposes of calculating time and a half overtime pay is not merely what the employer considers the regular…
If a worker is fired as a result of being maligned by a jilted co-worker intent on revenge, it is possible the employer may be liable for sexual discrimination under federal law. On May 23, 2014, the Federal First Circuit Court of Appeals found that an employer may be held liable under federal discrimination law Title VII if the worker,…
The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) enforces the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) which, while dealing with a variety of union issues, also addresses non-union shops in the private sector and specifically protects the rights of most private sector employees to join together with or without a union to improve their wages and working conditions. The decision by the NLRB…