Carol Starkey authored the Boston Bar Journal article “Lessons from a Pioneer,” which was published on August 9, 2017. View an excerpt from the article below. Read the full article on the Boston Bar Journal website. On June 22nd, I had the honor of presenting Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Justice Geraldine S. Hines with the Boston Bar […]
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Massachusetts Pregnant Workers Fairness Act: What to Know and How to Prepare
On July 27, 2017, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed the Massachusetts Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (the “PWFA”) into law. Massachusetts joined twenty-one states and Washington D.C. in providing protections to pregnant workers. The PWFA supplements Massachusetts employment discrimination law, by adding pregnant employees and employees with pregnancy-related medical conditions (including breastfeeding) as a protected class with the right […]
Massachusetts’ Highest Court Recognizes Employment Protections for “Qualifying Patients” Under the Massachusetts Medical Marijuana Act
In a case of first impression, the Supreme Judicial Court held that an employee who is a “qualifying patient” under the Massachusetts’ 2012 medical marijuana law (“An Act for the humanitarian medical use of marijuana”) (the “medical marijuana law”) may pursue a claim for handicap discrimination under the state’s anti-discrimination laws codified in M.G. L. c. […]
Federal Leaders Need to Know How Costly It Would Be to Cut Legal Aid
Carol Starkey was quoted in the Boston Globe article “Federal Leaders Need to Know How Costly It Would Be to Cut Legal Aid,” which was published on June 14, 2017. An excerpt from the article is below. To read the full article, visit the Boston Globe website. Simply put, investing in civil legal aid programs […]
Trump’s Labor Department Rescinds Guidance Letters on Employee Misclassification and Joint Employment
In a Trump administration that typically acts with great fanfare, Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta quietly announced the immediate withdrawal of two administrative guidance letters issued during the Obama administration. The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a three-sentence news release on Wednesday, reporting that Secretary Acosta had withdrawn the 2015 administrative guidance about the misclassification of […]
The Work of the Boston Bar Association, and Its Mission, Have Rarely Been More Relevant
Carol Starkey authored the below letter to Boston Bar Association members during her term as President of the Boston Bar Association. The letter was released on November 18, 2016. Dear Colleagues and Friends, I have always seen the practice of law as one of the most significant means of participating in our unique American democracy. […]