I previously discussed how some universities entered into agreements with the federal government to end civil rights investigations around topics such as antisemitism, transgender rights, DEI initiatives, and student protest. Other schools chose to bring legal challenges to the administration’s efforts to withhold funds to enforce their policy positions and have been prevailing in court. Ongoing Legal Battles Though their…
Legal news is filled with stories about how lawyers, litigants, and judges are addressing the use of large language models (LLMs) like Claude and ChatGPT in court cases. While people are becoming used to using AI as a sounding board or search engine, courts are only just now starting to…
Earlier this week, the Supreme Judicial Court issued a decision on the rights of public employee whistleblowers. The decision clarified what activity is protected under the Massachusetts Whistleblower Act, G. L. c. 149, § 185 (“MWA”), and addressed whether a public employee who is partially responsible for wrongful conduct, but reports the wrongful conduct, can still seek protection under the MWA. Background In Galvin v.…
Since taking office, the Trump administration has overhauled enforcement of federal anti-discrimination laws on college campuses, particularly the laws that prohibit discrimination on the bases of race and sex. Now, less than one year later, six leading universities—the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, Brown University, the University of Virginia, Cornell…
Massachusetts Pay Transparency Law Goes Into Effect In recent years, in an attempt to address concerns related to pay disparities across race, gender and other group classifications, several states have adopted various forms of pay transparency legislation. On a macro level, these laws represent an attempt to remedy pay gaps…
The late 1800s and early 1900s constitute a historical period known as the Second Industrial Revolution. While this time period is marked by significant advancements in technology, such as the invention of the lightbulb and the vast expansion of transportation by railroad, it is also marked by the unsanitary and…
As we have previously written, most states have passed legislation in recent years to criminalize the distribution of non-consensually distributed intimate images, often known as “revenge porn.” The federal Violence Against Women Act also allows victims of revenge porn to sue in federal court for damages caused by the sharing…
As book bans continue to cause controversy nationwide, Massachusetts lawmakers are considering a bill that would prohibit ideologically driven book bans and protect public school employees from retaliation based on good faith decisions to include or exclude materials from their libraries. Massachusetts is no exception from the nationwide movement toward…
Massachusetts courts have recognized self-defense as a defense to homicide as far back as the trial following the Boston Massacre in 1770, where John Adams successfully defended all but one of a group of British soldiers who had fired into a crowd of protesters that had thrown objects at them.…
Following the U.S. Senate’s decision in July to remove language in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that would have limited the ability of states to regulate the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the employment and hiring context, states are now free to continue to legislate in…