For most property management companies, picking up the phone to contact a lawyer is usually done with a sigh. If you are reaching out to an attorney, that often means that something has gone wrong and you need help in a difficult situation. So when should property management companies contact an attorney? The below topics are those […]...
*with contributions from Christopher D. StrangIn November 2014, the Massachusetts Legislature passed Mass. Gen. Law c. 149, § 29F, entitled “Payment of Retainage in Private Construction Projects” (“The Retainage Law”). The Retainage Law reduced the amount of retainage that can be withheld on many large private construction projects. It also provides deadlines for paying retainage […]...
Those who perform public work in Massachusetts know the phrase “lowest, responsible and eligible” bidder well, as it applies to the standard for awarding subcontracts on public construction projects subject to the bid statutes. However, as many subcontractors have experienced, some of the bid requirements to be considered an “eligible” bidder are in fact waivable […]...
Massachusetts has long been a leader in civil rights, and several years ago Massachusetts joined the minority of states that provide explicit protection against discrimination on the basis of gender identity. Massachusetts’ anti-discrimination law was amended to add “gender identity” to the list of protected categories which extend to the workplace, housing, and government agencies. […]...
When did you last work, for the purposes of filing a timely payment bond claim on a federal public construction project?The Miller Act, which governs federal construction project payment bond claims, provides that suit be brought within one-year from the day on “which the last of the labor was performed or material was supplied by […]...
Strang Scott has previously written about both the Wage Act, the Massachusetts law protecting the earnings of workers, as well as the independent contractor statute, which governs the classification of workers as either employees or independent contractors. Violating the Wage Act and independent contractor statute can have significant real-world consequences. One consequence is a state […]...
As mentioned in one of our recent articles , the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled that Equity Residential Management violated MGL 186 § 15B when it collected application fees, amenity fees, community fees and pet fees. See Perry v. Equity Residential Management, LLC. In short, the Court ruled that landlords may […]...
Strang Scott shares its Boston pride in a recent Huffington Post article: 8 Cities With Businesses That Are Bursting With Hometown Pride...
The explosion of business review websites and social media applications brings not only opportunities for businesses to get exposure, but also risks of very public negative commentary. While everyone is entitled to express opinions, that entitlement does not extend to protection for posting demonstratively false statements of fact about businesses online. It is imperative for […]...