Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is well-known for lobster, the New England Patriots and the Boston Red Sox. The state falls in the First Federal Circuit Court System. More than 80% of the New England residents live in the greater-Boston metro, making it the most populous and a highly influential city in the state’s history, industry, and academia. Both Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are in the Boston area and are ranked as two of the top universities nationally and worldwide.

The government of Massachusetts is laid out in the Constitution of the Commonwealth.  The state government, like the federal government, consists of three branches: executive, legislative and judicial. The executive branch is controlled by the governor and consists of over 150 state agencies. The governor also has a cabinet consisting of ten secretaries.  The legislative branch consists of the General Court, broken into two branches the Massachusetts Senate, which has 40 members, and the Massachusetts House of Representatives with has 160 members, and all members in both houses are up for election every two years.  Although a few remain, most county governments were dissolved in the 1990s and 2000s.

The judiciary of Massachusetts consists of the court of last resort, the Superior Court which is the court of last resort.  The Massachusetts District Court, also known as the District Court Department of the Trial Court hears a wide range of criminal, civil, housing, juvenile, mental health, and other types of cases.  The Land Court has limited subject-matter jurisdiction related to real property. Massachusetts also has a Housing Court, Probate and Family Court, Juvenile Court and Boston’s Municipal Court.

Massachusetts is also known for its liberal legislation. On May 17, 2004 it became the first US state to legalize Same-sex marriage, after a state court determined that exclusion of same-sex couples right to a civil marriage was unconstitutional. On November 8, 2016, the state also legalized marijuana under the Marijuana Legalization Initiative.  Massachusetts has progressive laws related to employment and has passed an Equal Pay Ordinance and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, and legal analysis of both pieces of legislation are available on the National Law Review.

Custom text Title Organization
Sep
6
2024
On Trend: New Pay Equity Laws Coming to Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Vermont in 2025 Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.
Sep
6
2024
Massachusetts Affordable Homes Act Provides New Opportunities for Owners, Developers, and Contractors Robinson & Cole LLP
Aug
26
2024
Massachusetts Joins the Pay Transparency Trend Foley & Lardner LLP
Aug
20
2024
Massachusetts Enacts Pay Transparency and Reporting Requirements for Employers Robinson & Cole LLP
Aug
15
2024
New Pay Transparency Requirements Create More Hurdles for Employers – What Massachusetts Employers Need to Know about Recent Legislation Hunton Andrews Kurth
Aug
14
2024
Christmas In August For Massachusetts Real Estate Developers Is Good News For Housing Production Pierce Atwood LLP
Aug
13
2024
Inbox Overload: Massachusetts Lawsuits Target Online Retailers’ Email Collection Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP
Aug
12
2024
Massachusetts Governor Signs Pay Transparency Law Blank Rome LLP
Aug
12
2024
Massachusetts Wage Transparency Bill Signed into Law by Gov. Healey, Joining Other States Greenberg Traurig, LLP
Aug
9
2024
In Massachusetts, Your In-Law Apartment No Longer Makes You An Outlaw Pierce Atwood LLP
Aug
7
2024
Employer FAQ: Massachusetts’s New Pay Transparency and Pay Data Reporting Requirements Mintz
Aug
7
2024
Reacting to Tyler v. Hennepin County: Massachusetts Passes Surplus Funds Revisions Nelson Mullins
Aug
6
2024
Massachusetts Adopts Pay Transparency and Reporting Requirements Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.
Aug
5
2024
Tipped Wage Question to Appear on Massachusetts 2024 Ballot Greenberg Traurig, LLP
Aug
5
2024
Massachusetts Health Care Act Dies at the End of Legislative Session But Previews Sweeping Changes for the Health Care Industry Foley & Lardner LLP
Aug
3
2024
Massachusetts Joins Growing List of States Requiring Pay Transparency in Job Postings Jackson Lewis P.C.
Aug
2
2024
Massachusetts Joins Growing Number of States With a Pay Transparency Law K&L Gates
Aug
2
2024
Breaking: Massachusetts Legislature Passes Landmark Bill Streamlining Land Deregistration Pierce Atwood LLP
Aug
1
2024
Massachusetts Requires Pay Range Disclosure and Pay Data Reporting Pierce Atwood LLP
Aug
1
2024
Current Trends in Legislation – June & July 2024 CMBG3 Law
Jul
30
2024
What Employers Need to Know About the New Massachusetts Pay Transparency Law ArentFox Schiff LLP
Jul
29
2024
A “Flood” of Uncertainty; Massachusetts SJC Finds Policy Term Ambiguous Hunton Andrews Kurth
Jul
25
2024
Massachusetts Senate Passes Bill to Increase Oversight of Private Equity Healthcare Transactions Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
Jul
23
2024
Massachusetts DPU’s Phase II Order – Municipal Aggregation Plans Sherin and Lodgen LLP
Jul
22
2024
Reading About Failed Turbine Blades & "Alkalinity Enhancement"? Well We've Dealt Ourselves a Lousy Climate Hand and Don't Have the Luxury of Folding. Mintz
Jul
22
2024
Grounds for Liability: Massachusetts Appeals Court Evaluates Standard for Employer’s Vicarious Liability ArentFox Schiff LLP
Jul
18
2024
Massachusetts Superior Court Holds That New HCA Law Does Not Apply Retroactively Blank Rome LLP
Jul
16
2024
Updating Commercial Real Estate Leases for ESG Regulations Including Boston’s BERDO 2.0 Sherin and Lodgen LLP
Jul
15
2024
Massachusetts DOER Releases Proposed Revisions to Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART) Program Sherin and Lodgen LLP
Jul
12
2024
The Path & The Practice Episode 112: Kate Beattie, Partner [Podcast] Foley & Lardner LLP
Jul
10
2024
Breaking: Mass. High Court Confirms That in Boston, Zoning Appeal Bond Can be Required Without Finding of Bad Faith or Malice Pierce Atwood LLP
Jul
2
2024
Health Care Transactions Facing Increased Federal and State Regulatory Scrutiny Vedder Price
Jul
1
2024
Caution - Employers Merge Ahead: Massachusetts Holding Endorses Potential Liability for “Joint Employers” Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.
Jun
27
2024
Can a Person Ever Establish Zoning Standing by Alleging Diminution in Property Value? The Appeals Court Whispers the Answer Pierce Atwood LLP
Jun
27
2024
Owners Beware: Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Underscores Strict Adherence to Prompt Payment Act Goulston & Storrs
 
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