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FIRING AN EMPLOYEE is often an unfortunate but necessary act. Because of the obvious economic consequences for the employee, tensions understandably rise when the news is delivered. The legal landscape continues …

Mark Ventola is a member of the Firm’s employment and labor law, business consulting, and litigation practice groups. Mark’s focus is on employment and labor law, advising clients about the …

James Reidy featured in a Union Leader article. WINDHAM – Jim Reidy began a presentation Thursday on human resources and employment law by noting the conference’s theme of untangling knots, and then …

Mark Ventola featured in a Union Leader article.  WINDHAM – A new proposed overtime rule from the Department of Labor could have a major impact on New Hampshire businesses, some of which …

Regulations often make businesses cringe, but not this one. A new rule will allow international students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) fields to be employed in the United States …

WHEN I WAS 17, I took a summer job for a company in northern New Hampshire (for anonymity’s sake, let’s call this company “Smith & Jones”). After my first day …

In the current Massachusetts legislative session, a number of bills are pending that have the potential to increase employee protections and, in turn, impose further burdens on employers. Read the …

This article was originally published by the New Hampshire Union Leader and can be found here. By: Dave McGrath April 24, 2016 updated March 14, 2020 Employees and employers frequently …

IN MARCH 2014 President Obama directed the secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) to update overtime exemptions under federal law by raising the salary threshold and revisiting duties …

In the first-in-the-nation primary state, Granite Staters have been introduced to many truly interesting people who were seeking their party’s nomination for the highest office in the land. This year …

Monday morning, Jan. 25, in New England after the Patriots loss in the AFC championship to Denver left many fans, in a word, deflated. With the words of coaching legend, …

THE BANKRUPTCY code offers a commercial debtor many important tools to assist in its reorganization efforts. One such tool at the debtor’s disposal is the ability to either preserve, through …

Bradford Cook featured in a WMUR article. CONCORD, N.H. —The state Ballot Law Commission on Tuesday quickly threw out a former New Hampshire Republican Party chairman’s challenge to Donald Trump’s eligibility …

There are mediators who inspire confidence in us and our clients, and those who don’t. With the former, mediations that appear doomed can ultimately succeed. In those instances, one can …

IN THE PAST year, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“the EEOC”) issued an Enforcement Guidance about pregnancy discrimination and related issues, and this March, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a …

THE AMERICANS with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) requires an employer to make certain job accommodations for disabled employees. Because the definition of “disability” was expanded several years ago when the ADA …

When a business encounters a rise in workers compensation costs, the immediate response often focuses on loss control, reducing spending and overall insurance costs. However, given the continued annual rise …

THE RIGHT TIME to get your recordkeeping house in order is well before a subpoena, a visit from a state or federal inspector, or a discovery request in litigation. If …

On June 1, the U.S. Supreme Court in an 8-1 decision ruled that Abercrombie & Fitch could be liable for religious discrimination for refusing to hire a Muslim teenager because …

EMPLOYEES CONTINUALLY encounter new ways that social media impacts their workplaces. Social media touches on the entire lifecycle of employment as employers more frequently turn to social media to advertise …

A Henniker Christmas tree farmer has lost before the state Supreme Court in a case that could spell the end for some struggling New Hampshire farms. Citizens who don’t want …

MANY CHILDREN view a pony as the ultimate holiday gift. They close their eyes and blow out birthday candles with the hopes that when their eyes open, they will see …

As the newly appointed leader of one of NH’s largest law firms, clients and employees alike look to David McGrath for help. When McGrath needs to resolve his own issues, …

WHEN IT COMES to wages, employees and employers are often at odds. Employees generally want to be compensated for all the time they are required to be at work. Employers, …

EMPLOYERS TURN to staffing companies to locate temporary workers with increasing frequency. Staffing companies generate savings for their employer/clients by locating temporary workers to fill employers’ needs. There are, however, …

James Reidy featured in The Guardian article. At a Society for Human Resource Management conference in Washington DC last month, a session on drug testing in the workplace was so heavily attended …

A MAJORITY of the businesses in New Hampshire are closely held, meaning these businesses are each owned by one or a few owners, sometimes by a family. Read the full …

Assume for a moment that your highly successful business needs to expand. Whether looking for land on which to build, expanding up or out from your existing space, or renovating …

In recent months, immigration has reemerged as a hotly-contested political issue. Although the ultimate resolution is difficult to predict, the potential for millions of undocumented immigrants to obtain deferred action …

MOST BUSINESSES will, at one time or another, open the mail to find a demand letter or worse, a lawsuit, demanding that the business return money to a bankruptcy estate …

Over the past several years, New Hampshire health care facilities have lobbied the New Hampshire Legislature to pass measures to help solve the chronic problem of patients or residents who …

This article originally appeared in the March 19, 2015 issue of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. To see the online version of the article, click here. *** The Supreme Judicial Court has …

WITH THE BUSTLE of the holidays behind us, we can now all turn our attention to our next big projects. What will you do in 2015? Maybe this is the …

THE CONSUMER Protection Act is one of the most frequently litigated statutes in New Hampshire’s state and federal courts. Yet it remains one of the more unpredictable, and frequently changing …

New Hampshire Department of Environmental Service regulations governing the investigation, long-term cleanup and management of contaminated sites were set to expire on Feb. 1. And while the existing rules remain …

THE LIMITIED liability company and S corporation are generally regarded as the entities of choice for closely-held businesses, in large part because the owners can access company cash tax-efficiently. However, …

There is an expression that if you don’t like New England weather, just wait a minute – it will change. We have all experienced the challenges of getting to or …

THE STAKES for noncompliance under state and federal wage and hour laws are higher than ever before. In FY 2014, inspectors from the NH Department of Labor conducted 566 workplace …

YOU STARTED your company 10 years ago, and are now enjoying the profits. Out of the blue, you receive a cease and desist letter claiming infringement of a patent filed …