By Alicia J. Samolis Beginning in March of 2020, companies everywhere were forced to comply with local shelter and closure orders, as well as alter their operations to respond to the negative economic fallout from COVID-19. Companies rushed to keep their businesses going by implementing new, essential and often untested business practices. Common changes businesses...
By Alicia J. Samolis PS&H Partner and Chair of the Labor & Employment Group, Alicia Samolis, regularly counsels employers on how to handle the tricky COVID-19 questions employees are asking and was consulted recently by Providence Business News for her insight into the same. Many employees are concerned that their employer’s safety practices might not protect them....
PS&H Partner and Chair of the Labor & Employment Group, Alicia Samolis, was quoted in Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly commenting on a recent decision from U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton in Boston. In Waters v. Day & Zimmerman NPS, Inc., the Massachusetts Federal District Court was confronted with the question of whether employees who would not...
The American Bar Association has published an article written by PS&H partner Paul Kessimian titled, Five Tips for Using Proportionality to Limit Wild Goose Chases in Discovery. The article expands on 5 practical and insightful tips to make discovery more streamlined and efficient: Cooperate with Opposing Counsel Document Your Cooperation and Disputes Meaningfully Respond to Discovery...
PS&H Partner and Chair of the Litigation Practice, Paul Kessimian, was quoted extensively in a recent Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly article discussing the challenges that insureds face as they attempt to recover pandemic-related losses through business interruption provisions in their commercial insurance policies and the expected increase in litigation because of it. The article discusses that typical...
PS&H employment partner and Chair of the Labor & Employment Group, Alicia Samolis, discussed the unintentional quandary created surrounding unemployment benefits in a recent article in the Providence Business News. In many cases, the unemployment benefits workers are currently receiving are greater than their salaries when they were employed. In other cases, people have become comfortable...
By Alicia J. Samolis The Rhode Island governor has issued several new orders that affect Rhode Island businesses. Importantly, all Rhode Island businesses are now subject to regulations promulgated by the Rhode Island department of health pursuant to Executive Order 20-32. Specially, businesses must: (a) Keep a cleaning log documenting the date, time and location of cleaning...
PS&H employment Partner and Chair of the Labor & Employment Group, Alicia Samolis, was quoted in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly discussing a case involving the termination of an employee who subsequently disclosed that she was dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In the case of Trahan v. Wayfair Maine, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals...
PS&H Partner Jim Hahn, a member of the firm’s Business and Banking & Financial Institutions Regulatory Compliance Practice Groups, was featured in the Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly recent article exploring “force majeure” clauses in contracts. Often considered part of a contract’s boilerplate language, the clause’s relevance has become the center of attention as the coronavirus continues to...
PS&H employment Partner and Chair of the Labor & Employment Group, Alicia Samolis, provided comment to the Providence Business News (PBN) on the challenges employers are facing in balancing coronavirus concerns with the risk of unintentionally creating stigma and discrimination. In their recent article on how the coronavirus is impacting employers, the PBN referred to guidance distributed...
