When I applied for a job as a waiter, I was told by the restaurant manager that he wanted to run a criminal history check on me. Is he allowed to do that?

Yes, it is lawful for employers to conduct criminal background checks. There are numerous restrictions, however, on what the employer can ask for and how the employer can ask for it. Source: James W. Bucking is an attorney at the Boston law firm of Foley Hoag. He can be contacted at jbucking@foleyhoag.com.  Read More →

In my first month on the job as a delivery driver, I hurt my back and couldn’t work for a week. When I went into the office, I was told I had been laid off. Under what circumstances can the employer do that?

Employees are not entitled to be paid their regular wages when they are out of work, even if for a workplace injury. However, injured employees can file for workers’ compensation benefits, and the employer may also have sick pay or other applicable disability benefits. As for the layoff, there is nothing to prevent an employee (and, particularly, a very junior employee) from being laid off. However, if the reason for the layoff was because of the workplace injury or because the employee filed... More

I left a bar and was attacked in the parking lot by two men who had been fighting inside about a Yankees-Red Sox game on TV. Can I sue the bar?

The owner of a bar or restaurant may, under some circumstances, be responsible for injuries caused by the criminal conduct of a third person — for example, if the owner contributed to the conduct by serving the assailant too many drinks. Also, if a bar has a history of fights or other violent crimes, so that the owner is on notice that altercations like this might happen, the owner might have an obligation to try to prevent such occurrences by hiring a “bouncer” or other security personnel,... More

How do I serve on a jury? (And is there any way to get out of it?)

Most people claim to hate jury duty, despite its critical role in our justice system. Maybe you’re one of them. You wince at the thought of sitting on a hard, wooden bench among strangers for weeks on end, listening to endless legal debates during an often-tedious trial with breaks that are more frequent and ill-timed than commercials on “Monday Night Football.” But what about those few but enthusiastic, public-spirited citizens who want to be jurors? You know them: the “Law & Order”... More

A pregnant woman became concerned that her fetus wasn’t moving and left several messages for her obstetrician, who was on vacation. Because her calls went unanswered, she eventually went to the doctor’s office. If the baby was injured, can she sue?

In order to be successful in a lawsuit, the woman would have to prove that the average qualified physician in the circumstances would have handled the situation differently — such as having someone return her calls more promptly — and that this would have likely prevented the baby’s injury. Unlike criminal cases, which require the prosecution to prove the defendant’s guilt “beyond a reasonable doubt,” civil lawsuits merely require a person to prove that it’s more likely... More

If a skier slips and falls on ice as he is getting off a chairlift, can he sue the owner of the mountain for not keeping the area safe?

This is a very difficult question, and the answer varies from state to state. Most states, including Massachusetts, have passed laws that tend to protect the owners of ski areas from lawsuits. These laws often impose time limits and notice requirements for bringing lawsuits. The skier’s rights will depend on exactly where and how the injury happened. Source: Elizabeth N. Mulvey practices at Crowe & Mulvey in Boston. She can be contacted at emulvey@crowemulvey.com .  Read More →

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