The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB") has recently banned most types of mandatory arbitration clauses that require credit card and bank customers to use an arbitrator when they have a dispute with a financial institution. The new rule is intended, in part,...
PLDO Law Blog
Firm News
WHAT IS DISGORGEMENT’S FUTURE AS A REMEDY FOR S.E.C. VIOLATIONS?
The Securities and Exchange Commission (S.E.C.) has authority to investigate violations of federal securities laws and commence enforcement actions if its investigations uncover evidence of wrongdoing. Initially, the S.E.C.'s statutory authority was limited to seeking...
PROTECT YOUR WORKPLACE AGAINST SPOOFING
We read about companies and individuals being scammed by hacking or spoofing routinely. No business or individual is immune. Spoofing is a technique in which the spoofer goes to great lengths to secure access to user systems and the information behind protective fire...
FIRED EMPLOYEE WHO DISPARAGED BOSS ON FACEBOOK CAN COLLECT UNEMPLOYMENT
The Rhode Island Supreme Court recently awarded unemployment benefits to an employee who was fired for posting disparaging comments about his boss on Facebook. Although the worker was already on thin ice due to a host of issues, the employer ultimately fired him after...
MEDICAID PLANNING AND THE CAREGIVER CHILD EXCEPTION
In this day and age, there is no denying that prices for most things are skyrocketing and skilled care for an aging parent is no exception. If an aging parent’s health has declined significantly enough, the parent could face the prospect of admission to a nursing home...
DOES AN AGENT UNDER A POWER OF ATTORNEY HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO CREATE A TRUST IN MASSACHUSETTS?
A Power of Attorney (“POA”) is an important estate planning tool and legally binding document that gives another person, chosen by you, the power to act as an agent on your behalf. Within the last year, the Massachusetts Supreme Court issued a decision effecting the...
HOW CHANGES TO RHODE ISLAND’S DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES LAW MAY IMPACT YOUR BUSINESS
In August of 2021, Governor McKee signed into law a significant change to Rhode Island’s Deceptive Trade Practices law. Prior to August 2021, the state’s Deceptive Trade Practices law was held to be inapplicable to “all those activities and businesses which are...
GOVERNOR MCKEE MAKES LONG-AWAITED ANNOUNCEMENT OF RHODE ISLAND CANNABIS CONTROL COMMISSION NOMINATIONS
After much anticipation, Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee made a move critical to advancing the state’s cannabis legalization efforts by naming his appointments to the new Cannabis Control Commission (“CCC”). The announcement of Kimberly Ahern, the Governor’s...
FIRST CIRCUIT EXPLAINS FLSA OVERTIME REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMINISTRATIVE EMPLOYEES
It is well settled that the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) requires employers to pay certain employees overtime pay at one and one-half times the employees’ regular rate. 29 U.S.C.S. §207(a). However, certain employees are exempt from this overtime requirement,...
