Gerald Borovick

Summary of FMCSA Final Rule on Broker/Freight Forwarder Financial Responsibility And Evidence of Security On File With FMCSA – The BMC-84 and BMC-85

By:      Gerald D. Borovick On November 16, 2023, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) promulgated a long-awaited set of rules to implement and enforce uniform limits and sanctions to the financial security and responsibility requirements for property brokers, surface freight forwarders and their sureties, as mandated by Congress in a federal transportation law … Read more

Self Storage Auction of Three Servicemembers’ Belongings Without Court Order Authorizing the Sale Results in $ 130,000 Pay Out and 4-Year Consent Order to Remedy Alleged SCRA Violations

By:      Gerald D. Borovick The September 2024 complaint filed by the Justice Department describes the defendant as a North Carolina-based company that is  vertically-integrated real estate developer, owner, and operator of specialty real estate products, focused primarily on self-storage facilities and marinas, and is alleged to have enforced liens on property and effects of … Read more

FMCSA Concedes No Authority to Assess Civil Penalties By Final Agency Order for Certain Commercial Regulations By Administrative Enforcement Proceeding

By:      Gerald D. Borovick The FMCSA concedes it cannot assess civil penalties for violations of the Federal “Commercial Regulations,” which includes the household goods Consumer Protection Regulations promulgated to protect individual shippers through the A.P.A. rules because Congress never delegated statutory authority conferring necessary jurisdiction to administratively adjudicate such violations and assess a civil … Read more

Massachusetts DFML Employer Audits Regarding Proper Notifications under PFML

By:      Gerald D. Borovick The Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave (the Department or DFML) is auditing employers and covered business entities for compliance with certain required notifications to the workforce generally (i.e., workplace posters) and covered individuals specifically (i.e., employee acknowledgements). This alert is directed to Massachusetts employers providing Paid Family & Medical … Read more

Employee’s Refusal to Vaccinate in Violation of Employer’s Policy Resulting in Discharge Not Disqualifying For Purposes of Unemployment Where Employee’s State of Mind Established Sincerity of Her Religious Belief Supporting Her Objection

By:      Gerald D. Borovick The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently decided an unemployment “discharge case” involving an employer-policy mandating COVID vaccination.[1]  The case is helpful in illustrating that in certain cases, a knowing violation of an employer’s reasonable rule and deliberate disregard of the employer’s interest may not result in a termination from employment resulting … Read more

Alleged Release of Liability in Pre-Hire Form for Background Checks Lands Employer in Court Defending Individual and Class Wide Claims of Willful FCRA Violations

By:      Gerald D. Borovick The Massachusetts Court of Appeals issued a significant decision regulating the hiring process in the Commonwealth in a case called Kenn v. Eascare, LLC, 22-P-1017 __ Mass. App. Ct. __ (Jan. 8, 2024).  Kenn resolves whether a former employee has standing to assert individual and class wide claims against her employer … Read more

Individual Shipper’s Massachusetts State-Law Claims, Including 93A, Preempted by Carmack Amendment

By:      Gerald D. Borovick A federal judge in Boston recently ruled an individual shipper’s suit against a California-based moving company following his move from San Francisco to Cambridge is governed exclusively by the Carmack Amendment to the ICC Termination Act of 1995.[1]  With this ruling, the district of Massachusetts is now firmly with other … Read more

Summary of New Hampshire 2023 Statutory Changes for Household Goods Carriers

By:      Gerald D. Borovick On and after January 1, 2023, New Hampshire shall significantly deregulate the licensure and rate-regulation of for-hire carriage of household goods by eliminating certain public utility requirements and bolstering consumer protection.[1] What follows is a summarization of some of the more significant statutory changes.  It is not intended to be … Read more