News & Press Releases

Mintz Associate Don Davis authored an article recently published by the American Bar Association’s Business Law Today that addressed the United States’ need for the Equality Act, a legislative solution that would amend existing civil rights law to include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes. Mr. Davis emphasizes the urgency in passing the law in light of a potential adverse ruling in a trio of cases now before the U.S. Supreme Court that will decide whether Title VII already prohibits sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination.

A June 13 article published by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly reported that Governor of Massachusetts Charlie Baker and lawmakers reached an agreement to delay the start of a payroll tax to fund Paid Family and Medical Leave benefits for all Massachusetts workers. The article quoted Mintz Member Katharine Beattie extensively in response to the development and on employer concerns related to the law.

“This delay will be welcome news for employers, especially small businesses and those companies exploring the private plan option,” she said. “Many unanswered questions remain, though, so hopefully the Legislature’s changes to the program design will clarify the open issues,” she said.

On June 12, MedCityNews published an article authored by Senior Director of ML Strategies Aaron Josephson addressing challenges faced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s Pre-Certification (“Pre-Cert”) program. The Pre-Cert program would revolutionize regulation and oversight of certain medical devices.


In the article, Mr. Josephson remarks that, “establishing a new regulatory paradigm for complex medical technologies is no easy task.” The pilot program has already raised a number of concerns among smaller companies, including the high cost and value related to the number of products developed. Despite the preliminary issues and uncertainty from Congress, Mr. Josephson maintains that, “the FDA should be applauded for taking proactive steps to create a regulatory climate that balances innovation and safety.”