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David I. Brody quoted in MLW on an employer’s unlawfully retaliation in attempt to compel ex-employee to drop MCAD claim

David I. Brody, partner in the firm’s Employment Department, was quoted in a Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly (MLW) article on Oct. 28, 2021. The article, “Appeals Court rules ‘extortion’ not petitioning activity,” covers an Appeals Court finding that, by attempting to use property seized pursuant to a default judgment to demand that an ex-employee drop his claim with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD), an employer unlawfully retaliated against the former employee.

Read the full article in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly (subscriber content).

From the article:

“‘The issue is not the ‘what’; it’s the ‘why,’’ Boston employment attorney David I. Brody agreed, adding that he was not sure it was a close call for the Appeals Court because the employer had not tried to hide its improper motive.

‘If the employer was only trying to collect on a debt, this case would not exist,’ he said.

If the employer simply wanted to be made whole on the debt, the Appeals Court explained it had a straightforward way to avoid running afoul of Chapter 151B: Use supplementary process under G.L.c. 224, §16, to ask a judge to determine what property, if any, should be used to satisfy the judgment, Brody noted.”