Daily News

HOLYOKE — A Hampden Superior Court judge dismissed criminal charges against two administrators of the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home, where an outbreak of coronavirus led to 76 deaths, reasoning that the actions of administrators did not lead to the infections, the New York Times reported.

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey had sought criminal charges of criminal neglect and permitting body injury to an older person against the two administrators — former Superintendent Bennett Walsh and former Medical Director Dr. David Clinton — based on their decision to combine two understaffed dementia units, crowding together infected and uninfected men.

But Judge Edward McDonough Jr. wrote in his dismissal that he believed the five veterans named in the case had been exposed to the virus before the two units were merged, so the administrators could not be held legally responsible.

“There was insufficiently reasonably trustworthy evidence presented to the grand jury that, had these two dementia units not been merged, the medical condition of any of these five veterans would have been materially different,” he wrote.

Healey is weighing whether to appeal the decision, a spokeswoman said.

Daily News

BOSTON — The state’s October total unemployment rate increased by one-tenth of a percentage point to 5.3%, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development announced.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) preliminary job estimates indicate Massachusetts gained 25,000 jobs in October. This follows September’s revised gain of 13,500 jobs. The largest over-the-month private-sector job gains were in professional, scientific, and business services; leisure and hospitality; and educational and health services. Since December 2020, Massachusetts has gained 186,500 jobs.

From October 2020 to October 2021, BLS estimates Massachusetts gained 197,200 jobs. The largest over-the-year gains occurred in leisure and hospitality; professional, scientific, and business services; and trade, transportation, and utilities.

The October unemployment rate was 0.7% above the national rate of 4.6% reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The labor force increased by 5,600 from 3,720,700 in September, as 1,600 more residents were employed and 4,000 more residents were unemployed over the month.

Over the year, the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was down by 3.2%.

The state’s labor-force participation rate — the total number of residents 16 or older who worked or were unemployed and actively sought work in the last four weeks — was up one-tenth of a percentage point at 66.0%. Compared to October 2020, the labor-force participation rate is up 0.7%.

Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C. announced that two of its attorneys, Marylou Fabbo and Timothy Murphy, have been selected to the 2021 Massachusetts Super Lawyers list in the field of employment and labor law. Additionally, attorneys Amelia Holstrom and Meaghan Murphy were named to the 2021 Massachusetts Rising Stars list.

Fabbo has been selected to Super Lawyers 11 times and was twice prior named to the Rising Stars list. A partner and head of the firm’s litigation team, she represents employers in litigation before state and federal courts as well as agencies in Massachusetts and Connecticut. She also has more than 25 years of experience providing legal advice to clients to reduce the risk they will unknowingly engage in illegal employment practices.

Murphy was selected to Super Lawyers for the third time after twice being named to the Rising Stars list. Focusing his practice on labor relations, union campaigns, collective bargaining and arbitration, employment litigation, and employment counseling, he has been included in The Best Lawyers in America every year since 2013 and was named Lawyer of the Year in 2015, 2019, 2020, and 2021. He is very active within the local community, sitting on boards of directors for several area organizations, including the Human Service Forum and Community Legal Aid.

Holstrom and Murphy have both been selected to the Massachusetts Rising Stars list for the fourth time. Massachusetts Rising Stars recognizes no more than 2.5% of the lawyers in the state.

Holstrom defends employers against claims of discrimination, retaliation, harassment, and wrongful termination, as well as actions arising under the Family Medical Leave Act and wage-and-hour laws. She also frequently provides counsel to management regarding litigation-avoidance strategies. She was awarded the Massachusetts Bar Assoc. Community Service Award in 2016, and was named in 2017 as an Up & Coming Lawyer by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly at its Excellence in the Law event.

Murphy advises clients regarding all employment-related matters, including compliance with state, federal, and local laws, as well as discipline of employees. She also creates workplace policies for clients and represents them in various forums, including at the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, government agencies, and in state and federal court.

Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — Crear, Chadwell, Dos Santos & Devlin, P.C. announced that Partner Antonio Dos Santos was selected to the 2021 Massachusetts Super Lawyers list in the field of real estate.

Dos Santos focuses his practice on all facets of commercial real estate, commercial finance, and general business law. He has significant experience representing developers, investors, and lenders regarding complex commercial real-estate transactions, including acquisitions, dispositions, leasing, financing, zoning, and permitting. Additionally, he represents many closely held businesses regarding entity formation, succession planning, mergers and acquisitions, and financing.

Active in the community, Dos Santos currently serves as general counsel for a local nonprofit organization, providing advice for all its day-to-day operations, including its development of affordable housing in Massachusetts and throughout the U.S. He also currently serves as chairman of the Westmass Area Development Corp. board of directors.

Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters business, is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The annual selections are made using a patented multi-phase process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, independent research evaluation of candidates, and peer reviews by practice area.