Articles by Steve LeBlanc

Rhode Island Guarantees Domestic Workers Minimum Wage, Not Workers’ Compensation

Domestic workers in Rhode Island will now be paid the state’s minimum wage under a bill signed into law by Democratic Gov. Daniel McKee. Traditionally, domestic workers haven’t been given that protection as the Rhode Island minimum wage has increased …

Uber and Lyft Agree to Higher Wages, Work-Accident Insurance in Mass. Settlement

BOSTON (AP) — Drivers for Uber and Lyft will earn a minimum pay standard of $32.50 per hour and will be eligible for occupational accident insurance paid by the companies for up to $1 million for work-related injuries under a …

Teen Who Ate Spicy Tortilla Chip Died of High Chile Consumption; Also Had Heart Defect

A Massachusetts teen who participated in a spicy tortilla chip challenge on social media died from eating a large quantity of chile pepper extract and also had a congenital heart defect, according to autopsy results obtained by The Associated Press. …

Massachusetts AG Warns AI Systems Subject to Consumer Protection, Anti-Bias Laws

Developers, suppliers, and users of artificial intelligence must comply with existing state consumer protection, anti-discrimination, and data privacy laws, the Massachusetts attorney general cautioned Tuesday. In an advisory, Attorney General Andrea Campbell pointed to what she described as the widespread …

Massachusetts Lawmakers Advance ‘Hot Work’ Oversight Bill

A decade after two firefighters died when they became trapped in a brownstone in Boston’s historic Back Bay neighborhood by a fire caused by sparks from welders working next door, the Massachusetts Senate passed a bill Thursday aimed at toughening …

Grubhub to Pay $3.5M to Massachusetts Restaurants for Overcharging During COVID

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell announced a $3.5 million settlement Friday with the online food delivery service platform Grubhub. The settlement resolves a 2021 lawsuit brought by Campbell alleging Grubhub illegally overcharged fees to Massachusetts restaurants in violation of a …

Lawsuit Alleges Ex-Harvard Medical Professor Secretly Impregnated Patient

A former professor at Harvard Medical School and founder of one of the nation’s largest fertility clinics is being accused of secretly impregnating a patient in 1980 after promising the sperm would come from an anonymous donor, according to a …

Weather Service Confirms Five Tornadoes Hit New England Last Week

The National Weather Service confirmed that a tornado touched down in Connecticut last Friday, joining a spate of four other twisters detected Friday in New England, including three in Massachusetts and another in Rhode Island. The Connecticut tornado touched down …

Massachusetts Grapples With Letting Judges Order Mental Health Care

When Ashoke and Vinita Rampuria’s son returned home after taking a year off from college, to complete his course work, he didn’t seem like himself. “He was unable to complete tasks. He was lying on the sofa,” said Ashoke Rampuria, …

Massachusetts Gov. Healey Names Cabinet-Level Climate Chief

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey marked her first full day on the job Friday by issuing an executive order creating what she says is the nation’s first cabinet-level state climate chief. Healey said the climate chief will be charged with working …