Dunkin' Brands Takes Stand Against Obamacare

The Canton-based company is lobbying the White House to changes its definition of full-time work from 30 hours a week to 40 or more per week, according to reports.

Canton-based Dunkin' Brands has joined the fight against Obamacare.  The coffee and baked goods company is working to overturn a major provision of Obamacare, according to a Newsmax.com report this week. Specifically, Dunkin' is lobbying the White House to change its definition of full-time work from at least 30 hours a week to 40 or more per week, CEO Nigel Travis told the Financial Times, according to The Huffington Post. The change would leave Dunkin', as well as other companies, with fewer workers to insure under the health care reform law, which requires large employers to provide health coverage to all full-time workers and their dependents. Those companies who fail to provide coverage could face a penalty of $2,000 per worker. The …

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Fourth District Candidates Weigh in on SCOTUS Health Care Decision

What do you think about the decision? See what some local pols, who are running for Barney Frank's seat, had to say.

With so many names vying for the Fourth Congressional District seat, there is likely to be a variety of candidate opinions when it comes to the U.S. Supreme Court's health care ruling yesterday.  On June 28, the court decided 5-4 to uphold the mandate for individuals to purchase health insurance, the most controversial component of the Affordable Care Act. We heard what Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren and U.S. Sen. Scott Brown had to say,but what about the Massachusetts politicos running for Barney Frank's seat?  Here are statements from some of the Fourth District candidates: Brookline resident and Democrat Joe Kennedy III called the decision "a victory for this country", noting in his statement that his uncle (Sen. Ted Kennedy), spent …

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Counsel Corner

Trying to Understand Obamacare Ruling?

Sharon Patch's law columnist summarizes this big issue.

A heavily divided United States Supreme Court ruled today that the key provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare") – the so-called "individual mandate" that all persons obtain coverage or pay a fine for failing to do so - is constitutional. Absent repeal by Congress, Obamacare is now the law of the land. The Court published nearly a dozen different opinions today, all of which can be found in PDF form at the Court's website. They total almost one hundred pages in length. This column offers a very quick summary of the big issue – whether Congress can impose the individual mandate. In a somewhat unusual "introductory passage," Chief Justice Roberts is careful to frame the issue as whether "Congress has the power…

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Counsel Corner

Supreme Court Ruling on Obamacare May Affect Presidential Election

June brings U.S. Supreme Court decisions.

In the real world, the month of June means the warm air of spring and the latest sunset of the year. The end of another year of school. Nice weather, graduation parties, backyard barbeques and baseball games. In the legal world, the month of June brings United States Supreme Court decisions. Cases that are briefed and argued in the late winter and early spring are usually decided and announced just before summer gets underway. Every year, lawyers and legal observers anxiously await the decisions. This year, we can expect two rulings somewhat unusual in their magnitude. These decisions also may play a role in the presidential election this November. This week, we will consider the legal challenge to the Patient Protection and Affordable …

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Counsel Corner

Was There a Leak on Supreme Court's Vote in Obamacare Case?

He concludes there wasn't one.

As has been widely reported, President Obama clearly misspoke when he claimed that it would be "unprecedented" for the Supreme Court to strike down a major piece of legislation – in this case, Obamacare. The high court has struck down many laws and regulations found inconsistent with the Constitution. Indeed, the Justice Department admitted as much in a memo released late last week. Giving the President the benefit of the doubt, he likely meant to say that it would be unprecedented for the Court to strike down a bill of great magnitude. Many would consider that, too, to be inaccurate, but at least it would be arguable. Some pundits on the right side of the spectrum believe the President already knows how the justices voted, and that one of…

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Counsel Corner

U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Arguments About 'Obamacare'

Millions of Americans will be listening.

Later this month, the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as "Obamacare," will be argued before the United States Supreme Court. The statute, enacted by a narrow Democratic majority in both houses of Congress, contains hundreds of provisions purportedly designed to provide medical coverage for all Americans and reduce the total cost of care. One controversial provision of Obamacare requires each and every American adult without health insurance to buy it or pay a fine for not doing so. This has become known in legal and political circles as the "individual mandate." Supporters of Obamacare claim that the individual mandate passes constitutional muster. Congress has broad authority, they say…

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