News

STASH'S PIZZA OWNER CONVICTED OF FORCED LABOR and THREATS AGAINST UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANT WORKERS 

June 7, 2024
STASH’S PIZZA OWNER CONVICTED OF FORCED LABOR CHARGES AFTER YEARS OF PHYSICAL VIOLENCE AND IMMIGRATION THREATS AGAINST UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANT WORKERS  BOSTON, MA – In federal court today, a jury convicted Stash’s Pizza owner Steve Papantoniadis of three counts of forced labor and three counts of…

PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF SETTLEMENT GRANTED IN GROUND-BREAKING DISCRIMINATION CLASS ACTION BROUGHT BY GBLS, COHEN MILSTEIN, AND NCLC AGAINST SAFERENT SOLUTIONS ON BEHALF OF RENTAL APPLICANTS

April 25, 2024
Preliminary approval has been granted in the class action lawsuit against SafeRent Solutions co-counseled by GBLS, Cohen Milstein, and National Consumer Law Center on behalf of Massachusetts housing voucher recipients. The U.S. District Court of Massachusetts has allowed a $2.275 million settlement…

AGREEMENT REACHED IN GBLS AND CO-COUNSEL’S CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT TO EXPAND OPPORTUNITIES FOR INDIVIDUALS IN NURSING HOMES TO RETURN TO THE COMMUNITY 

April 16, 2024
The Executive Office of Health and Human Services announced a settlement has been reached in the class action lawsuit Marsters v. Healey brought by GBLS, the Center for Public Representation, Justice in Aging, and the law firm Foley Hoag LLP on behalf of older adults, people with serious mental…

SJC VICTORY ON JUVENILE RECORD SEALING

February 19, 2024
Righting the wrongs. On February 14, 2024, the GBLS CORI & Re-entry Project scored a huge win in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. The SJC's ruling stops the Commissioner of Probation from treating juvenile court youthful offender records as adult records, a practice which was giving…

PUBLIC INTEREST LAW FIRMS FILE DIRECT ACTION WITH SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT TO ENJOIN USE OF “EQUITY THEFT” LAW  

October 12, 2023
The Pioneer Public Interest Law Center and Greater Boston Legal Services filed an action with Massachusetts’ Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) to enjoin the City of Springfield from foreclosing on a home worth about $230,000 because of a $22,000 unpaid tax bill without returning the more than $200,000…

WORKERS SUE CHINESE RESTAURANT “SICHUAN TASTE” FOR MORE THAN $230,000 OVER WAGE THEFT AND RETALIATION

October 12, 2023
Three former employees of Sichuan Taste in Malden, represented by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) and the Asian Outreach Center (AOC) at GBLS, filed a lawsuit against the restaurant for wage theft and retaliation in the United States District Court for the District of…

PROPOSED SETTLEMENT ABOUT EA FAMILY SHELTER PROGRAM

March 3, 2023
GBLS and Ropes & Gray sued the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) about problems in the EA family shelter program. We negotiated for more than 2 years. We finally have a proposed settlement agreement. The court has to decide whether to approve the settlement. The court will hold…

INFORMATION ABOUT EXTRA COVID SNAP ENDING AND MASSHEALTH REDETERMINATION

March 3, 2023
Mass Health: Starting April 1, 2023, you may need to take action to keep MassHealth coverage. The protection from termination due to the public health emergency is ending. MassHealth members should make sure that MassHealth has their most up to date address, phone number, and email so that they do…

Three hour wait, three days in a row: Mass. shelter hotline leaves some families desperate

November 22, 2022
Long waits on shelter hotlines are putting people in danger: “'I have had clients who went back to their abusers because they weren't able to access a shelter.' Liz Alfred, Greater Boston Legal Services Attorney." Please click here to read the full article.

How a tweak to a popular rental voucher program is reshaping where people live in Boston

November 12, 2022
"Every year a child spends in a high-opportunity neighborhood increases the likelihood that they attend college and boosts their lifetime earnings . . . . Living in the midst of poverty hurts people’s emotional and behavioral health and reduces the chances for upward mobility. Lauren Song, a…