Author: Cindy Friedman

Mass. lawmakers want to extend antidiscrimination laws to venture capitalists

Cindy Friedman

Boston Globe

Massachusetts law prohibits workplace harassment and discrimination. But there’s a loophole: Those laws generally don’t apply to perpetrators who are investors, or potential investors, in a company.

That can be a problem for workers in a significant swath of Boston’s booming economy. In technology, biotech, and other fields seeded by venture capital and private equity, outside investors hold extraordinary power over the careers of entrepreneurs, who have little recourse if they’re mistreated.

Now, a group of lawmakers on Beacon Hill is pushing legislation that would subject investors to the same civil discrimination and harassment laws that apply to employers. The bill’s lead sponsor, State Senator Cindy F. Friedman, an Arlington Democrat, noted that the vast majority of venture capital in the United States now goes to white, male founders.

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Harassment in venture-capital industry targeted

Cindy Friedman

BOSTON — A state senator is looking to amend the laws protecting against discrimination and harassment in the workplace to ensure they cover entrepreneurs seeking funds to start a business. 

The #metoo movement and other instances of women sharing stories of their experiences have prompted a new focus on sexual harassment in industries from Hollywood to restaurants to politics and pushed many workplaces, including the state Legislature, to revisit their policies on reporting and preventing harassment. 

Friedman, an Arlington Democrat, said she spoke with constituents who are active in the venture capital community and have experienced harassment. She decided to tackle the issue, filing a bill to broaden the state law prohibiting harassment and discrimination against employees.

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New bill could prevent jail time for relapse in Massachusetts

Cindy Friedman

A bill before the Massachusetts Legislature could prevent people with substance use disorder from being sent to jail only for relapsing. If the bill is enacted, people diagnosed with substance use disorder who are on probation or are pretrial would be diverted to treatment and prohibited from being drug-tested.

Massachusetts Senator Cindy Friedman, who is a co-sponsor of the bill and chairwoman of the Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery, said drug-free court orders unfairly punish people for a normal condition of substance use disorder that is bound to appear on the path to recovery: relapse.

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Lowell-Burlington shuttle buses to be launched soon Lowell Sun

Cindy Friedman

LOWELL — A new shuttle service connecting Lowell and Burlington is launching after four years of collaboration among state and local leaders. The Middlesex 3 Coalition, in collaboration with a number of government officials, and the Chambers of Commerce in Lowell and Burlington are hoping with funding now in place, the service can begin in the coming months.

Aside from Gordon, Cronin said the project received tremendous support from state Reps. Dave Nangle, Tom Golden and Rady Mom, and Sen. Cindy Friedman.

“Burlington has such a vibrant local economy and a wide variety of successful businesses,” Friedman said in a press release. “This program will be another opportunity for those businesses to access the workforce they need to succeed, ultimately strengthening our local and regional economies.”

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Bail trends under scrutiny as new panel eyes reforms WBUR

Cindy Friedman

BOSTON (SHNS) – More than a year after the state’s high court ruled judges setting bail must consider a defendant’s ability to pay, state officials are embarking on an examination of the bail system in Massachusetts that will consider measures including potential impacts of eliminating cash bail.

A massive April 2018 criminal justice reform law made a series of changes around bail, in keeping with a high court decision in the 2017 case Brangan v. Commonwealth.

Sen. Cindy Friedman of Arlington and Rep. Claire Cronin of Easton co-chair the commission. On Thursday, at the panel’s first meeting, members outlined what data and information they hope to delve into during their study.

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NFL reveals its hypocrisy in Josh Gordon case Boston Globe

Cindy Friedman

Kudos to Nestor Ramos (“In Josh Gordon case, a troubled league fails a troubled man,” BostonGlobe.com, Dec. 22) for calling out the disgusting hypocrisy of the NFL. More troubling in the response to Josh Gordon’s struggle with a serious disease, is their complicity in demonizing mental illness vs. treating it like the illness it is.

If Gordon were taking medication for any physical ailment, the league would not blink. They don’t seem to have any trouble addressing the symptoms of physical pain that their players have to live with (drugs are certainly part of that). But their neanderthal and dangerous response to Gordon’s actions not only hurt him but hurt the many who suffer with a devastating and difficult-to-treat condition.

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Essex, Suffolk sheriffs ask to join addiction treatment program for inmates Boston Globe

Cindy Friedman

Essex and Suffolk counties plan to join five other counties in a pilot program providing medications to opioid-addicted inmates, a sign that correctional officials’ resistance to the treatments may be yielding to public pressure and legal action in Massachusetts. A federal district judge last month ordered Essex Sheriff Kevin F. Coppinger to provide methadone to a prospective inmate, saying that failing to do so could violate the Americans with Disabilities Act and the constitutional prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.

The sheriffs’ request was welcomed by state Senator Cindy F. Friedman, chairwoman of the Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use, and Recovery. Friedman said she suspected the Essex suit was a “driving force” behind the request, but the motivation doesn’t matter. “I’m completely happy about it,” she said.

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