Upton v. JWP Businessland

682 N.E.2d 1357 (1997)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
U
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Upton v. JWP Businessland

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
682 N.E.2d 1357 (1997)

CR

Facts

Joanna Upton (plaintiff) was an at-will employee of JWP Businessland (JWP) (defendant). Upton was a single mother to a young son. When Upton was hired at JWP, she was told that her working hours would be 8:15 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with one to two late nights per month. In practice, Upton often worked until 6:30 or 7:00 p.m., and in July 1991, she was told that she would need to work until 9:00 or 10:00 p.m. plus every Saturday for several months. Upton informed JWP that she could not work those hours because of her responsibilities as a mother. Upton was terminated two weeks later. Upton sued, contending that her termination violated the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’s public policy favoring the care and protection of children. JWP filed a motion for summary judgment, which was granted. Upton appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Wilkins, C.J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 811,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 811,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 811,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Gender and Sexuality

Key Terms