Mass. Gen. Laws » Part I Title XXI Chapter 151B
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 151B, § 6 (2026)

Review of commission's order; court order for enforcement; appeals; availability of commission's copy of testimony; limitations

✓ current as of July 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section MAmalegislature.gov (official) JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

Section 6. Any complainant, respondent or other person aggrieved by such order of the commission may obtain judicial review thereof, and the commission may obtain an order of court for its enforcement, in a proceeding as provided in this section. Such proceeding shall be brought in the superior court of the commonwealth within any county wherein the unlawful practice which is the subject of the commission's order occurs or wherein any person required in the order to cease and desist from an unlawful practice or to take other affirmative action resides or transacts business. Such proceeding shall be initiated by the filing of a petition in such court, together with a written transcript of the record upon the hearing before the commission, and issuance and service of an order of notice as in proceedings in equity. The court shall have power to grant such temporary relief or restraining order as it deems just and proper, and to make and enter upon the pleadings, testimony and proceedings set forth in such transcript an order or decree enforcing, modifying, and enforcing as so modified, or setting aside in whole or in part the order of the commission, with full power to issue injunctions against any respondent and to punish for contempt thereof. No objection that has not been urged before the commission shall be considered by the court, unless the failure or neglect to urge such objection shall be excused because of extraordinary circumstances. Any party may move the court to remit the case to the commission in the interests of justice for the purpose of adducing additional specified and material evidence and seeking findings thereon, provided he shows reasonable grounds for the failure to adduce such evidence before the commission. The order or decision of the commission shall be reviewed in accordance with the standards for review provided in paragraph (7) of section fourteen of chapter thirty A. All such proceedings shall be heard and determined by the court as expeditiously as possible and shall take precedence over all other matters before it, except matters of like nature. The jurisdiction of the superior court shall be exclusive and its final order or decree shall be subject to review by the supreme judicial court in the same manner and form and with the same effect as in appeals from a final order or decree in proceedings in equity. The commission's copy of the testimony shall be available at all reasonable times to all parties for examination without cost and for the purposes of judicial review of the order of the commission. The review shall be heard on the record without requirement of printing. The commission may appear in court by one of its attorneys. A proceeding under this section when instituted by any complainant, respondent or other person aggrieved must be instituted within thirty days after the service of the order of the commission.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 64 cases (5 in the last 5 years), 1962–2024 · leading case: Coll.-Town, Div. of Interco, Inc. v. Massachusetts Comm'n Against Discrimination, 508 N.E.2d 587 (Mass. 1987).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Coll.-Town, Div. of Interco, Inc. v. Massachusetts Comm'n Against Discrimination, 508 N.E.2d 587 (Mass. 1987). · cites it 6× “Rizzi was never provided an opportunity to confront Broad, nor was she interviewed after Broad and the staff had been approached.”
City of New Bedford v. Massachusetts Comm'n Against Discrimination, 799 N.E.2d 578 (Mass. 2003). · cites it 5× “See G. L. c. 151B, § 6. A second judge in the Superior Court affirmed the decision of the MCAD.”
Stonehill Coll. v. Massachusetts Comm'n Against Discrimination, 808 N.E.2d 205 (Mass. 2004). · cites it 2× “The respondents have sought judicial review of the MCAD’s decision pursuant to G. L. c. 151B, § 6, in accordance with standards set forth in G.”
Wynn & Wynn, P.C. v. Massachusetts Comm'n against Discrimination, 729 N.E.2d 1068 (Mass. 2000). · cites it 3× “See G. L. c. 151B, § 6; G. L. c. 30A, § 14. Carmichael filed a counterclaim seeking to set aside so much of the commission’s decision as denied her damages for front pay and dismissed her sexual harassment and disparate treatment claims as untimely.”
New York & Massachusetts Motor Serv., Inc. v. Massachusetts Comm'n Against Discrimination, 517 N.E.2d 1270 (Mass. 1988). · cites it 4× “Thus, the employer is not faced with a denial of access to the judicial system, but rather with a postponement of judicial adjudication at the complainant's option until after the commission has issued a preliminary determination and ordered a remedy based on its findings of…”
Sch. Comm. v. Massachusetts Comm'n Against Discrimination, 830 N.E.2d 1090 (Mass. App. Ct. 2005). · cites it 4× “The school committee appealed the commission’s decision to the Superior Court pursuant to G. L. c. 151B, § 6, which provides for a review in accordance with the standards set out in G.”
Massachusetts Elec. Co. v. Massachusetts Comm'n Against Discrimination, 375 N.E.2d 1192 (Mass. 1978). · cites it 2× “See G. L. c. 151B, § 6. The company’s preemption argument, however, relies to some extent on the opinion in General Elec.”
Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. v. Massachusetts Comm'n Against Discrimination, 808 N.E.2d 257 (Mass. 2004). “156, 170 (1987), citing G. L. c. 151B, § 6, and G. L. c. 30A, § 14 (7).”
Lavelle v. Massachusetts Comm'n Against Discrimination, 688 N.E.2d 1331 (Mass. 1997). · cites it 3× “See G. L. c. 151B, § 6. If G. L. c. 15 IB provided that, following a commission decision adverse to him, Lavelle could obtain a jury trial on issues raised by the complainant and decided against him, we would agree that a claim of a right to a jury trial before conclusion of…”
Sirva Relocation, LLC v. Golar Richie, 794 F.3d 185 (1st Cir. 2015). “There is no compelling reason to believe that, if the public hearing is allowed to proceed, the MCAD will not address that question with due dispatch.”
United States Jaycees v. Massachusetts Comm'n Against Discrimination, 463 N.E.2d 1151 (Mass. 1984). · cites it 2× “Jaycees then filed a petition in the Superior Court pursuant to G.L.c. 151B, § 6, seeking review of the MCAD's final order.”
Wheelock Coll. v. Massachusetts Comm'n Against Discrimination, 355 N.E.2d 309 (Mass. 1976). “See G. L. c. 151B, § 6, and G. L. c. 30A. Kehoe was named as a defendant along with the commission.”
Show all 64 citing cases →
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.