FEATURED ARTICLES

Federal Banking Agencies Finalize Regulations Mandating The Acceptance of Private Flood Insurance

On February 12, 2019, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Board of Governors of the Federal... Read More >

SEC Penalizes Celebrities For Violating The Securities Act

by: Joshua Fruchter

As investor fascination with cryptocurrencies exploded in 2017, promoters of new cryptocurrencies pursued increasingly audacious strategies to pitch... Read More >

New Jersey Expands Family Leave Laws

by: Michael Nacchio and Mark Diana

On February 19, 2019, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation that amends and significantly expands New Jersey’s existing... Read More >

How to Diligence a Solar Development Pipeline (Part 1 of 4)

by: Leslie C. Hodge

Introduction Photovoltaic solar projects have become a rather conventional asset class. The technology is proven at scale, the revenue... Read More >

Supreme Court Applies Excessive Fines Clause to States

by: Rebecca A. Worthington and Thomas E. Zeno

The Supreme Court today held the Eighth Amendment’s Excessive Fines Clause applies to the states. A wide variety of groups from the... Read More >

Slow Immigration Processing Times Draw Criticism and Questions

by: Maggie Murphy

Immigration case processing times have dramatically increased in the last few years, impacting U.S. businesses and immigrant families, often causing... Read More >

FCC Allows Access To Galileo For Improved Geolocation

by: Clifford G. Maine and Todd A. Dixon

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allows businesses and individuals, including those who operate unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for... Read More >

A Multistate Perspective on Taxation of Digital Products

by: Christopher T. Lutz

In a previous post, we discussed how Illinois taxes software. In a General Information Letter published in 2017, Illinois addressed how its... Read More >

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Federal Court News

Constitution, Eighth Amendment, incorporated against the States, Fourteenth Amendment,

SCOTUS Ruling That Eighth Amendment’s Excessive Fines Prohibition Applies To States Could Provide New Weapon To Consumer Financial Services Providers

by: Alan S. Kaplinsky

Earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Timbs v. Indiana that the prohibition on excessive fines in the Eighth Amendment of the U.S...

Court Holds New Jersey’s Equal Pay Act Will Not Be Applied Retroactively

by: James M. McDonnell and Cashida N. Okeke

The Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act (NJEPA) does not apply retroactively to conduct occurring before to its effective date, July 1, 2018, a federal district court has ruled. Perrotto v. Morgan Advanced Materials, 2:18-cv-...

Port of Ridgefield Sues Railroad, Takes Nothing Under MTCA

by: Tracy Y. Williams and Augustus "Gus" E. Winkes

Earlier this month, a federal district court issued a decision allocating...

Non-signatory Third-Party Cannot Enforce Arbitration Clause in Contract

by: Rachel J. Schwartz

SBS is a staffing company that provides personnel to various retail services, such as SPAR. SBS engaged Paradise Hogan (“Hogan”) and assigned Hogan to SPAR. Hogan and SBS entered into an Independent Contractor Master Agreement...

“Scabby the Rat” Deflated When The Seventh Circuit Moves His Cheese (US)

by: Daniel B. Pasternak

Most business owners would shudder at the thought of rats being on their premises, but one rat is particularly unwelcome to employers – “Scabby the Rat.” This red-eyed, rather vicious looking rat-shaped balloon (sometimes as...

Sixth Circuit Rules that Moonlighting Police Officers are Employees, not Independent Contractors

by: Robert J. Bowes

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently concluded that all officers of a private security and traffic control company were “employees,” rather than independent contractors under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The...

State Court News

litigation, Daubert, NJ Supreme Court, landmark decision, scientific evidence

Taking Out the “Junk”: New Jersey Supreme Court Adopts Daubert “Factors” in Landmark Decision on Scientific Evidence

by: Tara L. Pehush and David A. Fusco

Although it stopped short of declaring New Jersey a “Daubert jurisdiction,” the New Jersey Supreme Court recently issued a landmark decision reinforcing the “rigorous” nature of the “gatekeeping role” that trial courts...

union dues, arbitration, bargaining unit, grievance award

Grievance Decision Interpreting Janus Generates Confusion

by: Kyle J. Gulya and James R. Korom

On February 13, 2019, a Grievance Arbitrator issued an arbitration award to the City of Madison with regard to when union dues deductions may be stopped for employees who are members of a bargaining unit. It is one of the first...

natural hair, black identity, anti-discrimination, commission on human rights

Natural Hair Don’t Care: New York City Commission on Human Rights Issues New Guidance Related to Discrimination Based on Hair & Hairstyles

by: LaToya Alexander

In February 2019, the New York Commission on Human Rights (the “Commission”) issued guidance regarding employment discrimination based upon natural hair or hairstyles. Specifically, the Commission announced its position that “...

INTERNATIONAL LAW NEWS

outsourcing, supplier failure, private sector suppliers, supply chain

The Outsourcing Playbook – A New Dawn for Public Sector Contracting?

by: Paul Jinks

The UK government has this week published its Outsourcing Playbook (...

I Smell a Rat: SFO Looks to Informants – Dangling the Carrot of Immunity?

by: Anne-Marie Ottaway and Barry Vitou

Lisa Osofsky, the new director of the UK Serious Fraud Office, says her agency should use insiders and co-operators to bring to life by way of live evidence the document-heavy cases it prosecutes.

...

Major Political Parties Join the Federal Parliament in the February Data Breach

by: Cameron Abbott

Following an unprecedented surge in cyber attacks against Australian businesses, an attack on Australia’s political infrastructure was imminent. New information reveals that the cyber attack against the Federal Parliament...