Publications
On January 11, 2022, Partners Jody Erdfarb‘s and Maureen Weaver‘s article titled, “Preparing for a new reality: Hospice survey enforcement in 2022,” was published in McKnight’s Home Care. The article discusses new challenges that home hospices can expect in 2022 and how to prepare for them. Jody and Maureen explain, “On Jan. 1, 2022, new […]
Those following the large employer vaccine mandate saga will recall that, on November 6, 2021, OSHA issued its long-awaited Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) requiring employers with 100 or more employees to implement vaccination policies mandating that their employees either be vaccinated or submit to weekly testing and wear face coverings. On November 12, 2021, however, […]
On December 15, 2021, Jody Erdfarb‘s and Maureen Weaver‘s article titled, “Get Ready Now For 2022’s New Hospice Oversight,” was published in Law360. The article discusses the new hospice regulations that Medicare-certified hospice programs can expect in 2022. Jody and Maureen explain, “…the purpose of these new regulations is to increase and improve transparency, oversight […]
Greetings, Court Fans! And Happy Thanksgiving! Yes, we know that’s not usually the most proximate holiday when we hit your inboxes for the first time in a term, and, yes, there have been some interesting cert grants and orders on the “shadow docket” that we probably should have been dishing about over the last month […]
Biden Administration Issues Proclamation to Restrict Direct U.S. Entry from Countries Impacted by Omicron COVID-19 Variant Effective Monday, November 29, 2021, travelers are not permitted to travel directly to the U.S. if they have been physically present, within the past fourteen (14) days, in any of the following countries: South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, […]
As 2021 draws to a close, we present our annual year-end advisory. Our 2021 edition outlines the current estate and gift tax environment, including projections for next year, and highlights year-end planning opportunities. We also welcome the addition of a new Private Client Services partner in our Greenwich office, Vanessa L. Maczko. To read the […]
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC” or “Commission”) has recently taken bold measures to reshape the Commission’s enforcement priorities for review of mergers and acquisitions. The FTC shares jurisdiction over such reviews with the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”). Accordingly, new policies have historically been adopted jointly by the FTC and DOJ. Several recent actions of […]
On November 5, 2021, OSHA released an Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) requiring large employers—those with 100 or more employees—to implement a vaccination policy mandating that their employees either be vaccinated or submit to weekly testing. The ETS gave employers until December 5, 2021 to comply with the bulk of the ETS’s requirements, and until January […]
On November 9, 2021, pursuant to the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued a Final Rule establishing new survey and enforcement regulations for Medicare-certified hospice programs. The spotlight on hospice survey enforcement comes as no surprise given reports issued in recent years by the Department of Health […]
Since President Biden’s announcement in early September that employers with more than 100 employees would be subject to an employee vaccine mandate, employers have been anxiously awaiting information about what will be required and by when the requirements must be implemented. OSHA released the Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) implementing those requirements today. Here is what you […]
Biden Administration Announces Timeline for New International Travel Policy On October 25, 2021, the Biden Administration issued a Presidential Proclamation to lift the travel bans which currently restrict entry into the U.S. directly from specific geographic areas (for a full list of restricted countries, see our prior client alert here), to be effective November 8, […]
On September 24, 2021, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued General Licenses 14 and 15 and related FAQs, which authorize the provision of humanitarian assistance and the export of agricultural commodities, medicine and medical equipment to Afghanistan. These new General Licenses specifically authorize transactions involving the Taliban and the […]
Effective October 1, 2021, Connecticut law concerning data breach notification will change. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 36a-701b, passed in 2012, established the notification requirements for business and protections for consumers when a “breach of security” occurs. Now, in an effort to further protect consumers, the Connecticut legislature expanded the reach of the data breach notification statute […]
Biden Administration to Soon Lift U.S. Entry Travel Bans for Fully Vaccinated Individuals On September 20, 2021 the Biden Administration announced its plans to rescind travel bans which restrict entry into the U.S. directly from specific geographic areas. Instead of banning travelers coming from specific locations abroad, the U.S. will utilize vaccine status-based restrictions for incoming […]
On Sunday, September 12th, the House Ways and Means Committee released a draft bill that would drastically alter the transfer tax regime and common estate planning strategies. The draft bill is only a proposal at this time. However, it does indicate Congressional action towards increasing the reach of the estate tax and severely limiting certain […]
Wiggin and Dana is proud to announce that Partners Joseph Casino and Michael Kasdan have been named as world-leading IP Strategists in the 2021 edition of the IAM Strategy 300; and Partner Jonathan Harris in the Patent 1000 – The World’s Leading IP Strategists. These unique guides identify the top individuals worldwide who are leading the way in […]
Each year, Wiggin and Dana LLP and LeadingAge Connecticut collaborate to produce a comprehensive summary of new Connecticut laws affecting providers of services for the elderly. The 2021 Legislative Summary reports on a number of new legislative requirements affecting nursing homes, assisted living communities, residential care homes, home health care and other home and community-based […]
Since President Biden took office at the beginning of this year, there has been much buzz and conjecture regarding what the tax policy under the Biden-Harris Administration would look like. In light of the recently released Department of Treasury’s General Explanations of the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2022 Revenue Proposals, commonly known as the “Green Book,” […]
Partner John M. Doroghazi co-authored a piece that was published in the American Bar Association‘s latest edition of the Franchise Law Journal. The article goes into depth about various franchise cases and their outcomes. The cases span across a variety of topics including: ArbitrationChoice of ForumContract IssuesDamagesFraudGood Faith and Fair DealingInjunctive ReliefLabor and EmploymentOral AgreementsStatutory […]
An effective way to pass wealth to future generations is through the use of a Dynasty Trust. A Dynasty Trust (sometimes also referred to as a Generation-Skipping Trust), is an irrevocable trust that continues for as long as the applicable state law allows. In addition to using your federal gift tax exemption to fund a […]
Making lifetime gifts now can ensure optimal use of the historically high federal transfer tax exemptions while they are still available. Under current law, the increased estate and gift tax exemption ($13.61 million per person, or $27.22 million for married couples) will go back to the 2017 amounts ($5.49 million per person, or $10.98 million […]
While historically high federal transfer tax exemptions remain in effect, the Spousal Lifetime Access Trust (“SLAT”) remains one of the most effective planning techniques for married clients. A SLAT is an irrevocable trust where the spouse is a permitted beneficiary. It allows married clients to take advantage of the high gift tax exemption amount while […]
Property transferred to a grantor trust (also known as an “intentionally defective grantor trust,” or “IDGT”) is excluded from the value of the grantor’s estate for estate tax purposes at death, but included as part of the grantor’s taxable income during life. This is, in fact, advantageous because payment of the trust’s income tax will […]
Summer 2021 For the charitably inclined, transferring assets during life or at death to a public charity, private foundation and donor-advised fund is an excellent strategy to give back in a tax efficient way. Charitable giving remains a key consideration in a client’s overall estate plan, as distributions from a trust or directly to a […]
Wiggin and Dana and the Wiggin Opportunity Initiative committee have released the first annual WOI Newsletter. In order to celebrate the program’s successful first year, the newsletter highlights stories from select WOI clients, Strategic Partners and the contributions of various attorneys. To read the newsletter, click the PDF below.
Starting October 1, 2021, Connecticut will join a small but growing number of states where employers are now specifically prohibited from inquiring about a prospective employee’s age on the initial employment application, including indirect questions which are designed or which tend to elicit age information. Connecticut law already prohibits employers from discriminating against employees and […]