Publications
Greetings, Court Fans! Yesterday was a busy day at the Court, as the Nine dropped a quartet of new decisions and granted cert in three new cases, including a potential abortion blockbuster. We’ll address the grants first, followed by the headlines of today’s decisions, before turning to a bit of catch-up: summaries of the Court’s […]
Effective Tuesday, May 4 at 12:01 a.m. ET In response to the increase in COVID-19 cases in India, a Presidential Proclamation was issued on April 30, 2021 to suspend the entry into the U.S. of nonimmigrant, noncitizen individuals who have been present in India within the fourteen (14) days prior to attempted entry into the […]
Greetings, Court Fans! Last Thursday, the Court issued three decisions in argued cases. In Jones v. Mississippi (No. 18-1259), a heavily divided Court pared back its prior decision in Miller v. Alabama (2012), holding that a court could sentence a juvenile to life without the possibility of parole even without specifically finding that the defendant […]
Greetings, Court Fans! Just one decision to report in this Update, but it’s a biggie, at least for IP nerds and coders. In Google LLC v. Oracle America, Inc. (No. 18-956), the Court held that Google’s copying of certain portions of a computer program owned by Oracle, called Java, was fair use under the copyright […]
On April 5, 2021, the Supreme Court issued its long-awaited ruling on copyright infringement dispute between tech giants Google and Oracle regarding whether the copyright laws can be used to block a competitor from using a company’s code in a software Application Programming Interface (API). APIs are widely used software tools that allow applications to […]
The US Supreme Court hears relatively few patent-related cases in any given term. However, on March 1st, the court heard oral arguments in an important case challenging the very structure and authority of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s administrative review board. In Arthrex Inc. v. Smith & Nephew Inc. the Court will decide whether […]
Greetings, Court Fans! The Court released two significant opinions yesterday, addressing personal jurisdiction in product-liability actions and the concept of “failed seizures” under the Fourth Amendment. Among civil litigators, Ford Motor Co. v. Montana Eighth Judicial District Court (No. 19-368), isn’t just one of the most anticipated cases of OT20; it’s one of the most […]
On March 22, 2021, U.S. District Judge Stephan R. Underhill dismissed a lawsuit filed by former firefighter, Thomas Eccleston, who claimed the City of Waterbury violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by firing him for using medical marijuana. Eccleston, a medical marijuana registration card holder, asserted claims for discriminatory termination, failure to accommodate, and retaliation […]
As published on March 12, 2021, OSHA is approaching COVID-19 enforcement by way of a COVID-19 National Emphasis Program (“COVID-19 NEP”). The COVID-19 NEP went into effect immediately upon publication. From our perspective, the COVID-19 NEP is consistent with President Biden’s January 2021 Executive Order (“EO”) calling for OSHA to consider a federal COVID-19 Emergency […]
In a decision dated February 23, 2021, the Connecticut Appellate Court issued a stark reminder that the bounds of noncompete provisions must be narrowly tailored. In DeLeo v. Equale & Cirone, 202 Conn. App. 650 (2021), the court considered a noncompete provision that would have required a departing partner to pay the partnership an amount […]
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), providing COVID-related relief in many forms, including premium subsidies for health insurance continuation under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), was signed into law on March 11, 2021. Employees with an involuntary termination or reduction of hours will be eligible to receive a 100% subsidy of […]
Connecticut Bans Discrimination Based on Hairstyles Historically Associated With Race Earlier this month, Connecticut became the latest state to ban discrimination based on hairstyles historically associated with race, joining California, Colorado, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, and Washington. The Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair, or Crown, Act amends Connecticut’s Fair […]
FY 2022 H-1B Visa Season “H-1B Visa Season” is upon us! Wiggin and Dana encourages employers subject to the annual quota (or “H-1B cap”) of 65,000 visas to evaluate potential employee candidates as soon as possible. Although there is now a multi-step registration system alleviating some of the time constraints with preparing complete H-1B cases in […]
Greetings, Court Fans! The Court returned to action last week, issuing a unanimous decision in one case: Brownback v. King (No. 19-546). It concerns the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), a statute that waives the United States’ sovereign immunity for certain torts committed by federal employees acting within the scope of their employment. One of […]
Regulations that became final in February 2020, and were further revised in October 2020, dramatically expanded the situations in which foreign persons acquiring, or making new investments into, or changing existing rights in, U.S. businesses, or purchasing or leasing real estate in the United States, need to obtain prior approval from the Committee on Foreign […]
Today, February 11, 2020, the Biden Administration issued a new Executive Order (EO) imposing asset blocking sanctions in connection with the military coup in Burma. Simultaneously, the Treasury Department designated 10 individuals and 3 entities as blocked persons (Specially Designated Nationals or SDNs) under the new EO. (Two of the individuals were already SDNs as […]
Originally published on February 11, 2021. The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) was enacted on January 1, 2021 as part of the National Defense Authorization Act creating a federal beneficial ownership registry applicable to corporations, limited liability companies (LLCs) and most partnerships. Targeted at small, privately-held business entities, the CTA requires these organizations to report their […]
On January 29, 2020, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) issued new, descriptive guidance to assist employers more effectively identify risks of workers being exposed to and/or contracting COVID-19. OSHA’s new guidance recommends that employers implement COVID-19 Prevention Programs in the workplace, and include the following key elements in their programs: OSHA also lays […]
Greetings, Court Fans! Earlier this week, the Court announced that it would be issuing some decisions on Wednesday, notwithstanding that the Nine are currently on their winter break. That led many observers to speculate that something big was in store—maybe a decision in the pending ACA case—because (in non-pandemic years) the Court would typically only […]
What happened? On February 1, the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced a settlement with Princeton University, which BIS alleged exported animal pathogens and genetic elements of animal pathogens without required export licenses to researchers in the U.K., Canada, Australia, Europe, South Korea, India, Singapore, and China. Although Princeton voluntarily disclosed […]
Partners Jody Erdfarb and Maureen Weaver‘s previous client alert “Congress Ramps Up Survey Enforcement for Medicare Hospice Programs” has been published by The National Law Review. Read their piece on The National Law Review‘s website here.
Greetings, Court fans! With the imminent inauguration of a new President and the mob attack on Congress dominating the news in recent weeks, the third branch continued humming along in the background. Late last week, the Court issued its sixth signed opinion of the term, in a low-profile bankruptcy case. The Court also added 14(!) […]
Tucked away in the recently enacted 5,500+ page Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (the “Act”) are important provisions tightening up the survey and enforcement procedures for Medicare hospice programs. The Act (Pub. L. 116-260) was signed into law on December 27, 2020. Among other things, the Act’s hospice provisions require that the Secretary of Health […]
On December 27, 2020, the President signed the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits and Venues Act of 2020 (the “Economic Aid Act”). In addition to extending the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) for first time and second draw borrowers, the Act also included numerous tax provisions, some of which clarified a number of outstanding […]
On January 11, 2021, the United States Small Business Administration reopened the Paycheck Protection Program economic stimulus program which began under the CARES Act of 2020. In addition to making additional funds available to first time borrowers and further clarifying general PPP eligibility, Congress gave a subset of existing PPP borrowers a chance at a Second […]
Partner Michael Menapace and Associate Nicole Dwyer‘s advisory titled, “Holding Cryptocurrency – Is Your Wallet Hot? Consider Whether Your Assets Are Insured Under A Homeowner’s Or Commercial Policy” has been published in ABA TIPS Cybersecurity and Data Security Committee’s Winter 2021 Committee News. Click here or the PDF below to see their advisory.
Wiggin and Dana’s Immigration and Nationality Law and Compliance Practice Group addresses the spectrum of business immigration needs for employers and related individuals, including the incidental compliance areas that intersect with immigration law. Tax law is one such area. As we begin a new year, we are providing a quick refresher on some primary tax law considerations […]
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) issued two guidance memos on December 29, 2020 aimed at addressing several pandemic-related compliance challenges faced by employers. The first memo discusses when the WHD will consider electronic notices sufficient to satisfy the posting requirements under several statutes, including the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and […]
Greetings, Court Fans! On Friday, the Court issued its much (but only briefly) awaited decision in Trump v. New York (No. 20-366), rejecting (for now) a challenge to the Trump administration’s recently announced policy of trying to exclude those without lawful immigration status from the upcoming census. If that gives you a bit of déjà […]
On December 16, 2020, just days after the first doses of COVID-19 were administered in the United States, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued updated guidance providing employers with critical information regarding the intersections of mandated employee COVID vaccinations and federal employment laws. This guidance confirms the EEOC’s position that employers are permitted to […]