In the latest ruling in the case of National Association of Manufacturers, et al., v. SEC, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia held today that the Secuiety and Exchange Commission’s “conflict minerals” rule’s compelled disclosures—affecting the acquisition of certain minerals produced in the…
UPDATE: Cal/OSHA Cites Two Employers More Than $300,000 for Exposing Workers to Cave-In Hazards after Stop-Work Order Issued Recently, Cal/OSHA issued a News Release confirming that its criminal investigation into a cave-in death of a day laborer in late January 2012 has resulted in a 2-year prison sentence for both the…
In Minnick, et al., v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, decided on August 12, 2015, involves conservation easements. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the U.S. Tax Court’s decision that disallowed a charitable deduction under Treasury Regulation § 1.170A-14(g)(2) claimed by the taxpayers for the donation of…
For the second time in two years, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, in an important attorney-client privilege case, has issued a Writ of Mandamus to protect the contents of an internal corporate investigation that was led by the company’s lawyers. The case is In…
Recently, the National Association of State Contractors Licensing Agencies coordinated a national sting operation carried out June 15-26, 2015 “to elevate consumer protection and deter illegal construction practices.” Nine states participated in the effort to combat what is commonly referred to as the underground economy: Arizona, California, Florida, Nevada, Rhode Island, South…
In a case that does not seem to have attracted much notice, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a very long opinion rejecting the arguments made by a number of major business trade groups that the new National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) union election rules exceed…
The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries recently confirmed that has been some confusion voiced about when the term “associated” in the phrase “associated Class 2 low voltage wiring,” added in recent revisions to the scope of work for Class B labels in W.A.C. § 296-46B-908, applies to the low voltage cable. …
Virginia Senate Bill 891 amends Section 43-3 of the Code of Virginia and add Section 11-4.1:1 to protect subcontractors (defined in Section 43-1 as “contractors, laborers, mechanics, and persons furnishing materials, who do not contract with the owner but with the general contractor”), lower-tier subcontractors and material suppliers. Subdivision (c) of…
This is Part VII of VII of a brief recap of some the significant environmental law and administrative cases decided in the past few months: B. Texas State Court of Appeals On June 1, 2015, the Court of Appeals for the Seventh District sitting in Amarillo issued a ruling reversing the grant…
Anyone having a business relationship with the U.S. Government who believes the Government or one of its representatives has acted, or failed to act in such a manner as to cause harm, should be aware of the restrictions placed on governmental liability by the Federal Tort Claims Act, especially the…