Month: April 2017

International Business, International Trade, MSK Blog

Due Your Duty

By Susan Kohn Ross

With the ever-increasing scrutiny being brought to compliance and the payment of duties on imported goods by Customs and Border Protection (CBP), it is worth commenting that any duties which are due when an entry liquidates may, in fact, end up having to be paid even if the related protest remains pending due to the legal and contractual relationship between the importer and his surety company.  Simply put, if a surety insists on receiving payment of any amounts demanded by CBP upon liquidation, the importer does not have any solid grounds to object.  Why would the surety do so if a protest is pending? Because the surety is looking to mitigate its risk. If the importer does not pay, the surety will have to do so, at least up to the face amount of any bonds it has written, and sureties try their best not to be put in that position. Continue reading “Due Your Duty”

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International Trade

Buy American Executive Order

By Susan Kohn Ross

On April 18th, President Trump issued an Executive Order (“EO” or “Order”) focused on the Buy American  laws and regulations. See Buy American EO.  This EO directs federal government entities to review their procurement rules so that, to the extent legally permitted, preference is given to American made goods.  Section 2 specifically states: “[i]t shall be the policy of the executive branch to buy American and hire American”.  At the same time,  the EO confirms:  “[n]othing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect … existing rights or obligations under international agreements”.  So, what does this EO mean to the private sector when it comes to government contracting?

First, it is important to keep in mind the review triggered by this Order applies only to federal procurement. States and other governmental entities have their own rules. They cannot contradict the federal rules, but they can be different.

Next, nothing in this Order has any impact on privately funded projects. The typical example given in the general press is the Keystone Pipeline. Nonetheless,  the point is you are only impacted if you are providing or intend to provide goods to a U.S. government entity. Continue reading “Buy American Executive Order”

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Labor & Employment

Where’s The Rest Of My Pay?

Commission-Only Employees Must Be Paid Separately for Rest Periods April 18, 2017 By Brian M. Ragen In Vaquero v. Stoneledge Furniture LLC, a California Court of Appeal recently held that inside sales employees who are paid on a 100% commission basis must be separately compensated for their rest periods. Though inside sales persons are exempt from overtime (provided they earn at least 1.5-times minimum wage … Continue reading Where’s The Rest Of My Pay?

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