Written by Deeba Fahami and Frida P. Glucoft For the first time in almost 20 years, the State Department (“DOS”) will launch a pilot program later this year offering visa renewal options in the US for H-1B and L-1 workers who are currently required to travel abroad. Background The DOS is the agency who has exclusive authority to issue visas. Currently, visas may be issued … Continue reading Pilot Program for Stateside Visa Renewals
Reversing Itself, Ninth Circuit Invalidates California’s Ban on Mandatory Employment Arbitration Agreements Written by Stephen Rossi In 2018, California passed a controversial law called AB-51 (now Labor Code Section 432.6) that prohibited California employers from requiring arbitration agreements as a condition of employment – on pain of jail time and civil penalties. AB-51 was immediately challenged and preliminarily enjoined under the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), … Continue reading Mandatory Arbitration Is Off The Ropes in California!
Written by Lauren Hazday and Alina Charniauskaya Mehta Introduction: To obtain H-1B status for the first time, an employer or prospective employer of a foreign worker is required to go through the annual randomized H-1B lottery often referred to as “H-1B cap.” The H-1B lottery is run to meet the annual quota of 85,000 (20,000 reserved for U.S. advanced-degree holders and 65,000 for holders of … Continue reading H-1B Cap Registration Period Will Run Between March 1 and March 17, 2023
Written by Jeffrey D. Davine Termination of COVID-19 Emergency. The White House recently announced that the Presidentially declared disaster concerning the COVID-19 pandemic will be withdrawn as of May 11, 2023. The effect of this withdrawal will make it more difficult for employers to reimburse employees for their work-from-home expenses. Declaration of National Emergency. On March 13, 2020, President Trump declared a nationwide emergency as a result … Continue reading Employee Expense Reimbursements Will be More Difficult After COVID-19
Written by Justin Farrell and David Wheeler Newman The Secure Act 2.0, signed by the President on December 29, opens new opportunities to fund charitable gifts with IRA distributions. The first change is to index for inflation the cap on qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) from IRAs to charity, which has been stuck at $100,000 since the “IRA rollover” was first introduced. (Indexing begins in 2024.) … Continue reading New Opportunities for Charitable Gift Annuities
Written by Christie Del Rey-Cone and Eric Engelman The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on January 5, 2023 that would prohibit employers from entering into, or enforcing, non-compete clauses with workers. The proposed rule would broadly cover all workers, regardless of whether the worker is an employee or independent contractor, or whether the worker is paid or unpaid. The FTC’s … Continue reading Will Non-Compete Clauses Be No-More?
Written by Christie Del Rey-Cone and Thea Rogers On December 27, 2022, the California Labor Commissioner’s Office released FAQ guidance (the “Guidance”) on California’s new pay transparency law (the “California Pay Transparency Law”) pay scale disclosure requirements. The California Pay Transparency Law took effect on January 1, 2023 and was enacted via amendments to the state’s Equal Pay Act and Labor Code section 432.3. Unsurprisingly, … Continue reading Guidance Regarding California Pay Scale Disclosure Requirements is Released
Written by Deeba Fahami On December 28, 2022, the Biden administration announced new COVID-19 restrictions for travelers from China, citing mounting concerns of the ongoing COVID-19 surges and the lack of adequate data being reported from the People’s Republic of China (China). These restrictions will affect all air passengers two years and older boarding flights to the United States originating from China, Hong Kong, and … Continue reading U.S. to Impose New COVID-19 Restrictions for Air Travelers from China
Written by Blake Baron and Gabriel Miranda On December 14, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced that they adopted amendments to Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”). Rule 10b5-1 was first adopted by the SEC in August 2000, which provided affirmative defenses for corporate insiders and companies to buy and sell company stock pursuant to a 10b5-1 plan, … Continue reading SEC Announces Adoption of Amendments to Rule 10b5-1 Insider Trading Plans and Related Disclosures
Written by Lindsay R. Edelstein and Marissa B. Lewis The Eleventh Circuit recently affirmed the Northern District of Florida’s summary judgment decision in MGFB Props., Inc., et al. v. Viacom, Inc., holding that use of the name MTV Floribama Shore for a reality show spin-off of Jersey Shore is protected by the First Amendment and does not infringe the trademark of a well-known bar called Flora-Bama Lounge. … Continue reading The Eleventh Circuit Rules in Favor of Floribama Shore Creators and Opines on the Future of the “Title-Versus-Title Exception” to the Rogers v. Grimaldi Defense
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