Alerts & Newsletters

This morning, the San Antonio City Council approved a new city ordinance that requires employers to provide paid sick leave to employees who work at least 80 hours within the City of San Antonio per year. Employers with more than 15 employees must allow employees to earn up to 1 hour of paid sick leave per 30 hours worked, up to a cap of 64 hours of paid sick leave per year; employers with 15 or less employees must allow employees to similarly accrue paid sick leave up to a cap of 48 hours of paid sick leave per year.

The 2017 tax act (Pub. L. No. 115-97) introduced a new program designed to encourage investments in low-income communities throughout the country that have been designated as qualified opportunity zones (“Opportunity Zones”). Each state and U.S. territory was allowed to designate up to 25 percent of eligible low-income communities as Opportunity Zones. At this time, each state has submitted to the Treasury Department its list of proposed Opportunity Zones, and Treasury has approved designated Opportunity Zones across the nation.

During the second quarter, Dykema closed nine transactions with an average deal size of $40,500,000, representing the buyer in six of these transactions and representing the seller in three of them. Two of these transactions were cross-border in nature. 

The Communications Decency Act (CDA)—the law Congress enacted in 1996 and confirmed this past year to shield online publishers from responsibility for the speech of others—gives internet platforms the right to publish the ideas and opinions of third-party users without being held liable for that content or being forced to remove it. In the closely watched case of Hassell v. Bird, earlier this week the California Supreme Court, in a split 4-3 decision, applied the CDA’s immunity to on-line platforms, namely the ever-popular Yelp review website, which allows people to freely share their consumer thoughts on businesses, small and large.

Last month, in an effort to clarify what types of employee handbook rules are lawful under the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”), the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) issued new Guidance on the topic.

After not disturbing the Third-Party Doctrine for more than 40 years, the Supreme Court created a significant exception to it in Carpenter v. United States. Slip Op., 16-402 (Jun. 22, 2018). Under the Third-Party Doctrine, individuals who voluntarily provide personal information to third parties are deemed to relinquish their legitimate reasonable expectation of privacy in that information.

While U.S. companies focused on the imposition of burdensome data protection laws being implemented overseas, California was hard at work on revamping its own laws. As of June 25, 2018, the home of big technology, Silicon Valley, Facebook, and Google, was prepared to consider the California Consumer Personal Information Disclosure and Sale Initiative (“Initiative”) on the November 2018 ballot.

On June 22, 2018, in a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court of Texas settled a conflict in appellate court rulings by holding there is no cause of action in Texas for intentional interference with inheritance. Chief Justice Nathan Hecht, writing for the majority, reasoned that existing remedies in probate law, such as claims of undue influence, duress, restitution through the imposition of a constructive trust, and evidentiary rules and procedures were adequate to protect the interests of a prospective beneficiary.

On June 21, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court released its much-anticipated opinion in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., in which it held that physical presence within a State is no longer a prerequisite to the imposition of liability on out-of-state sellers to collect and remit sales taxes.

In Lagos v. United States, 584 U.S. ___ (2018), the Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling that limits the ability of corporate victims of fraud to seek reimbursement of legal fees for internal investigations. The case began when GE Capital discovered that Sergio Lagos falsified numerous invoices for his company, which he used as collateral to obtain tens of millions of dollars in loans from GE Capital.

On May 9, 2018, Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein released a new “Policy on Coordination of Corporate Resolution Penalties” (“Policy”) in an effort to ameliorate the unwarranted “piling on” of penalties by the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and other law enforcement agencies outside of the DOJ.

Not long after President Trump announced that the U.S. would impose tariffs on steel and aluminum, the Department of Commerce launched an investigation that may lead to additional duties on imported vehicles and automotive parts. Effective May 23, 2018, the Department will now examine whether imports of vehicles and auto parts threaten U.S. national security.

On May 21, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, resolving an issue on which several Courts of Appeals and various federal agencies and administrations had disagreed.

On May 7, 2018, Michigan’s version of the Uniform Commercial Real Estate Receivership Act (the “Act”) will go into effect—bringing long-overdue clarity to the laws surrounding receivers and receiver-managed properties.

During the first quarter, Dykema closed 14 transactions with an average deal size of $23,000,000, representing the buyer in all but one transaction. The industries involved were diverse, including energy, automotive, logistics, death care, dental service organizations, home improvement and insurance. Below are details for some of these transactions.

Due in part to the #MeToo movement, employers have experienced an influx of workplace sexual harassment claims. More than ever, employers have been reminded of their legal and ethical duties to create harassment-free workplaces. These duties involve preventing foreseeable sexual harassment including proactively training employees about discrimination and harassment. This also entails properly investigating sexual harassment claims and immediately correcting known harassment. This Issue Brief outlines key points to assist employers in carrying out these crucial responsibilities.

In Texas, the tenant’s right to receive notice of appraised property values can create an administrative headache for multi-tenant landlords. however, recent revisions to Texas tax code law make it clear that landlords can avoid that concern with a well-drafted lease.

In 2017, the Cayman Islands passed the Data Protection Law (“DPL”), which reads much like the upcoming European Union General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) that goes into effect Mary 25, 2018. The DPL applies to entities falling within the definition of “data controller” who are established in the Islands or who process data in the Islands.

In light of the increasing significance of cybersecurity incidents, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently found it necessary to provide further guidance with respect to cybersecurity disclosure requirements under the federal securities laws as they apply to public operating companies.

On April 2, 2018, the United States Supreme Court in Encino Motor Cars, LLC v. Navarro, Justice Thomas writing for the majority, held that car dealership “service advisors” are “salesm[e]n… primarily engaged in… servicing automobiles” and therefore are exempt from the FLSA’s overtime requirements under 29 U.S.C. § 213(b)(10)(A). Significantly, in addition to issuing a ruling that is favorable to auto dealerships, the Court also provided useful language to all employers based on its view of how FLSA overtime exemptions should be construed.

In February, Dykema published a summary of 2017 Michigan legislation designed to address the opioid crisis that has gripped the country. On March 22, 2018, the Michigan Legislature passed HB 5678, which delays implementation of the bona fide prescriber-patient relationship requirement that was to go into effect March 31, 2018.

For more than 25 years, the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) has knocked down barriers that prevented disabled people from fully participating in society, and made physical locations from public parks and buildings to sports stadiums more accessible to everyone. The ADA was so effective in its mission that it’s difficult to find a location today that hasn’t been built or retrofitted for accessibility.

On March 6th, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division announced a new compliance initiative that will be attractive to many employers. It's called the “Payroll Audit Independent Determination Program,” a/k/a “PAID.”

On February 26, 2018, the California Office of Administrative Law approved the DMV’s final regulatory package for driverless autonomous vehicles. Beginning April 2, 2018, autonomous vehicles can be operated on public roads with a remote operator.

On February 21, 2018, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Digital Realty Trust, Inc. v. Somers __ U.S. __, No. 16-1267 (February 21, 2018), a retaliation case brought by a former employee of Digital under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank”).

Update: Since this alert was published, some of the effective dates have changed. To see an updated version of this alert with new effective dates, please click here.

In response to the opioid crisis that has gripped the country, the Michigan Legislature passed a set of bills in 2017 that imposes new requirements in 2018 on individuals and entities who prescribe and dispense controlled substances. Because failure to comply with these requirements may constitute misconduct subject to professional discipline, it is important for all prescribers, prescribing dispensers, pharmacists and pharmacies to understand and follow these new requirements.