There has been a whirlwind of new legislation and guidance related to cafeteria plans and flexible spending accounts (FSAs), beginning with the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act in March 2020 through Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance issued March 26, 2021.
As part of our dedication to helping our clients stay up-to-date on the ever-changing landscape as it relates to the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve compiled the following highlights of changes to patent, trademark, and copyright operations around the world.
The federal Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) mandates that U.S. legal entities and non-U.S. legal entities registered to do business in the U.S. report to the federal government specific information about their “beneficial owners” and the persons who form or register those companies, with certain exceptions.
On April 1, 2021, New Mexico became the seventeenth state to legalize adult use or recreational cannabis for those 21 and older. New York just legalized recreational cannabis on March 31 (see our alert on this law here).
The State of Ohio offers several economic development incentive programs targeted at supporting and increasing diversity and inclusion in the business community.
On March 12, 2021, New York enacted legislation requiring that all employers in the state provide paid leave time to their employees in order to receive COVID-19 vaccinations.
On March 22, 2021 the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral arguments in Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid, a case that could have significant impacts in the areas of agricultural, eminent domain, and labor law. At issue is whether a state regulation that requires an owner to grant access to others over their private property some, but not all of the time, will always constitute a taking (in legal terms, is it a per se taking?).
On April 5, 2021, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Google LLC v. Oracle America, Inc. Oracle had accused Google of infringing Oracle’s copyright in portions of Java source code for use in Google’s Android smartphones.
On March 31, 2021, New York became the sixteenth state to legalize adult use or recreational cannabis for those 21 and older. Cannabis use and possession – whether for recreational or medical use – still remains illegal under federal law.
Beginning March 29, 2021, California employers with 25 or more employees must provide supplemental sick leave to employees affected by COVID-19. This is a new bank of leave, which means that employers with 500 or more employees that already provided paid supplemental sick leave in 2020 also have to provide this new leave. The law is retroactive to January 1, 2021. And while the law expires on September 30, 2021, an employee taking leave at that time can still take the full amount of leave.
On March 16, 2021, the Supreme Court of Ohio expanded upon its prior decision in Blackstone v. Moore, 2018-Ohio-4959, once again addressing the exception under the Marketable Title Act, 5301.47, et seq. (the MTA), found in R.C. 5301.49(A).
On March 11, 2021, the Supreme Court of Ohio ordered the Department of Commerce and the Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program (collectively the Department) to either approve or deny a Level II medical marijuana cultivator’s application to expand its marijuana-cultivation area. State ex rel. Fire Rock, Ltd. v. Ohio Department of Commerce, Slip Opinion No. 2021-Ohio-673.
The newly-enacted American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 includes, among other relief, additional funding to universities, colleges, and schools, some of which can be used to upgrade health safeguards, including improved ventilation systems.
On March 10, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), issued updated guidance for nursing homes to safely expand visitation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Wednesday, March 10th, the House passed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the third major federal COVID-19 relief act following the CARES Act and the December 2020 Consolidated Appropriations Act. President Biden is expected to sign it into law Friday.
