On December 19, 2018, then-Governor John Kasich signed Senate Bill 263, the Notary Public Modernization Act (the Act), which, among other things, will permit online notarizations beginning on September 18, 2019.
Due to the well-publicized impasse between President Trump and Congress, a partial government shutdown is currently in effect. Approximately 25 percent of government functions are shut down.
Suffolk County, New York, has become one of the latest jurisdictions to prohibit employers from asking applicants about their compensation history. The law becomes effective on June 30, 2019.
Massachusetts is one of 11 states that currently mandate removing criminal history questions from job applications for private employers. These states are California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington. At least 17 cities and counties across the country have also extended these requirements to private employers. The beginning of the new year is a good time for employers to review their hiring policies and procedures and what information they collect from applicants in this regard.
The Ohio Supreme Court has done it again. It announced a sales and use tax decision two days after Christmas and a few days before New Year’s Eve. Great Lakes Bar Control, Inc. v. Testa (12‑27‑18), Slip Op. No. 2018‑Ohio‑5207. (The Court released its sales and use tax decision involving bobblehead dolls and the resale exemption the day before Thanksgiving.) Thus, in the spirit of holiday celebration, I again take pen in hand to write this alert.
On December 18, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted a final rule implementing Section 955 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act which required the SEC to establish rules requiring companies to disclose whether their employees or directors are permitted to hedge the market value of equity securities granted as compensation to, or held by, employees or directors.
For nearly 30 years, Ohio taxpayers have been searching for an “easy answer” to avoid sales tax on employment services. The recent decision by the Ohio Supreme Court in Seaton Corp. v. Testa may give some searchers hope.
On December 14, 2018, a District Court in Texas held that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is unconstitutional. Texas v. United States, No. 4:18-cv-00167 (N.D. Tex. 12/14/2018). While the case makes its way through the appeal process, group health plan sponsors should continue to comply with the ACA.
On October 31, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of the Treasury released proposed regulations under Section 956 of the Internal Revenue Code (Proposed Regulations) that, for certain U.S. corporate shareholders, generally undo the “deemed dividend” rules that have applied to foreign corporate subsidiaries for decades.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has once again held that a software innovation is eligible for patenting as a claimed improvement in computer functionality.
On November 21, 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a far-reaching decision that “an employer has a legal duty to exercise reasonable care to safeguard its employees’ sensitive personal information stored by the employer on an internet-accessible computer system.”
