The Bureau of Workers’ Compensation will no longer reimburse spinal fusion surgery unless the injured worker first satisfies a protocol, which among other things requires at least 60 days of conservative care for low back pain.
After postponing the effective date of Obama-era regulations on claims and appeals for disability benefits, the Department of Labor announced on January 5, 2018 that it would allow the regulations to go into effect for claims filed after April 1, 2018.
On December 22, 2017, tax reform became official. There were several changes in the final version, including renaming the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” to the “Act.” The Act will have significant impact on business. This alert focuses on the impact of the Act on employee compensation and benefits programs.
Beginning in 2018, an individual taxpayer generally may deduct 20% of his or her share of “qualified business income” from a U.S. trade or business operated through a partnership (including an LLC treated as a partnership for federal income tax purposes), S corporation, or sole proprietorship (including an LLC treated as a disregarded entity for federal income tax purposes) (the QBI Deduction).
Over the past year, various plaintiff-side law firms sent aggressive demand letters on behalf of activist organizations and individuals to financial institutions – typically community banks – asserting that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to websites.
For some savvy patent owners, enforcing patent rights through European Union (EU) courts has been a valuable tool in their efforts to extract value from their patent portfolios, whether those strategies focus on market exclusivity or monetization.
In a January 3, 2018 decision, the Supreme Court of Ohio held that Ohio does not recognize an implied covenant to explore further as a distinct implied covenant in oil and gas leases.
As we begin the New Year, it’s time to re-visit and update your data incident response plan. Companies subject to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) are required to do so to ensure compliance.
Earlier this month, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) articulated a new standard for evaluating when a facially neutral workplace policy or rule would potentially interfere with rights protected by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). In doing so, the NLRB overruled its 2004 Lutheran Heritage Village-Livonia decision, which had held that employers violated the NLRA if their workplace rules could be “reasonably construed” by employees as prohibiting their exercise of protected rights.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Act”) was signed into law on December 22. The Act brings about immediate, sweeping changes to the federal income tax laws, affecting businesses and business owners across all industries. Most provisions of the Act are effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017. Certain provisions, however, are retroactive to September or November of 2017.
Companies are increasingly turning to technology to track customers and employers. For example, employers use fingerprint readers as means of employee timekeeping.
In today’s tumultuous global economy, in-house intellectual property (IP) attorneys and managers are tasked with effectively protecting company innovation while facing ever-dwindling budgets.
The U.S. House and Senate have both passed tax reform proposals, which are currently being reconciled. These proposals will have significant impact on compensation and benefit programs.
Ohio will soon join Texas and New Jersey as the only states to regulate “paint and paint-related waste” as a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) universal waste instead of a hazardous waste.
In February 2015, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (the office) solicited comments as to whether it should recognize privilege for U.S. patent agents and foreign attorneys or agents. Following the comment period, the office published a notice and final rule in the Federal Register on Nov. 7, 2017 (82 Fed. Reg. 214 at 51572) officially recognizing the privilege, effective December 7, 2017.
Last year, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) amended its recordkeeping rules related to workplace injuries and illnesses to require employers keeping those records to submit information to OSHA electronically.
On November 16, 2017, Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS) released updates to its proxy voting guidelines for 2018 (2018 Updates). The 2018 Updates are effective for shareholder meetings on or after February 1, 2018. This alert summarizes the highlights of the 2018 Updates.
