On September 15, 2016, many oil and gas producers and surface owners of Ohio properties awoke to problematic news: the Supreme Court of Ohio, in Corban v. Chesapeake Exploration, L.L.C., et al., Slip Opinion No. 2016-Ohio-5796, held that the 1989 version of the Ohio Dormant Mineral Act (R.C. § 5301.56) (1989 DMA) was not self-executing (i.e., did not automatically abandon and vest dormant mineral interests in the surface owner of the property by operation of law).
The 2016 elections are just over a month away. Despite the importance of voting to the democratic process, no federal law requires employers to provide time off for their employees to vote.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) new overtime rules become effective on December 1, 2016. On that day, the salary threshold to be considered an overtime-exempt employee will double from the existing $455 per week to $913 per week (or $47,476 per year).
Earlier this month, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit established a standard for application of Fed. R. Civ. P. 9(b) that significantly strengthens the bar imposed by the heightened pleading requirements of that rule.
The Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) has taken an increasingly hardline on employers’ confidentiality agreements and that its regulators are on the lookout for policies that impede an employee’s ability to report activities to regulator
Under the basic franchise model, the franchisor gives the franchisee a license to use its name, trademark, and business practices and benefit from established methods of operating the business.
The new small unmanned aerial aircraft (UAS) rule, 14 C.F.R. §107 et seq., is effective as of August 29, 2016. This rule permits the flying of drones for commercial purposes provided that the drone operations and pilot meet the requirements of the new small UAS rule.
On August 22, 2016, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that requiring employees to sign an arbitration agreement prohibiting them from filing class or collective actions over wages, hours, and employment terms and conditions violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).
The Ohio Tax Commissioner recently issued a memorandum to county auditors regarding significant changes to the taxation of oil and gas reserves starting in tax year 2016.
With Ohio set to become the 25th state to legalize marijuana for medical use, there are inevitably many questions about how to legally operate marijuana-related businesses in those states.
Supreme Courts in two more states, Iowa and New Jersey, have recently ruled that CGL insurance provides coverage for damage to the completed project itself caused by defective work of subcontractors.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently affirmed the guilty plea of Mark Sawyer for conspiring to violate the Clean Air Act (CAA), 18 U.S.C. 371.
For companies seeking to transfer personal data from the EU to the U.S., the formal adoption of the Privacy Shield on July 12, 2016 by the European Commission and yesterday’s launch of the Privacy Shield website (privacyshield.gov) provides a data transfer mechanism to replace the Safe Harbor.
On May 12, 2016, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) amended its recordkeeping rules. While the amendment did not change the basics of recordkeeping, OSHA announced three significant initiatives.
