On November 30, 2021, a federal district court in Kentucky temporarily blocked the federal contractor vaccine mandate from taking effect in Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee.

On November 30, 2021, the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana issued an order and decision granting a nationwide preliminary injunction of the COVID-19 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) vaccine mandate (“CMS Mandate”) following a lawsuit filed by 14 states, including Ohio.

While most Americans feast on turkey and stuffing this week, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals will dig in to motions and briefing regarding the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s emergency temporary standard on COVID-19 (the ETS).

On November 17, 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) adopted final rules requiring parties in a contested election of directors to use “universal proxy cards” that include all duly-nominated director candidates presented for election at a shareholder meeting, whether nominated by the company or a dissident shareholder.

As we previously reported, on November 4, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a long awaited emergency temporary standard (the ETS) on COVID-19.

On August 27, 2021, the “Illinois Consumer Coverage Disclosure Act” (SB 1905) (“CCDA”), was signed into law. The CCDA went into effect immediately, and applies to all employers who offer insurance under an employer sponsored health plan to employees who work in Illinois.

On October 28, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published its Final Rule that limits the amount of time tipped employees can spend in non-tipped activities during periods that an employer utilizes the tip credit.

On November 4, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a long awaited emergency temporary standard (the ETS) on COVID-19. 

On November 4, 2021, CMS issued the highly anticipated Informal Rule with Comment Period requiring employees of Medicare and Medicaid-participating health care facilities to be vaccinated for COVID-19. 

In a 3-2 decision, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced on Wednesday important updates to its Standards for Safeguarding Customer Information.

The No Surprises Act (NSA), part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, provides protections against certain types of surprise medical bills.

On October 25, 2021, President Biden signed a Presidential Proclamation revoking the country-based travel bans that prevented most nonimmigrant visa holders who were physically present in specified countries from entering the U.S.

Last week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued notices to over 700 companies warning against fake reviews, misleading endorsements, and other business advertising practices that run counter to past administrative case decisions. 

In September, President Biden issued an Executive Order requiring that all employees (with limited exceptions) working on or in connection with covered federal government contracts be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The Safer Worker Federal Workforce Task Force then issued its COVID-19 Workplace Safety: Guidance for Federal Contractors and Subcontractors implementing the Executive Order and mandating that employees be fully vaccinated by December 8, 2021.

In July of this year, Ohio governor Mike DeWine singed Senate Bill 52 (SB 52) into law, which for the first time gives a local board of county commissioners the authority to block the development of large-scale wind and solar facilities in its jurisdiction.

Chapter 313 of the Texas Tax Code is a decades-old law designed to lure companies to Texas with the promise of property tax breaks. The law is set to expire at the end of 2022, and the Texas Legislature is faced with a choice: it could either renew the law or allow the law to lapse, permitting any existing Chapter 313 agreements to expire over time.

In this edition of Development Incentives Quarterly, we welcome Dean Monske, President and CEO of the Regional Growth Partnership (RGP), an award-winning private economic development organization serving the Toledo region and 17 counties of Northwest Ohio. He is a Toledo/Northwest Ohio native who has been an economic developer for 27 years and has led the RGP for over 10 years. The RGP has won a number of significant projects in recent years, including Peleton’s first U.S. factory. Dean graciously agreed to spend some time with us this quarter.

The USEPA's latest proposal for additional per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) regulation is currently under agency review for finalization after the comment period on the proposed rule closed last week.

The Supreme Court of Ohio recently agreed to consider an appeal challenging the constitutionality of Ohio’s statutory cap on noneconomic tort damages, Revised Code section 2315.18.