Insights

December

• 12/14/2016
  Client Alert: Cheaters Never Win: Ashley Madison Settles FTC and State Data Security Charges for $1.65 Million
  Today, the FTC and 13 states announced a settlement with notorious website Ashely Madison related to its July 2015 data breach that exposed the personal information of more than 36 million users.
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• 12/8/2016
  Client Alert: Privacy Issues for Employers: NLRB Aggressively Pursuing Social Media Policies and Terminations
  For most of its existence, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has focused on fairly traditional issues related to unionization and other efforts by employees to collectively address the terms and conditions of their employment.
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• 12/6/2016
  • Victor J. Ferguson
  • David A. Groenke
  • Emily S. Pan
  • Michael G. Schwartz
  • David A. Swift
  • Mark E. Vannatta
  • Suzanne R. Galyardt
  • Michelle L. Clemons
  • Colleen B. Laux
  Choosing a Trustee, Who Can You Trust?
  Choosing a trustee is one of the most important and, often times, the most difficult decision for clients when creating a trust.
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• 12/5/2016
  Labor and Employment Alert: New York City Enacts the Nation’s First Freelance Worker Protection Law
  In November 2016, New York City enacted its “Freelance Isn’t Free Act” to establish and enhance protections for freelance workers (in other words, independent contractors).
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• 12/2/2016
  Labor and Employment Alert: Pennsylvania Law Now Permits Payroll Debit Cards
  As we previously reported, in October 2016, the Pennsylvania Superior Court held that the mandatory payment of wages by payroll debit card does not satisfy the requirements of the state’s Wage Payment and Collection Law (WPCL).
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November

• 11/30/2016
  Labor and Employment Alert: 30 Extra Days to Distribute 2016 Form 1095-Cs to Employees
  On November 18, 2016, the IRS announced a 30-day extension of the deadline to distribute 2016 Form 1095-Cs to employees.
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• 11/23/2016
  Labor and Employment Alert: New DOL Overtime Rules Blocked!
  In a surprising decision, a federal judge in Texas blocked the U.S. Department of Labor’s new overtime rule from taking effect on December 1.
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• 11/21/2016
  Client Alert: Banks and Thrifts: Please do NOT Ignore the Latest Wave of Website Inaccessibility Demand Letters
  Several law firms nationally are in the process of issuing demand letters to banks, thrifts and various other businesses alleging website access barriers. The most recent wave of demand letters specifically target the banking industry. The letters demand changes to banks’ web pages and payment of substantial legal fees based on alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (the ADA).
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• 11/18/2016
  Labor and Employment Alert: Sometimes the Grass Really is Greener -- Recreational Marijuana Legalization Trend Continues
  Spanning the country and the political divide, Election Day 2016 witnessed eight of the nine marijuana-related ballot measures pass in various states.
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• 11/18/2016
  Client Alert: Micro-Captive Insurance Companies - New IRS Reporting Requirements
  On November 1, 2016, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2016-66. The Notice designates certain so-called “micro-captive” insurance company transactions as “transactions of interest” for purposes of Treas. Reg. Sec. 1.6011-4(b)(6), Code Sec. 6111, and Code Sec. 6112.
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• 11/18/2016
  Immigration Alert: New Form I-9
  This week, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a revised Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 for use by employers.
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• 11/16/2016
  Labor and Employment Alert: Red State, Blue State, Green State -- Medical Marijuana Legalization Trend Continues
  Spanning the country and the political divide, Election Day 2016 witnessed eight of the nine marijuana-related ballot measures pass in various states.
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• Fall 2016
  • Scott J. Ziance
  Downtown Redevelopment Districts: Overview and Implementation Strategies
  Amended Substitute House Bill 233 (HB 233), which became effective August 5, 2016, established the procedure for designating so-called downtown redevelopment districts (DRDs) and innovation districts. These districts operate much like tax increment financing (TIF) areas except that the collected service payments generally can be utilized for a wider range of uses than TIF service payments.
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• Fall 2016
  • Joseph B. Mann
  • Kelly B. Bissinger
  Is Your Project a Candidate for NMTC Funding?
  The federal New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program was created in 2000 for the purpose of encouraging investment in businesses and commercial projects, including real estate development, that benefit low-income communities.
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• 11/15/2016
  • William D.G. Baldwin
  • Aaron S. Berke
  • Kelly B. Bissinger
  • Bryan H. Falk
  • Nicholas R. House
  • Joseph B. Mann
  • Jacinto A. Núñez
  • J. Theodore Smith
  • Kristin L. Woeste
  • Scott J. Ziance
  Development Incentives Quarterly: Fall 2016
  In the Fall 2016 edition of Development Incentives Quarterly, learn more about Downtown redevelopment districts and about the federal New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program.  
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• 11/14/2016
  Client Alert: Recent Changes to Federal Partnership Tax Rules Eliminate Usefulness of Bottom-Dollar Guarantees and Reduce Effectiveness of Debt-Financed Distributions to Avoid Disguised Sale Treatment
  How partnership liabilities (including liabilities of a limited liability company treated as a partnership for tax purposes) are allocated among its partners is important.
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• 11/11/2016
  Labor and Employment Alert: What Does the 2016 Election Mean for the Affordable Care Act?
  For now, stay the course and stay tuned…
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• 11/10/2016
  Serving Subpoenas to Unmask the Identities of Website Owners, Domain Registrants
  When unidentified individuals defame businesses or professionals online, the harmed parties can potentially serve subpoenas on relevant entities for documents containing identifying information about the authors of the online defamation.
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• 11/9/2016
  Ohio Statehouse Update: Ohio Election Summary 2016
  This alert details results of the 2016 general election.
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• 11/6/2016
  How to Identify Anonymous Unauthorized Online Sellers
  According to a Nov. 3 Business Insider article/report, U.S. consumers are expected to spend an estimated $385 billion online this calendar year.
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