Insights

June

• 6/16/2016
  Whistleblower Defense Alert: Escobar: The Supreme Court Upholds Implied Certification Theory
  On Thursday, June 16, 2016 the United States Supreme Court released its decision in Universal Health Services, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Escobar (No. 15-7). In Escobar—argued on April 19, 2016—the Court decided the legal validity of the “implied certification” theory of liability under the False Claims Act (FCA).
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• 6/16/2016
  Labor and Employment: Important New Development Regarding DOL Persuader Rule: Agreement Prior to July 1 Could Limit Future Reporting Obligation
  The DOL has recently interpreted its new Persuader Rule to exclude an agreement or arrangement signed before July 1, 2016, even if the services and payments occur after July 1.
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• 6/16/2016
  How to Prevent Grey Market and Diverted Goods From Undercutting Your Prices on eBay
  Let’s say your company sells products on eBay.com. To monitor your products for sale, you frequently check eBay and notice that there are regularly many products being listed on the website for substantially less than your price.
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• 6/14/2016
  Client Alert: Putting the Government to Work for Your Business
  U.S. Customs and Border Control (CBC) is a powerful ally in the battle to prevent counterfeits from reaching the U.S. market. In 2015 an estimated 11 million maritime containers arrived on U.S. shores carrying imported products from all over the world.
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• 6/14/2016
  Labor and Employment Alert: Ninth Circuit Shows High Costs of Failing to Properly Calculate the Regular Rate
  In a case of first impression, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently considered whether an employer violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) because it failed to include cash-in-lieu of benefits payments when it calculated employees’ regular rate of pay.
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• 6/10/2016
  Client Alert: Proposed Mandatory Chapter 13 Plan for the Southern District of Ohio
  The Bankruptcy Judges and Chapter 13 Trustees for the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Ohio have reviewed and approved a proposed District Wide Mandatory Form Chapter 13 Plan and proposed form Order Confirming Chapter 13 Plan and Awarding Attorney Fees.
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• 6/9/2016
  Labor and Employment Alert: Ohio’s New Medical Marijuana Law Preserves Employers’ Rights
  On June 8, 2016, Governor John Kasich signed House Bill 523 to legalize the use of medical marijuana in Ohio. Ohio now joins the 25 states and District of Columbia that have “legalized” marijuana for medicinal purposes (marijuana use, possession, and distribution remains illegal under federal law).
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• 6/8/2016
  Labor and Employment Alert: Colorado Now Requires Reasonable Pregnancy Accommodations
  Effective August 10, 2016, Colorado employers will be required to provide job applicants and employees with reasonable accommodations for pregnancy and physical recovery from childbirth. An employer only has to provide an accommodation if requested and if the accommodation would not impose an undue hardship.
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• 6/7/2016
  Labor and Employment Alert: Seventh Circuit Issues Surprising Ruling Backing NLRB’s Prohibition on Class/Collective Action Waivers
  In December 2013, in D.R. Horton, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the National Labor Relation Board’s (NLRB) prohibition on mandatory arbitration clauses. Since then, the vast majority of federal courts addressing this issue have agreed with the Fifth Circuit, including the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Second and Eighth Circuits.
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• 6/6/2016
  Client Alert: Gehrke v. Senkiw: Ohio Appellate Court Decision May Shorten Time to Contest the Validity of Revocable Trusts
  The Second District Court of Appeals has issued an opinion in Gehrke v. Senkiw, 2d Dist. Montgomery No. 26829, 2016-Ohio-2657, which held that the validity of a revocable trust that the settlor’s will incorporates by reference cannot be challenged without also challenging the settlor’s will.
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• 6/6/2016
  Labor and Employment Alert: Yes, Virginia, At-Will Employment Ends With or Without Advance Notice
  In Virginia, when an employment contract does not specify a time period for its duration, either party is ordinarily at liberty to terminate it at-will on giving reasonable notice of his or her intention to do so.
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• 6/3/2016
  Labor and Employment Alert: Final Regulations Change the Allocation Rule for Roth IRA Rollovers
  On May 17, 2016, the Internal Revenue Service issued final regulations simplifying a participant’s ability to make a rollover from his or her designated Roth account in a qualified plan. The final regulations eliminated the requirement that the amounts that are directly rolled over by a participant to an eligible retirement plan be treated as a separate distribution from other amounts received by the participant.
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• 6/2016
  No Contest Clauses in Ohio
  Lisa Babish Forbes, a partner in the litigation group in the Vorys Cleveland office, authored an article for the June 2016 edition of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Journal titled “No Contest Clauses in Ohio.”
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May

• 5/31/2016
  Labor and Employment Alert: Will the DOL’s New Salary Threshold Sound the Death Knell for Some Non-Profits?
  Effective December 1, 2016, the salary threshold for an employee to be considered exempt from overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) increases to $913 per week – $47,476 per year (or to $134,004 for highly compensated employees).
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• 5/26/2016
  Labor and Employment Alert: Cleveland Proposes Enacting Its Own $15/Hour Minimum Wage
  Faced with a petition drive to put a minimum wage proposal on the November ballot, Cleveland City Council must now consider an ordinance that would mandate a $15 per hour minimum wage for those employees working within Cleveland’s geographic boundaries.
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• 5/25/2016
  Financial Services Alert: Attacks Begin on the CFPB’s Recently Proposed Regulations
  The first wave of attacks on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) recently proposed rules prohibiting class action waivers in pre-dispute arbitration agreements occurred during the House Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee hearing entitled “Examining the CFPB’s Proposed Rulemaking on Arbitration.
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• 5/25/2016
  Financial Services Alert: Regulations Prohibiting Class Action Waivers Published in Federal Register
  On May 24, 2016 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) proposed arbitration rule was published in the Federal Register.
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• 5/25/2016
  Labor and Employment Alert: Supreme Court Issues Bright-Line Rule for Constructive Discharge Cases
  The United States Supreme Court recently resolved a split among the federal circuits about when the limitations period begins on a constructive discharge claim (as opposed to a claim by an employee that he or she was terminated by an employer).
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• 5/23/2016
  Labor and Employment Alert: Effective Now: Defense of Trade Secrets Act Makes it Easier to Protect Trade Secrets
  On May 11, 2016, President Obama signed the Defense of Trade Secrets Act (DTSA), which Congress passed overwhelmingly in a rare moment of bipartisanship. Until now, trade secrets have been exclusively protected by state law (unlike the federal protection afforded to patents, copyrights and trademarks).
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• 5/20/2016
  Labor and Employment Alert: EEOC Rules on Wellness Programs
  If your company sponsors a wellness program, you are undoubtedly familiar with IRS and DOL rules for participatory, activity, and outcomes-based wellness programs.
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