Feb 24, 2017
On February 22, 2017, the United States Supreme Court issued an opinion in Fry v. Napoleon Community Schools, et al., holding that the requirement to exhaust administrative remedies under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (the “IDEA”) only applies when the essence of a plaintiff’s complaint seeks relief for a denial of a free appropriate public education, or FAPE. In Fry, school officials denied a child with cerebral palsy from bringing her service dog, Wonder, to kindergarten with her, reasoning
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Feb 1, 2017
On Friday, January 27, 2017, President Trump signed an Executive Order, titled “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States.”
90-Day Travel Ban for Nationals of Certain Countries
Most notably, the Executive Order imposes a 90-day suspension on entry into the United States for all citizens and nationals of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. The plain language of the travel ban encompasses nonimmigrants and immigrants alike, meaning even green card holders and
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Jan 26, 2017
REMINDER: Required Use of New Form I-9 Began January 22, 2017
The Trump administration has emphasized the need for compliance in the immigration arena. Employers should focus energy on I-9 compliance to meet the obligations set forth in the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (“IRCA”) to address the likelihood of increased worksite enforcement. Employers were required to begin using the new version of the I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Form on January 22, 2017. This
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Nov 23, 2016
So, never mind about those new FLSA regulations after all? Federal Court in Texas issues nationwide injunction halting new FLSA salary increase regulations 10 days before they were to take effect. Opponents of the new Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulations, more than doubling the minimum pay required for common “white collar” exemptions, will have much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. On November 22, only 10 days before their December 1, 2016, effective date, a federal court in Texas
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Nov 20, 2016
On November 18, 2016, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) published a final rule with provisions that significantly impact certain immigrant and nonimmigrant workers. The new rule can be found at https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2016-11-18/pdf/2016-27540.pdf. The effective date of the new rule is January 17, 2017. In the Executive Summary to the new rule, DHS expresses that the intent of the new rule is to streamline certain processes and to “better enable U.S. employers to employ and retain highly-skilled workers
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Nov 10, 2016
On August 25, 2016, the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) approved a new version of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. The new version will replace the current version of the I-9 form that expired on March 31, 2016, and will be valid for a period of three years through August 31, 2019. USCIS has 90 days from OMB’s approval of the form, in which to update its system and make the form available on its website (
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Oct 25, 2016
On August 26, 2016, USCIS proposed a new role that would allow certain international entrepreneurs to be considered for parole (temporary permission to be in the U.S.) so that they may start or scale-up their businesses in the U.S. The comment period closed on October 10, 2016. The proposed rule does not take effect until the date indicated in the final rule when a final rule is published in the Federal Register. Under the proposed rule, the Department of Homeland
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Aug 23, 2016
Tueth Keeney Attorney D. Shane Jones will moderate a free webinar on September 13, examining the impact of the decision and its effect on colleges and universities. In a major decision that is expected to expand union activity at colleges and universities, the National Labor Relations Board on August 23 ruled that student assistants at private universities are “employees” for the purposes of the organizing and collective bargaining. The NLRB’s August 23 decision comes in the matter of Graduate
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May 18, 2016
Update: Review our new insight post on November 23, 2016 “So, never mind about those new FLSA regulations after all?“ The Department of Labor’s long-awaited final overtime rules were released this morning. In the Final Rules, the DOL set the minimum salary level to $913 per week, or $47,476 annually. The annual salary for highly compensated employees (“HCE”) was increased to $134,000 annually. The DOL also included an automatic update
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May 18, 2016
Update: Review our new insight post on November 23, 2016 “So, never mind about those new FLSA regulations after all?“ The DOL Releases the Long-Awaited “Final Rule” and Guidance Documents Related to Overtime Requirements ““ A Short Summary The Department of Labor’s long-awaited final overtime rules were released this morning. In the Final Rules, the DOL set the minimum salary level to $913 per week, or $47,476 annually. The annual
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Kylie S. Piatt
Melanie Gurley Keeney
Kate L. Nash