Mar 20, 2020
On March 18, 2020, President Trump signed into law the “Families First Coronavirus Response Act.” This law, among other provisions, expands rights to Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) leave and provides for paid leave for employees impacted by COVID-19. This update provides guidance about provisions specific to public education employers. The provisions discussed in this update all sunset on December 31, 2020. These provisions go into effect on April 1, 2020. The law directs the Department of Labor (“DOL”)
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Mar 20, 2020
by Melanie Keeney & Diane Metzger As you know, many H-1B employees may be working remotely from their homes to help combat the spread of COVID-19. The applicable regulations require that notice be posted at the H-1B employee’s physical worksite location(s), regardless of whether the worksite is situated at an employer’s headquarters, a client office, a home office, etc. When an employer contemplates an H-1B employee working from home at the time of hire, the safest approach is to include
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Mar 18, 2020
Aigner S. Carr,
Celynda L. Brasher,
Elizabeth J. Mooney,
James R. Layton,
Kate L. Nash,
Kylie S. Piatt,
Laura E. Hemmer,
Lisa J. Berns,
Mandi D. Moutray,
Margaret A. Hesse,
Melanie Gurley Keeney,
Michelle H. Basi,
Veronica E. Potter Frequently Asked Questions
Coronavirus Pandemic Planning: Holding Legally Compliant Board Meetings During this Time of Uncertainty
Below, we are listing answers or guidance we are providing in response to questions we have received relating to holding board meetings during this time of uncertainty. As time progresses, we will continue to provide updates or amended guidance, where necessary.
Can we hold a meeting without having anyone physically attend the meeting? Yes. However, the manner in
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Mar 5, 2020
by Adam Henningsen The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently announced a final rule to update its regulations interpreting joint employer status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Under the FLSA, an employee may have – in addition to his or her employer – one or more joint employers who are jointly and severally liable with the employer for the employee’s required minimum wage and overtime pay. In the final rule, the DOL provides a
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Feb 14, 2020
Update by Kristine Nazir On August 8, 2019, DHS issued a new policy that announced that foreign students would begin accumulating “unlawful presence” if any violation of status had occurred, whether known to the student or not. On May 3, 2019, in Guilford College et al. v. DHS, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina issued a nationwide preliminary injunction stopping DHS from enforcing its new policy during the pendency of the case. On February 6,
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Feb 5, 2020
by Kristine Nazir and Melanie Keeney On January 27, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily set aside the preliminary injunctions that prevented DHS“™ public charge rule from taking effect nationwide. This was the last of the three district court nationwide injunctions in force, which means that the DHS rule can go into effect nationwide, except in Illinois where it is blocked by a statewide injunction. The DHS regulation redefines a “public charge” as a non-citizen who
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Jan 23, 2020
by Betsey Mooney and Kate Nash On Wednesday, January 16, 2020, the Department of Education published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding the eligibility of faith-based institutions for departmental grants. This proposed rule is the official document outlining the agency’s plan to revise its current regulations. Following its publication in the Federal Register, a thirty-day period opens in which members of the public may submit comments on the proposed revisions. The comments are made available for the
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Jan 23, 2020
by Jim Layton On average, the Court handed down its opinion 146 days after oral argument, consistent with the figures for the first and third quarters. But that average was measurably affected by two cases: City of Chesterfield v. State was handed down 468 days after oral argument, and City of Aurora v/ Spectra Communications was handed down a whopping 579 days after oral argument. In each, the Court, in opinions authored by Judge Breckenridge, significantly changed the analysis to
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Jan 21, 2020
by Jim Layton “Most prolific” during the fourth quarter were three judges who each wrote five opinions. Judge Fischer wrote five opinions for the majority. Judge Wilson wrote four for the majority and one dissent. And Chief Justice Draper wrote just two for the majority but three dissents. Judge Powell wrote three majority opinions. Judge Breckenridge wrote two for the majority. Judge Russell wrote one for the majority and one dissent. And Judge Stith wrote one for the majority. The
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Jan 16, 2020
by Jim Layton The 4th quarter of 2019 saw the handing down of 19 opinions (excluding attorney discipline cases). That compares with 21 opinions in each of the 1st and 2nd quarter, and 13 in the 3rd quarter. Of the 19 opinions, just 2 were in criminal cases. Seven of the cases decided in the fourth quarter came directly to the Court on appeal. Four were in writ proceedings. This quarter, the most transfer cases came from the Southern District:
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Diane E. Metzger