The EEOC recently issued its final regulations interpreting the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (the “PWFA”), a law that became effective on June 27, 2023. The final rule, which becomes effective June 18, 2024, provides clarity regarding: (1) who and what types of limitations and medical conditions are covered under the PWFA; and (2) what accommodations are reasonable.
Since Treasury Regulation Section 301.6109-1(h)(2)(i) took effect in 1997, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has permitted disregard entities, including single member limited liability companies to use the Employee Identification Number (EIN) of its owner (unless the disregarded entity has employees). Unfortunately, and without any regulatory authority, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is not permitting disregarded entities to use their owner’s EIN for purposes of beneficial ownership reporting.
Lost in the hoopla over the FTC’s noncompete ban announced on the same day (April 23), the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) unveiled its final rule significantly raising the minimum-salary threshold to qualify for overtime exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”).
On April 22, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) voted 3-2 to ban noncompete agreements, which prevent employees from working for competitors or launching a competing business after they leave a job. The FTC’s new rule is slated to go into effect 120 days after it is published in the Federal Register. Whether the rule will ever actually take effect, however, is uncertain.
On March 22, 2024, the Treasury Department published a proposed regulation relating to certain transactions involving Charitable Remainder Annuity Trusts (“CRATs”) investing in single premium immediate annuities (“SPIAs”). The rule would designate transactions seeking to exclude from income SPIA payments from a CRAT under Section 72(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”).
On February 16, 2024, the Treasury Department published a proposed regulation relating to new reporting requirements for certain transfers of residential real estate consistent with its rulemaking authority under the Bank Secrecy Act. The rule would require the filing of a Real Estate Report with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) after the transfer of residential real estate.
As a matter of first impression, the Fifth Circuit held that an oil-and-gas royalties class action belongs in federal court based on its interpretation that the “principal injuries” prong of the CAFA local controversy exception requires all plaintiffs sustain their principal injuries in the forum state.
On March 11, 2024, Liskow lawyers Kathryn Gonski and Melanie Derefinko secured the denial of a motion to remand on improper joinder grounds and the dismissal of an intentional tort claim against Methanex, a major Louisiana plant owner, in Knight v. Turner Industries Group, L.L.C., et al., No. 23-469 (M.D. La.).
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama ruled that the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) is unconstitutional. Read more about the update here.
On February 15, 2024, Liskow lawyers Kathryn Gonski and Shannon Holtzman secured a unanimous, published United States Fifth Circuit Opinion in Shaw v. Restoration Hardware, Inc., affirming a Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal without leave to amend. 2024 WL 640246 (5th Cir. Feb. 15, 2024). Through this opinion, the Fifth Circuit reaffirmed the pleading requirements for breach of contract and quasi-contractual claims.