A proposed federal regulation requiring employers to provide legally-married same-sex couples with benefits under the Family and Medical Leave Act regardless of their employees' state of residence could help clear up some complications caused by conflicting federal and state laws.
Read More »Author Archives: KIMBERLY ATKINS, BridgeTower Media Newswires
Background-check guidance attracting renewed scrutiny
Two years after the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued a guidance warning employers against the overly-broad use of criminal background checks to screen potential new hires, it is drawing renewed criticism from employers, business groups and lawmakers who say it is cumbersome at best and dangerous at worst.
Read More »Hobby Lobby ruling bodes well for nonprofits also challenging law
In a blow to the Obama administration that may hint at how a similar challenge will play out next year, the U.S. Supreme Court held Monday that the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that employer-funded health care plans cover certain contraceptives at no cost to employees violates the rights of religious owners of closely-held private companies.
Read More »Recess appointment ruling could spur NLRB delays, congressional gridlock
The U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down President Barack Obama’s 2012 recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board invalidated hundreds of rulings made by the board over an 18-month period.
Read More »High court false advertising case rejects preemption defense
The legal food fight between a fruit juice manufacturer and soft drink conglomerate Coca-Cola Co. will continue in federal court now that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a false advertising claim was not precluded by federal law.
Read More »Defense bar urges caution after justices’ ‘straw buyer’ ruling
This week’s ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court holding that a man who bought a firearm on behalf of another qualified buyer violated a federal law barring “straw purchases” of guns may be limited to its facts.
Read More »US Supreme Court ruling could spur new legislation
The U.S. Supreme Court recently held that preemption language in the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act aimed at overriding state statutes of limitation does not extend to statutes of repose.
Read More »New US high court rulings could create problems for ‘patent trolls’
The U.S. Supreme Court has handed down a pair of decisions that could make it more difficult to bring patent infringement claims in some circumstances, further hampering suits brought by so-called “patent trolls.”
Read More »Police chase case raises concerns among defense bar
The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that police did not violate the Fourth Amendment by shooting more than a dozen rounds into the car of a fleeing unarmed suspect is making defense attorneys and civil liberties advocates uneasy.
Read More »‘Raging Bull’ copyright ruling may KO common defense in patent, other cases
A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling involving a classic Hollywood film may have dealt a knockout punch to a commonly used affirmative defense in a much broader range of cases, including patent litigation.
Read More »Defense lawyers fear slippery slope after US high court’s anonymous call ruling
Criminal defense attorneys are expressing concerns about a recent decision from the U.S. Supreme Court holding that a vehicle search based on an anonymous 911 call was constitutional.
Read More »Affirmative action ruling adds new twist to same-sex marriage challenges
The recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding a state law barring the consideration of race in public university admission decisions is having an immediate effect on a set of closely watched appeals involving an entirely different issue: the constitutionality of state same-sex marriage bans.
Read More »US Supreme Court town prayer ruling divides justices, bar
The U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowing prayers to be delivered before public town meetings divided the justices in two ways: in the result and in the standard that applies in determining whether public prayers violate the Establishment Clause.
Read More »High court rulings could check ‘patent troll’ claims
U.S. Supreme Court rulings giving federal District Court judges more flexibility in awarding attorney fees to prevailing parties in patent suits could help curb the recent uptick in abusive patent litigation.
Read More »Last patent case of the term could end in a bust
In the last oral argument of the term, the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday took up a closely watched patent case that practitioners hoped would establish a standard for indirect patent infringement.
Read More »Justices search for limits in cellphone search cases
Applying centuries-old constitutional principles to situations not contemplated by the Founding Fathers is nothing new for the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Read More »US high court ponders First Amendment retaliation case
The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court tackled a host of issues in a multi-layered First Amendment case involving alleged government corruption and claims of employment retaliation and qualified immunity.
Read More »Patent case gives US justices a workout
In a case that could clarify the specificity with which patent holders must describe their inventions, the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court and the attorneys arguing the case of Nautilus Inc. v. Biosig Instruments Inc., No. 13-369, had a tough time finding the right words to articulate a standard.
Read More »US high court takes on law barring false political speech
The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court seemed to cast some constitutional doubt on a state statute that prohibits making false statements about political candidates during oral arguments in the case of Susan B. Anthony List v. Driehaus, No. 13-193.
Read More »US Supreme Court ponders if state law nixes homeowners’ toxic tort claim
The ability of a group of North Carolina homeowners to bring a lawsuit over latent contamination in their well water will come down to the U.S. Supreme Court’s answer to a single, if technical, question: Is there a functional difference between a statute of limitations and a statute of repose?
Read More »Juice drink showdown reaches US Supreme Court
During oral arguments Monday, the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court seemed disinclined to hold that a Lanham Act claim of false representation against beverage giant Coca-Cola was preempted under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.
Read More »Preemption ruling could lead to increased litigation
A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that a common law claim was preempted by federal airline law was bad news for a disgruntled frequent flier who tried to sue Northwest Airlines for revoking his reward program privileges.
Read More »US justices struggle with software patentability
The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court are facing the difficult task of determining whether computer-implemented software programs that draw on non-computerized principles — a category that could encompass countless types of programs that are in use by millions of people — are eligible for patents.
Read More »US Supreme Court averts avalanche of FICA refund requests
Avoiding what attorneys say could have been an “earthquake” effect from businesses rushing to file for a collective $1 billion in tax refunds, the U.S. Supreme Court recently held that severance payments are wages for federal tax withholding purposes.
Read More »NLRB memo could signal litigation priorities
Labor and employment attorneys are taking special notice of a recent memorandum issued by the general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board that requires regional officers to seek guidance from the board’s Division of Advice before proceeding on a broad array of matters.
Read More »US Supreme Court takes up ERISA fiduciary duty case
Seeking to resolve a rather lopsided circuit split, the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court seem poised to support a requirement that employees alleging breach of fiduciary duty overcome a pleading-stage presumption that employee stock plan fiduciaries acted with prudence.
Read More »US justices look for limits in bank fraud case
Expressing an unwillingness to dramatically expand the scope of offenses that fall under the federal bank fraud statute, the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court searched for some type of limiting principle this week during arguments in Loughrin v. U.S., 13-316.
Read More »Justices ponder if inherited IRAs get bankruptcy shield
In a case that turns on the definition of two words in the expansive language of the Bankruptcy Code, the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court tried to determine whether an inherited retirement account can be shielded from bankruptcy liquidation.
Read More »Court sheds light on aiding, abetting standard
In its ruling in Rosemond v. U.S. that accomplice liability requires advance notice and the opportunity to withdraw, the U.S. Supreme Court tightened the standard the government must meet for a conviction under one of the most commonly used federal aiding and abetting statutes on the books.
Read More »Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower ruling leaves gap for courts, Congress
The recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling extending Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower protection to private contractors of publicly-traded companies has some attorneys concerned about the lack of any limiting principle.
Read More »