Publications

On the eve of the Fiscal Year 2020 H-1B lottery season which opens for filing on April 1, 2019, the Department of Homeland Security has published proposed regulations to tweak the H-1B lottery ...

Mike Linder, Koley Jessen’s Environmental Practice leader, presented at an environmental conference in Washington D.C. on current trends in state and federal environmental ...

The Department of Treasury and Internal Revenue Service issued initial proposed regulations, a Revenue Ruling, and draft Form 8996 and instructions for investments in qualified ...

New Internal Revenue Code Section 1400Z creates qualified opportunity funds and qualified opportunity zones. This program is designed to incentivize the reallocation of capital to ...

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has alerted us that unauthorized changes have been made to a number of active trademark applications and registrations as part of a ...

As CMS enhances its IT capabilities, providers must be vigilant about keeping their Medicare enrollment records up-to-date or else risk suspension or loss of their billing privileges.

As the number of states that have legalized the use of medical marijuana expands, employers are having to grapple with how they will address the questions that are likely to arise from the ...

Carve-out transactions create a path for sellers to discard businesses least aligned with core business strategies while also generating additional capital for the seller. Carve-out ...

As employers are well aware, premium processing is an optional service available for certain employment-based benefit requests which guarantees a response (not necessarily an approval ...

On August 8, 2018, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) raided 11 agricultural businesses and executed 17 criminal arrest warrants for business owners

and managers ...

On August 10, 2018, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed "The Massachusetts Noncompetition Agreement Act" (the "Act") into law. The Act imposes a number of new constraints on ...

For companies that have used the H-2B nonimmigrant visa program (the “H-2B Program”) over the last several years, it is understood that the demand for H-2B visas has skyrocketed. This ...

Employers are facing workplace retention challenges with increasing regularity. Whether this is the result of a shift in generational norms or a strong economy, employees seem to be more ...

It is increasingly common to see service animals in places of public accommodation, on public transit, and even in the workplace. However, the rising trend of animals in the workplace has ...

California is the first state to adopt expansive data privacy laws that provide protections to consumers and will change the way that businesses handle consumer data in every part of their ...

Attorney Generals from Nebraska, South Dakota, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana collectively filed an amicus brief in an Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals case, Horton v ...

Last month, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) and Cory Gardner (R-Colorado) proposed highly anticipated bipartisan legislation that would allow individual states to ...

This article briefly discusses four new laws that took effect on July 1, 2018. 

The Supreme Court announced its ruling today in the biggest sales tax case in 26 years. The ruling affects remote and online shopping by removing a limitation on a state’s ability to enforce ...

The “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” (the “Act”)[1] amended Section 168(k) of the Internal Revenue Code to allow taxpayers to immediately depreciate or expense 100% of the cost of new and ...

Transactions for the purchase and sale of businesses are rarely all cash deals. No matter the transaction structure, the use of financing to consummate the purchase creates a new dimension ...

Consistent with Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2017, the Secretaries of Labor and Homeland Security have announced that up to an additional 15,000 H-2B visas are available for FY 2018 on a ...

The Supreme Court’s Epic decision undoubtedly favors employers who currently have, or who in the future may have, a mandatory arbitration program. However, despite what some media ...

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has announced that it completed data entry for all Fiscal Year 2019 H-1B cap-subject petitions selected in the lottery and now ...

Is your ERISA plan bonded or insured? Is there a difference? Why does it matter? This article addresses a compliance requirement that is often misunderstood–the fidelity bond requirement ...

Price maintenance is an important part of many companies’ strategies, especially those attempting to promote and brand themselves as a producer of high quality goods. While there are ...

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has announced that it conducted a lottery on April 11, 2018, to randomly select enough H-1B cap-subject petitions to exhaust the ...

No matter where your business is located or operating, if your company suffers a data breach you may have legal compliance and reporting obligations or face possible fines and lawsuits. With ...

Negotiating the terms and conditions of a commercial real estate lease can be a laborious process. Depending on the nature of the lease, the parties involved and the proposed use of the ...

In the digital age, it is the nightmare scenario for any business: the dreaded data breach. Every other week, it seems as though another high-profile company has fallen victim to cyber ...

Your customers, business partners, and maybe even your own employees may be asking you whether you are ready for the “GDPR.” You may also be receiving contracts from your business ...

On March 23, 2018, President Trump signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (H.R. 1625) to fund the government until September 30, 2018. Included within the 878 page law is a ...

As employers are well aware, the Fiscal Year 2019 H-1B cap season is in full gear. In order to be considered for one of the 85,000 coveted H-1B visas, employers must file their H-1B cap petitions ...

Section 1061 of the Internal Revenue Code, added by the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” (hereafter simply referred to as the “Act”)[1], imposes a new three-year holding period for gains ...

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced today, March 1st, that it conducted a lottery yesterday, February 28th, to randomly select enough H-2B cap-subject ...

Recent updates to the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) "Work Plan" indicate that OIG has taken an interest in the utilization of certain ...

The Office of Inspector General ("OIG") recently published Advisory Opinion No. 17-03 reminding us that DMEPOS suppliers that have "consignment closet" arrangements with health care ...

The Business and Labor Committee of the Nebraska Unicameral heard testimony this month on a number of bills that would have various implications for Nebraska employers if ultimately signed ...

The Department of Labor issued regulations that revise the ERISA claims procedure regulations for employee benefit plans that provide disability benefits with an effective date of April 1 ...

A column on estate and financial planning for everyone.

It is not uncommon for a related or “friendly” party to desire to make a loan at a lower interest rate than what is available in an arms-length transaction on the open market.

As the composition of the National Labor Relations Board (the "Board") shifts due to vacancies that have been filled by the new Presidential administration, there has been a noticeable trend ...

On January 26, 2018, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced the annual changes to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvement Act of 1976 (the “HSR Act”) pre-merger ...

H-1B season is just around the corner, and as it is expected that the demand for H-1B visas will remain strong this year as in years past, employers desiring to be considered in Fiscal Year ...

As H-2B employers are well aware, January 1, 2018, was the earliest date on which an employer seeking a start date of April 1, 2018, could file an H-2B application requesting temporary labor ...

As the calendar turns to 2018, a renewed focus by employers on sexual harassment training practices seems prudent given all that transpired in 2017. Have you taken a fresh look at your policies ...

As your family grows to include adult children, their spouses, and your grandchildren, you should evaluate whether your estate plan provides for each beneficiary in your life in a way that ...

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is the largest tax overhaul since the Tax Reform Act of 1986, and there are numerous and significant changes. The changes generally go into effect for tax years ...