Client Alerts

In the recent case of Erlich Protection Systems, Inc. v David E. Flint, the Michigan Court of Appeals addressed the following four points, which serve as helpful reminders for all litigators, particularly those who handle trade secret cases.

Although the November 14, 2019 deadline has now passed, President Trump has yet to take action on implementing Section 232 tariffs on automobiles and auto parts recommended by a U.S. Department of Commerce investigation last year. The President directed the U.S. Trade Representative to negotiate agreements with automobile exporting countries and noted that “if agreements are not reached within 180 days, the president will determine whether and what further action needs to be taken.”

The Internal Revenue Service has recently announced cost-of-living adjustments applicable to dollar limitations for retirement plans (and other items) for 2020. 

Probably not, but the idea of moving swiftly is always a good one.

The Department of Labor (“DOL”) generally requires that plan administrators furnish disclosures mandated by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) via measures reasonably calculated to ensure actual receipt. 

The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity will write a rule that would – if implemented – expand overtime rights beyond those set forth by the new federal rules that are set to take effect on January 1, 2020.

Another day, another push to outright ban non-competes. 

On September 24, 2019, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced its final rule that would increase the salary threshold for the overtime exemption from $23,660 annually ($455 per week) to $35,568 annually ($684 per week). This Final Rule was a slight increase from the amount set forth in the proposed rule issued by the DOL on March 7, 2019 ($35,308 annually / $679 per week). 

Today, the U.S. House is expected to vote on the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act. Michigan residents and residents from many other states have faced logistical challenges when it comes to conducting fundamental business in the cannabis industry. Call it Federalism, call it the federal government being behind the times – the conflict, in any case, between federal and state law, is real. At least as it deals with conflicts in the financial space, this conflict may soon come to a head.

Effective November 4, 2019, CMS will have a new weapon against waste, fraud, and abuse. The new rule creates new revocation and denial authorities and will allow CMS to identify healthcare providers that pose an “undue risk” based on their relationships with previously sanctioned entities. 

As discussed in previous client alerts, the efforts to outright ban and/or severely limit the use of non-compete agreements have gained steam nationwide with several states having already passed sweeping legislation. What about Michigan?

For many companies, trade secrets are the lifeblood of the organization and vital to their revenue, competitive standing, and reputation. Not surprisingly, most states have adopted some form of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act

Apparently angered by China’s announcement of plans to impose tariffs on $75 billion worth of U.S. goods in response to his recent imposition of additional “List 4” Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods (including many consumer goods), President Trump on Friday (8/23/2019) tweeted his intention to increase by 5% the tariffs on both Lists 3 and List 4 products (approximately $550 billion worth of Chinese imports). 

Sometimes clients and businesspeople conflate Trade Secrets and Patents, as though they are the same thing (or at least, similar things). Of course, both generally and usually pertain to innovations, inventions, or proprietary information. Both are ways to protect intellectual property. Both are utilized to give a company an advantage over its competitors.

As noted in an earlier Butzel Long Client Alert on June 21, 2019, the Administration had made available an exclusion process for Section 301 List 3, effective June 30, 2019, and open until September 30, 2019. 

Earlier this year, Tesla, Inc. sued its former employee Quangzhi Cao in federal court in the Northern District of California for trade secret misappropriation. 

President Trump sent global markets diving yesterday afternoon with his surprise Twitter announcement that he will begin imposing a 10% tariff on another $300 billion in Chinese imports (List 4) effective September 1, 2019. President Trump’s tweets noted that the progress of Robert Lighthizer’s and Steve Mnuchin’s talks earlier this week with China were “constructive”, but criticized China for not making progress on the key issue of opening its market to more agricultural products and halting to Chinese exports of Fentanyl.

As reported by our team in recent alerts, there is an emerging trend of states adopting and/or considering legislation to ban or otherwise restrict the use of non-competes against “low wage” employees. Maine, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island are the latest states to jump on the bandwagon and reform their non-compete laws. As summarized below, these laws provide major changes affecting employers and employees. 

            On July 15, 2019, Michigan’s Attorney General, Dana Nessel, joined a group of 17 other State Attorneys General from around the country in urging the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to take a harder line against non-compete and no-poach agreements. 

On July 18, 2019, the Marijuana Regulatory Agency (MRA) released the details of its Social Equity Program enacted by the MRA Adult-Use Marihuana Establishments Emergency Rules.