Client Alerts

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) has announced that its Web-based portal for collecting pay and hours data for calendar years 2017 and 2018 opened on July 15, 2019. 

LATE MONDAY THE USTR ANNOUNCED A SUPPLEMENTAL LIST OF 89 TARIFF ITEMS FROM THE EUROPEAN UNION THAT ARE BEING PROPOSED FOR ADDITIONAL TARIFFS

Today, the Marijuana Regulatory Agency (“MRA”) released emergency administrative rules to implement the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act (“MRTMA”). These rules establish the framework for adult-use marijuana establishments and clarify the interplay between the MRTMA and the Medical Marijuana Facilities Licensing Act (“MMFLA”).

On June 29, 2019, President Donald Trump announced at the G-20 summit in Japan that United States companies would be allowed to sell equipment to Huawei provided that those sales did not pose a “great” national security risk. Many news organizations reported that the U.S. had agreed to drop sanctions against Huawei as part of an agreement with China to reopen trade negotiations.

The U.S Supreme Court decided Monday, in Iancu v. Brunetti,  that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) ban on “immoral” or “scandalous” trademarks could not withstand the first amendment challenge.

Employers frequently use template employment agreements containing “one-size fits all” non-compete and non-solicitation provisions. 

The United States Trade Representative (USTR) formally announced the long-awaited exclusion process for $200 billion of products imported from China and subject to tariffs since September of 2018 under Section 301 List 3.  

Introduced legislation says the federal government won't interfere

For many years, interested parties have attempted to change Michigan’s AUTOMOBILE NO-FAULT LAW to benefit various competing interests. The current impetus for change is the unlimited nature of personal injury protection (PIP) under the No-Fault Statute. 

The Department of Education has initiated a far-reaching notice of proposed rulemaking that could make significant changes to higher education. The rulemaking was announced by Secretary DeVos today. 

After much criticism for the backlog in processing Section 232 exclusion requests and pressure from Congress, the Department of Commerce (Commerce) has announced a new Interim Final Rule that changes the process for requesting exclusions from the duties and quantitative limitations imposed on steel and aluminum under action taken by the President pursuant to Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 as amended.

The escalating tariffs that President Trump announced on all goods imported from Mexico are set to commence on June 10th, unless a delegation of Mexican officials meeting with Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and others today are able to convince President Trump that Mexico is taking enough action to stop the flow of immigrants crossing into the United States at its southern border. 

You don’t have to be a trade secrets lawyer to have conversational knowledge of Huawei’s trials and tribulations over the past couple of years. 

President Trump yesterday tweeted an announcement that he is imposing a new escalating tariff on Mexican imports to address the illegal migration crisis at the Southern Border to pressure Mexico to take action to halt the flow of migrants through that country. 

The State of Washington recently adopted a new law restricting the use of non-compete agreements against “low wage” workers. Specifically, on May 8, 2019, Governor Jay Inslee (also a 2020 Democrat Presidential Candidate) signed HB 1450, scheduled to go into effect on January 1, 2020. The new law still allows employers to use and enforce “reasonable” non-compete agreements, but adds the following restrictions (among others).

On May 24, 2019, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (“HHS”) issued a new Fact Sheet detailing the circumstances when a Business Associate can be held directly liable for violating provisions of the HIPAA Privacy Rules.

On May 15, 2019, President Trump issued a new Executive Order widely reported as being targeted against Huawei to keep it from doing business in the United States. 

After weeks of speculation and conflicting statements from Administration officials, the White House issued a Proclamation today delaying implementation of Section 232 tariffs on automobiles and automobile components for “up to” 6 months while the U.S. Trade Representative pursues further trade negotiations with the EU, Japan and possibly other nations. Sarah Sanders, White House Press Secretary, announced the delay on the eve of the deadline for action on a Commerce Department study ordered by President Trump in May 2018.

Late on Friday, May 17th, the White House removed a large impediment to the ratification of the USMCA when it announced a resolution of the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs standoff with Canada and Mexico without resort to quotas.

Michigan is among a dozen “no-fault” states where drivers must buy personal injury protection (“PIP”). And it is the only state in the country to require unlimited coverage for crash victims so that motorists who are injured need not worry about health expenses.