The Federal Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that a taxpayer could not avoid late filing and late payment penalties because of the failure of his CPA to electronically file his returns timely. The court ruling is technically correct, but a re-work of e-filing responsibilities may be appropriate to timely inform taxpayers whether their agents electronically filed the returns.

Following the COVID‑19 pandemic, many parties and jurisdictions grappled with how shutdown orders affected their private contract rights. The Michigan Court of Appeals recently held that a lease provision where the tenant agreed to “comply with all applicable statutes, ordinances, rules, regulations, orders, covenants and restrictions of record” at its cost meant that the tenant assumed all risk that government regulations might later bar or limit its intended use of the property.

Effective November 1, 2023, the United States Sentencing Commission’s Amendment 821, also known as the “2023 Criminal History Amendment,” has officially become part of the federal sentencing guidelines. Thousands of incarcerated individuals, as well as those currently facing pending federal criminal charges, may be eligible for a marked reduction in their sentences.

The Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act will take effect on January 1, 2024, requiring certain organizations in Canada that are involved in the production or distribution of goods to submit a report outlining their commitment against forced labour or child labour.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a Final Rule that makes it much easier for the NLRB to find a company to be a "joint employer" of persons directly employed by its contractors, vendors, suppliers, and franchisees.

The Employee Retention Credit (“ERC”) is a popular COVID-19 tax break that was targeted by some unscrupulous and aggressive tax promoters. These promoters flooded the IRS with ERC claims for many taxpayers who did not qualify for the credit. Now, the IRS is showing mercy and allowing taxpayers to withdraw some ERC claims without penalty.

The recent Tax Court opinion in Hyatt Hotels Corporation v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue informs a federal income taxpayer about its tax responsibility for funds for a guest reward program: when the taxpayer will be treated as fund trustee; the tax accounting method to use for the funds; and eligibility to use the trading stamp accounting method to accelerate deductions for the obligation to fund rewards that guests redeem.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has published its long-awaited notice of proposed guidance on “Enforcement Guidance of Harassment in the Workplace.”

If a taxpayer calculates research tax credits using an appropriate statistical sampling method on its tax return, does the taxpayer then make a prima facie case in the Tax Court by introducing evidence of that statistical sampling method?

Employers in the automotive industry should be aware of the impact the United Auto Workers strike could have on its employees with immigration considerations. A federal government shutdown is also likely, which could impact an employer’s foreign national employees.

Obtaining a registered trademark is only half the battle in protecting your brand. To maintain the protection afforded by a registered trademark, you also need to use the trademark.

The Department of Labor (DOL) announced a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that would increase the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA’s) annual salary-level threshold to $55,068 from $35,568 for white-collar exemptions to overtime requirements. The proposed rule would make about 3.6 million more U.S. salaried workers eligible for overtime pay.

The IRS issued Notice 2023-62 to address certain industry concerns over implementation of Section 603 of the SECURE 2.0 Act. Section 603 relevantly provides that, beginning in 2024, participants eligible to make catch-up contributions whose prior year’s wages exceed $145,000 may only make such catch-up contributions on a Roth basis.

In a matter of first impression, the Michigan Court of Appeals held that municipalities may use tax dollars assessed under the Fire Fighters and Police Officers Retirement Act to fund police and fire retiree healthcare benefits.

A tax case pending in the United States Supreme Court may cause a cataclysmic change in the federal income tax as the Court decides if the 16th Amendment taxes income only if the taxpayer “realizes” it.

On August 7, 2023, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) posted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which went into effect in June 2023.

In a breach of warranty deed claim, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled in favor of the sellers of a condominium unit and unanimously decided in Galvan v Poon that a building code violation discovered after the closing that were not subject to any official enforcement action at the time of the conveyance does not constitute an “encumbrance” under MCL 565.151.

The Canadian Federal Government's Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, now entering its fifth year since enactment, presents unique challenges and opportunities for farmers, greenhouse operators, and fishermen. As key players in their respective industries, understanding how to save taxes through exemption certificates and partial relief from fuel charges is essential.

A divided Michigan Supreme Court in Vectren Infrastructure Services v. Michigan Treasury issued an important decision in favor of the state, ruling that an out-of-state taxpayer could not reduce its tax by taking into consideration the location of its business assets when paying tax on the sale of that business in Michigan. 

The NLRB has significantly lowered the bar for unions and employees who seek to challenge the validity of work rules, particularly those related to civility, solicitation, confidentiality and privacy. While the new standard is unlikely to lead to significant new financial liability, it has the potential to be used by unions as an organizing tool, making it much easier for unions seeking to organize employees to bring charges that can be used as campaign fodder or to derail elections. 

All property owners and possessors should be aware of a new legal framework from the Michigan Supreme Court that changes how premises liability cases are litigated. Michigan courts have long held that premises owners generally have no duty to protect invitees from “open and obvious” hazards based on Lugo v Ameritech. But the Michigan Supreme Court concluded that Lugo was wrongly decided and should be overruled.  

It is important to note that this new, alternative procedure is ONLY available to employers enrolled in E-Verify in good standing. Employers not enrolled in E-Verify must return to physical inspection of an employee's identity and employment authorization documents once the temporary flexibilities expire on July 31, 2023.

When selling your business in Canada, you will face a long list of due diligence requests as the purchaser reviews all aspects of your business. If there is a lease, one key aspect of due diligence review will be the lease for the location from which you operate your business.

All is not necessarily lost if a taxpayer files a petition after the filing deadline in United States Tax Court to contest a federal tax deficiency. A recent case ruled that the filing deadline may be suspended in appropriate circumstances.

Up until now, employers have been able to use artificial intelligence (AI)-powered hiring and promotional tools without worry about compliance with AI-specific laws. On July 5, 2023, that changed. New York City passed Local Law 144, legislation restricting employers’ use of artificial intelligence-driven employment tools.

The Michigan Supreme Court has held for the first time that such a "release-by-release" contract is not enforceable beyond the quantity specified in issued releases, and therefore can be terminated by either party.  

On January 1, 2023, amendments to the Ontario Business Corporations Act (“OBCA”) came into effect. Most notably, the OBCA now requires that private corporations in Ontario create and maintain a register of all “individuals with significant control” of the corporation, known as a Transparency Register. The OBCA amendments will assist regulatory and tax bodies and law enforcement with detecting corporate crimes such as money laundering, tax evasion and other illegal financial activities.

The U.S. Supreme Court recently confirmed that foreign companies looking to enforce international arbitration awards have a powerful tool at their disposal: a U.S. statute targeting organized criminal activity.

The Michigan Legislature has passed a package of election-related bills implementing a voter-approved voting rights amendment, which enshrined in the Michigan Constitution the right to vote early in every statewide and federal election, a permanent absentee voting list, expansion of acceptable voter identification, absentee voter improvements, and extended deadlines for military and overseas ballots.

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision clarifying the standard for determining whether employees’ religious accommodation requests impose an undue hardship on employers.

On June 27, 2023, in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern R. Co., 600 U.S. ___ (2023), the U.S. Supreme Court held that a company can be sued in a state with no connection to either the plaintiff or the dispute, if it has consented to jurisdiction by registering to do business in that state. The case involved a lawsuit against a company in Pennsylvania state court, brought by the company’s former employee for alleged injuries that occurred entirely in Virginia and Ohio.

In an opinion authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the admissions systems used by Harvard and UNC, in which race was one of the factors considered during the admissions process, as violating the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. Both admissions programs had been upheld by the lower courts based on extensive findings of fact.

On June 27, 2023, the United States Supreme Court upheld a decision by North Carolina’s highest court holding that the North Carolina legislature went too far in gerrymandering voting district maps.

On June 23, the Supreme Court held that proceedings in federal district court must be stayed during an interlocutory appeal from an order declining to enforce an arbitration agreement.

The United States Supreme Court has ruled in an 8-1 decision that the U.S. government has broad authority to dismiss whistleblower actions over the individual whistleblower’s objections so long as the government intervenes under the False Claims Act (“FCA”) at some point in the case.

A federal district court ruled in a high-profile case that the Justice Department may rely on common law rather than the statutory notice of tax deficiency procedure in the Internal Revenue Code to assert a federal income tax deficiency.

he United States Supreme Court unanimously sided with Jack Daniel’s in a trademark infringement dispute with dog toy manufacturer VIP Products over a poop-themed, chewy dog toy.

When it comes to selling a business, there are two primary methods: an asset sale and a share sale. Both have their own advantages and disadvantages, and it is important to understand the key legal differences between the two.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued Coinbase, Inc., alleging the crypto assets Coinbase made available for trading on its exchange met the definition of “securities.” Because Coinbase did not register the assets as securities, and because it did not itself register as a securities broker or exchange operator, the SEC alleges it has jurisdiction to prosecute Coinbase for these securities registration violations. If the court accepts the SEC’s position that the SEC has jurisdiction to regulate crypto assets, it could broadly impact the trajectory of crypto as an accepted currency, investment, and trading medium.

Every minute counts in the workplace, but what happens when employees start stealing worktime for personal gain?

A recent Eleventh Circuit decision holds that the same grounds exist for vacating domestic and international arbitration awards.

On June 8, 2023, the Michigan House of Representatives voted 100-7 to pass Senate Bill 90 (SB 90), known as the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act, which amends and expands the definition of race within Michigan's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA) to ban discrimination based on hair and other traits associated with racial or ethnic identity.

The federal Canadian Competition Act is the principal legislation that aims to deter and prevent anti-competitive practices in the Canadian marketplace. One year ago, the Canadian government made major amendments to the act, covering a range of areas, including misleading advertising, expanding the “abuse of dominance” protections, and prohibiting employers from using wage-fixing and “no-poaching” agreements. On June 23, 2023, the wage-fixing and no-poach changes will take effect.

Can a union be sued by management for destroying company property during a strike? On June 1, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court answered the question in the affirmative.  

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the conduct of a county commissioner who responded to a constituent’s criticisms during a virtual public meeting by brandishing a rifle at the camera was sufficient to support an unconstitutional retaliation claim that could not be immediately dismissed based on qualified immunity.

If your Michigan business issues promissory notes or other evidence of indebtedness, or if you purchase such debt instruments, it is important to understand whether in a legal dispute those notes or debt instruments could be considered “securities” under the Michigan Uniform Securities Act (“MUSA”).

The IRS issued Notice 2023-43 to provide taxpayers with interim guidance on part of the to-be-revised EPCRS, particularly addressing Section 305 of SECURE 2.0. 

On May 25, 2023, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Tyler v. Hennepin County, Minnesota, holding that a state tax foreclosure violates the “Takings Clause” of the U.S. Constitution when it “provides no opportunity for the taxpayer to recover the excess value” beyond the amount of taxes owed.

In a closely-watched decision, the United States Supreme Court substantially narrowed the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate non-traditional wetlands as "waters of the United States" under the Clean Water Act.

Technological advances have provided employers with a variety of algorithmic decision-making tools that may assist them in making employment decisions, including recruitment, hiring, retention, promotion, transfer, performance monitoring, demotion, dismissal, and referral. As a result, the EEOC issued guidance on employers' use of artificial intelligence during the hiring process.

As Michigan public schools navigate the preparation of their 2023-2024 budgets, we wanted to again provide you with a reminder of the short-term borrowing options available to cover projected operating cash-flow shortfalls.

For the first time in almost 20 years, the United States Supreme Court has issued a ruling that has prompted vigorous debate over the future of the fair use doctrine under the Copyright Act. On May 18, 2023, in Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts, Inc. v. Goldsmith, the Supreme Court issued a 7-2 decision and held that Andy Warhol’s Prince series containing silkscreen renditions of preexisting photographs was not “transformative” under the first fair use factor.

The government released Revenue Procedure 2023-23 outlining the 2024 inflation adjusted limits for health savings accounts (HSAs) and high deductible health plans (HDHPs).

A taxpayer against whom the IRS determines—not "assesses" but "determines"—a tax deficiency must decide whether to make a remittance to the IRS and if so, whether the remittance is to be treated as a "deposit" or as a "payment" of the determined deficiency. Both, when remitted, stop the accrual of daily compounding interest on the deficiency, which is the reason for making a remittance, but each has different consequences.

In this third part of our series, we continue our analysis of Housing Act 2023. We begin by discussing a few remaining points regarding Safe Mortgage 2%. We then proceed to analyse Home Account and Home Deposit.

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide the continued validity of the so-called Chevron doctrine. National corporations that may currently be operating under a uniform administrative agency interpretation could potentially face increased compliance costs and differing court interpretations across jurisdictions if Chevron were to be overruled.

The Supreme Court issued its opinion in MOAC Mall Holdings, LLC v. Transform Holdco, LLC, which has implications for sales of property in bankruptcy cases.

Consistent with federal courts’ recent pattern of limiting the reach of administrative agencies, the Supreme Court held that a challenge to the constitutional authority of an administrative law judge in administrative proceedings involving the FTC and SEC can be heard by a federal court without first being adjudicated through the administrative process, which significantly deviates from the typical rule requiring strict compliance with an administrative process before an issue can be taken to federal court.

The Department of Education Office for Civil Rights has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking relating to Title IX, which would amend the Title IX athletics regulation to prohibit schools from categorically banning transgender students from sports teams that correspond to their respective gender identity, as opposed to their assigned birth sex.

The Federal Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, in Little Sandy Coal Company v. Commissioner, affirmed the United States Tax Court’s disallowance of federal income tax credits for a taxpayer’s research expenses.

Companies with workers who travel to other states for work (mobile workers) or those who work permanently from another state (remote workers) face unique state tax compliance challenges.

The U.S. Supreme Court held in 2014 that the Lanham Act’s false advertising provision governs only commercial, not consumer, injuries. On April 4, 2023, while acknowledging that the distinction between commercial and consumer injuries is “nebulous,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that “even commercial businesses that sell goods to end users may qualify as ‘customers’ who cannot sue under the Act—depending on the nature of their injuries.”

This is the second article in our series that looks at existing and planned government measures and programmes designed to help young households buy a flat or house.

Tarion, the consumer protection organization which oversees builder warranties for new homes built in Ontario, is formalizing a Temporary Relocation Warranty (“TRW”). The TRW will provide mandatory compensation for owners of newly built homes that become uninhabitable due to a breach of the new home warranty within the warranty period.

On March 24, 2023, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed into law two significant pieces of legislation amending Michigan labor laws eliminating "right-to-work" statutory language that previously allowed public and private employees to refuse to join a union. The new laws allow public and private employers to require employees to pay union dues as a condition of employment.

Can public school children with disabilities sue their schools for violations of the federal antidiscrimination statutes and collect compensatory damages before exhausting their administrative remedies under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act? In a unanimous decision issued on March 21, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court answered in the affirmative.

A recent decision by the U.S. Court of International Trade ("USCIT") means that tariffs on imports from China under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 will remain in place for now.

On March 8, 2023, the Michigan Legislature passed an amendment to the state’s Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA) that explicitly includes protections against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression. The bill will now head to Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s desk for her expected signature.

Bipartisan bills have been introduced in the House and Senate to grant federal income tax relief to motor vehicle dealers using the LIFO accounting method for their inventories of new motor vehicles. If enacted, dealers using the last-in-first-out inventory (“LIFO”) method of accounting may elect to claw back taxable income that they reported for 2020 and 2021 on inflated profits.

This article is the first in a new series that will look at recent and planned measures and programmes designed to help young households buy a flat or house. The issue is all the more topical given the government’s pledge to offer a 2% fixed-rate mortgage for first-time home buyers from mid-2023.

A construction lien is a legal mechanism that helps protect contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers (collectively the “Lien Claimant”) from non-payment for their work on a construction project.

Equipped with full funding, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) now looks to heighten enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) with automotive suppliers squarely in sight.

In a ruling that will impact both union and non-union employees, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) held that standard non-disparagement and confidentiality provisions contained in a severance agreement were invalid and that the mere proffer of the agreement containing the terms was an unfair labor practice.  

A debt “for money, property, services, or an extension [. . .] of credit, to the extent obtained by [. . .] actual fraud,” is not dischargeable in a chapter 7 bankruptcy case.[1] Courts have questioned whether this applied if the debtor did not commit the fraud or even have knowledge of it. On February 22, the Supreme Court in Bartenwerfer v. Buckley, No. 21-908, 2023 WL 2144417 (U.S. Feb. 22, 2023), resolved that question, holding that a debtor’s knowledge of the fraud is not relevant. What matters is that the debt arose because of fraud, not whether the debtor was a direct participant in or even knew of the fraud.

In today's world of technology and communications, communities are increasingly reaching their residents and marketing their services through social media. It has become common for cities, villages, and nearly all forms of local, state, and federal government to have an active presence on Facebook, Twitter, lnstagram, LinkedIn, and other popular social media sites.

The landscape of biometric privacy just became both more settled and unsettling for companies using biometrics. On February 17, 2023, the Illinois Supreme Court held that each scan or transmission of a person’s biometric identifiers is a separate violation of Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA).

Taxpayers who are not parties to an action voiding an IRS Notice published without notice and comment should carefully consider the risk that the IRS may nonetheless treat the Notice as valid as to nonparties.

The new year has brought with it some important tax changes for businesses and residential property owners in Canada.

Michigan bankruptcy exemptions increase every three years to adjust for inflation, and on March 1, 2023, they will increase by 14%.

Employers seeking to sponsor candidates for initial H-1B sponsorship (commonly known as "H-1B CAP") should begin preparing for the H-1B electronic registration process.

A Treasury regulation provides that a researcher performing technological research for its customer is not entitled to federal income tax credits for the cost of the research if the researcher does not retain substantial rights in the research.

In a unanimous decision, the Michigan Court of Appeals overturned a July 2022 Court of Claims ruling that the Michigan Legislature lacked the constitutional authority to adopt and subsequently amend two 2018 ballot initiatives raising the minimum wage and requiring employers to offer paid medical leave.

The U.S. Treasury may now provide direct payments to Tax-exempt entities (including non-profits, states, local governments and public schools) that are planning energy-efficient projects, such as solar improvements to existing buildings or improvements to provide for electric vehicles. New regulations provide clarification for the rules on how to qualify for these increased direct pay credits under the prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements. 

Business owners will occasionally express a desire to protect their brand without much knowledge as to the purpose of a trademark or the intricacies involved in the trademark application process. 

The government of Canada recently passed legislation that effectively bans non-Canadian individuals and corporations from purchasing residential real estate under the Prohibition of Purchase of Residential Real Estate by Non-Canadians Act.

The judge in the Celsius Network bankruptcy case ruled that Celsius users who had deposited cryptocurrency in Celsius’s “Earn Accounts” had transferred ownership of their cryptocurrency to Celsius. Thus, at the time it filed for bankruptcy protection, Celsius owned any cryptocurrency in the Earn Accounts; depositors had nothing more than an “I.O.U.”–the same as any other creditor.

In 2023, Registered Investment Advisers (“RIAs”) who are registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) should be prepared for regulatory changes. These include proposed changes to rules governing RIA outsourcing and cybersecurity risk management. Although some key proposed rules are not yet final, RIAs should consider taking preliminary steps to prepare for the new requirements.

Eagerly anticipated comprehensive retirement plan legislation commonly known as the "SECURE 2.0 Act" was signed into law on December 30, 2022, as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023.

On January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that would render all non-compete agreements, other than those entered into in connection with the sale of business, unlawful "unfair competition" under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. 

A draft bill is designed to help communes provide sufficient housing for war refugees from Ukraine by enabling swift conversion of unutilized non-residential properties into housing. More specifically, its provisions apply two types of non-residential properties: office buildings, and retail buildings bigger than 2,000 square meters of selling area.

Cities with a population of 15,500 or more now may specially assess for police and fire services under a new law, Public Act 228 of 2022, that becomes effective on March 28, 2023, that amends Act 33, Public Acts of Michigan, 1951, as amended. Previously, generally only townships, villages, and cities with a population of less than 15,500 could exercise special assessment powers.

On December 8, 2022, a 3-0 panel of the Michigan Court of Appeals answered the question in the negative. The court found that a policy adopted by Meridian Township, Michigan violated a 2015 state law known as the Local Government Labor Regulatory Limitation Act (LGLRA), which forbids local governments from requiring contractors to pay their own employees union-level wages.

On December 13, 2022, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) expanded the remedies that may be awarded in unfair labor practice cases. In a separate 3-2 decision on December 14, 2022, the NLRB ruled that a union's proposed bargaining unit in which it seeks representation can be expanded to include more employees only if the employer proves that the additional employees share an "overwhelming" community of interest with the employees in the union proposed unit.

Recently, on November 22, 2022, the Department of Labor released its final amendment to the ESG/Proxy Voting rules, providing greater flexibility for plan fiduciaries to consider climate change and other environmental, social, and governance factors when they select retirement investments and provides a renewed emphasis on exercising shareholder rights, such as proxy voting.

The Internal Revenue Service recently announced the 2023 cost of living adjustments for the estate and gift tax exclusion amounts.

The Bankruptcy Code saw many changes in 2020 and 2021. Some of the changes that were enacted under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 ("CAA") will soon end.

The Notice proposes to replace the January 7, 2021, Independent Contractor Status Under the FLSA rule with a rule that seeks to reduce the risk that employees are misclassified as independent contractors, while attempting to provide added certainty for businesses that engage with individuals who are in business for themselves. The DOL states the new rule would preserve essential worker rights and provide consistency for regulated entities.

The proposed revisions to the program would allow self-correction of de minimis late participant contributions or loan repayments—easily two of the most prevalent VFCP issues—if certain criteria are met. Fiduciaries would still be required to notify the Department of Labor regarding any self-correction action taken pursuant to this new opportunity but would no longer need to secure Department approval.

November 11, 2022, brought news of yet another massive crypto bankruptcy filing. One of the largest crypto exchanges, FTX, filed a petition for bankruptcy protection in Delaware. 

Plan sponsors of individually designed 403(b) plans will soon be able to submit determination letter applications to the IRS. This change is important for 403(b) plan sponsors that were unable to transition their complicated legacy documents to preapproved plan documents because they can now obtain their own determination letter.