New U.S. Treasury rules expanding the jurisdiction of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to review foreign direct investment in the United States take effect on Feb. 13.

Brexit finally arrived on Jan. 31, 2020, and we are now in the period during which the UK and EU will negotiate the final rules governing their future. During this transition period, the UK and EU will continue to recognize IP rights without change. When the transition period ends on Dec. 31, 2020, some changes to IP rights will come into effect in the UK and EU.

Recent decisions indicate that the Board will continue to emphasize the need to give management more room to exercise discretion

It is extremely important that employers notify Miller Canfield immediately if they wish to file any H-1B CAP petitions. Miller Canfield must conduct a complete and thorough evaluation of the employee's eligibility for H-1B CAP sponsorship, as well as register the employer under the new electronic registration process, prior to the opening of the initial registration period on March 1, 2020.

This alert summarizes the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 ("SBRA"), the Honoring American Veterans in Extreme Need ("HAVEN") Act, and the Family Farmer Relief Act.

The final rule sets out the standards to determine joint employer status that can arise in two potential scenarios.

The new California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 ("CCPA") became effective on January 1, 2020, providing new rights and protections for consumers and their data privacy.

Employers, plan sponsors, and plan administrators ring in the New Year with new recordkeeping and administrative challenges for 2020 and beyond. The SECURE Act is publicized as the most significant change to the laws governing employer-provided retirement plans since the Pension Protection Act of 2006.

'Tis the season of making resolutions for the new year. Here are the top three things you can do to ensure that you protect and enhance the value of your trademarks and brands in the coming year.

On 20 July 2018, the Sejm enacted an “Act on the transformation of the right of perpetual usufruct of housing properties into freehold ownership”, which provided for the conversion of perpetual usufructs of housing properties to freeholds as of 1 January 2019. One year on is a good time to reflect on how the Act is working out in practice.

Higher education institutions and other athletics organizations should start considering how the changes could affect their relations with student-athletes.

The issue of supervision of the construction process by the architect is regulated both by public-law norms and private-law norms, specifically by the Construction Law of 7 July 1994 and the Copyright and Related Rights Act of 4 February 1994, respectively. This state of affairs often leads to interpretive confusion.

Our interdisciplinary P3 team works with clients nationwide and locally to solve their most pressing legal issues by creating innovative solutions.

Importers of List 4A Chinese-origin products should consider submitting exclusion requests.

Many vendors who dealt with the Sears debtors before they filed for bankruptcy can expect to be sued soon to recover a preferential transfer.

Employers should review their applications, handbooks, and other policies to determine whether they include limitations periods shorter than 180 days, as such policies will no longer be enforceable for claims of discrimination, harassment or retaliation brought under Title VII. 

The rule will increase the minimum salary required for an employee to qualify for most exemptions (administrative, executive and professional) from the current level of $455 per week ($23,660 per year) to $684 per week ($35,568 per year).

If your commercial contracts involve Incoterms, now is a good time to check those provisions to confirm that the correct term is being used and also to determine whether they are impacted by the update.

Investment advisers advising hedge funds and other private funds and their investors in Michigan may be exempt from registering with the Bureau. 

The changes introduced by the Amendment should speed up the process of obtaining environmental decisions, and reduce its costs. As a result, the time it takes to get the necessary permits to start a project in Poland should become shorter.

Employer-plan sponsors must review plan provisions/procedures related to hardship distributions to determine what actions are required to ensure administrative and operational compliance.

The overall effect of the proposed rules, if enacted, will be limit the degree to which unions and employers can prevent elections through unilateral action or by agreement.

Design patents continue to be an important strategic tool to protect innovation and the ornamental design of commercial products.

Nike acknowledges that Leonard provided a "rough draft" of a logo, but maintains that Nike registered a different logo that was created by a team of Nike designers on a "work-for-hire" basis.

These two trademark cases join two patent cases that the Supreme Court will hear during its next term.

For the most part, the new discovery rules more closely track the federal discovery rules. In some instances, however, the changes impose even greater obligations on parties than the federal rules.

Importers of List 3 Chinese-origin products should consider submitting exclusion requests by September 30, 2019.

Miller Canfield attorneys have acted as evaluators in some of Amazon's earliest evaluations of its new Utility Patent Neutral Evaluation Program, and we are thoroughly familiar with the process and procedures.

The tariff increase applies to Chinese-origin products that are covered by a subheading or product description listed in Note 20(f) or 20(g) to Chapter 99, Subchapter III, of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States.

Employers should notify Miller Canfield immediately if they wish to request Premium Processing Service for any remaining H-1B cap-subject cases.

Leonard claims that Nike perpetrated a fraud on the U.S. Copyright office when it registered—without Leonard’s consent—a stylized claw logo that incorporates Leonard’s initials and jersey number. Leonard claims to have conceptualized the logo in college and refined it by late December 2011.

This article and flow chart are designed to help school districts analyze the accounting and legal issues raised by this new fiduciary guidance.

New guidance issued by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) reaffirms that business associates must have proper HIPAA compliance practices, safeguards and documentation in place in order to avoid costly penalties.

The decision marks a victory for trademark licensees as it cements the rights of licensees of trademarks regardless of the rejection of the agreement in bankruptcy.

Affected companies must immediately cease providing U.S. Items as part of Huawei Group Transactions, assess whether reliance upon the Temporary General License is warranted, and implement proactive procedures to ensure compliance with this Department of Commerce action.

Employers should notify Miller Canfield immediately if they wish to request premium processing for eligible H-1B cap-subject cases requesting change of status.

U.S. companies need to pay close attention as to how this Executive Order can affect their business.

Employers who have more than 100 employees or who employ certain types of federal contractors must submit an annual EEO-1 form.

The amendment would make it easier to buy and sell agricultural land, chiefly by making it possible for more entities to buy such land.

A majority of the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Federal Arbitration Act ("FAA") bars class arbitration actions when the agreement is ambiguous about the availability of such arbitration.

Both public companies trading on public stock exchanges and private companies involved in mergers or acquisitions will benefit from the insights obtained from this conference.

The minimum wage for non-tipped employees in Michigan is $9.45/hour effective March 29, 2019, and covered employers must comply with the Paid Medical Leave Act starting on the same date.

Effective April 1, 2019, all VCP submissions must be made electronically.

This practice will provide discretion to PTAB judges to allow a petitioner to add new issues even if they may be outside the one-year time bar window for filing an inter partes review.

Employers must count toward employees' FMLA entitlements any leave taken by employees that is for FMLA-qualifying reasons.

Updates on capital projects, elections and the Michigan Campaign Finance Act.

Proposal 3, the initiative petition recently approved by voters, amended the Michigan Constitution and made important changes to the rights of Michigan voters.

If implemented, the proposed new rule would be the first time a salary threshold change has been implemented since 2004.

A Polish citizen who has left his or her place of permanent residence or place of temporary residence before the expiry of the specified period is required to de-register.

Given the increased scrutiny that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is giving to §403(b) plans and an upcoming deadline for adopting a "safe harbor plan," now is a good time for sponsors of §403(b) plans to ensure that their plan documentation meets current IRS requirements.

Public employers should feel comfortable maintaining and enforcing zero-tolerance drug policies for their at-will employees, including medical marijuana cardholders.

A summary of insights from the 2019 Commercial Real Estate Finance Council (CREFC).

Preparation of the H-1B petition should commence no later than the middle of March in order to ensure the case can be timely filed on April 1.

The case can be taken as a sign that the current Board will be more open to independent contractor arguments.

With the February 27, 2019 compliance date approaching, and with many underwriters and municipal advisors focusing more closely on the new requirements, this alert offers more detailed analysis of steps governmental borrowers can take to facilitate compliance when they are required to do so.

A recent Supreme Court decision re-emphasizes the need to exercise caution before taking any steps to commercialize an invention before filing a patent application.

The Court has overturned over thirty years of precedent in holding that property owners cannot sue subcontractors for implied warranty of habitability claims.

Employers now enter a period of uncertainty with regard to the collection of employee health information for the purposes of voluntary health plans.

Covered employers should begin the process of reviewing their current policies and procedures and considering how they can best implement all required changes.

Bill 47 relaxes demands on employers by repealing or altering many of the changes that came into effect under the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act of 2017.

The Department of Education has issued a proposal to amend the federal regulations governing Title IX compliance, representing a sea change from prior guidance.

Michigan voters have approved legalizing the possession, use and cultivation of marijuana. What does this mean for employers?

Though faced with an uncertain future, the Act could prove challenging for many employers to implement, especially those who have established time-off policies. 

The Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (ECRA) will have a foundational and emerging impact on the future of U.S. export controls and foreign direct investment.

Amendments by the SEC mean that issuers or obligated persons of municipal securities will be required to add two new events to the list of reportable material events in their continuing disclosure undertakings entered into after February 26, 2019.

The Polish government is planning another attempt to adopt in Poland an institution similar to the one popular in western Europe, a so-called REIT (real estate investment trust) – a company whose purpose is to invest in real property.

The new policy will have a significant impact on student, vocational and exchange visitor communities.

The National Labor Relations Board has issued a proposed new rule designed to overturn the broad standard for finding joint employer status.

We have prepared this guide to provide a short summary of the current campaign finance laws applicable to public school ballot proposals as well as answers to commonly asked questions.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that it is extending and expanding its temporary suspension of premium processing for "cap-subject" H-1B petitions.

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not bar agreements stating that individual arbitration is the "only forum" for employment claims, the Sixth Circuit recently held in Gaffers v. Kelly Services.

New guidelines will have implications for a number of employment-based immigration, family-based immigration and naturalization cases.

Sellers with sales into Michigan exceeding $100,000 or 200 or more transactions in the prior calendar year will be required to remit sales or use tax beginning October 1, 2018.

The Michigan Supreme Court has upheld the authority of Michigan school districts to ban firearms on school property and at school functions. The Court held that while the Legislature has the power to preempt school districts from adopting policies that regulate the possession of firearms, it has expressly chosen not to exercise that authority.

Standard & Poor's raised its credit rating for the State of Michigan's general obligation bonds from AA- to AA. How will this upgrade affect local borrowers?

On July 20, 2018, Bill Schuette issued Attorney General Opinion #7305, concluding that the Michigan Civil Rights Commission exceeded its authority with its interpretation of the Michigan Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

A new Michigan law may streamline real estate transactions by allowing remote electronic notarization.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced a new pilot program to increase the use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and offer parties greater control over the resolution of their cases while saving both time and money.

Employers are at an increased risk of age-discrimination litigation due to changing workforce demographics. Here are some practical considerations for employers.

In a 5-4 decision, the United States Supreme Court has held in Janus v. AFSCME that public sector unions cannot require non-union bargaining unit members to pay union dues.

The U.S. Supreme Court has held that administrative law judges (ALJs) of the Securities and Exchange Commission are "Officers of the United States" under the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution, and are not mere employees.

In South Dakota v Wayfair, the U.S. Supreme Court has struck down a decades-old requirement that a seller must have a physical presence within a state to be required to collect sales tax.

The Michigan House of Representatives has taken the final step to repeal the Prevailing Wage Law.

The U.S. recently announced some important updates related to U.S. sanctions affecting Iran and Russia.

China has recently strengthened its commitment to significantly ease market access to its financial sector. This article summarizes the opening-up measures being developed for foreign investors and the business scope in each relevant financial sector.

The Michigan Civil Rights Commission has voted to expand its interpretation of the Michigan Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act ("ELCRA") to include discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

A recent amendment to Poland's National Court Register (KRS) introduced several significant changes affecting foreign companies operating in Poland.

Enforcement of the European General Data Protection Regulation is starting on May 25. The regulations set new and higher standards for the privacy rights of individuals in the EU.

Singapore-based Broadcom Ltd. attempted to acquire U.S.-based Qualcomm Inc. through a hostile takeover. CFIUS provided a national security impact assessment to the transaction parties for the potential Broadcom acquisition of Qualcomm, stating that a successful hostile takeover by Broadcom of Qualcomm could pose U.S. national security risks.

The Supreme Court held that automobile service advisors are exempt from overtime rules under the Fair Labor Standards Act. While the opinion, which was issued on April 2, 2018, will certainly impact car dealerships and repair shops, it could have far-reaching implications on other classes of employees.

Tax increment authorities and municipalities face new transparency and reporting requirements under a recently signed law.

According to “Automated Vehicles: Liability Crash Course,” a report we released in collaboration with J.D. Power, the global leader in consumer market research, consumers are suspicious of technology failures and, relatedly, they desire to resolve ADS product liability claims out of court.

Reporting requirements for employers increased this week with regard to third-party placement of H-1B foreign workers. Previously, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) required H-1B employers to provide evidence of employment relationships with vendors and end-clients where H-1B workers are placed. However, a newly released memo indicates that USCIS will have the discretion to scrutinize these contractual relationships even more so than before.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has revived a broad, union-friendly joint employer test, at least for now. In December 2017, the board issued its decision in Hy-Brand Industrial Contractors, which put in place a narrow definition of joint employer status, requiring that there be actual exercise of control by one entity over another, rather than a mere right to do so. Hy-Brand expressly overruled an earlier NLRB decision, Browning-Ferris Industries, which introduced the looser standard. On Feb. 26, 2018, the board vacated Hy-Brand due to conflicts of interest by one of the members who participated in the decision, and announced that as a result, Browning-Ferris remains good law.