Seyfarth Shaw LLP

The landscape of transgender employment laws is evolving globally, with various jurisdictions adopting laws that ensure inclusivity and non-discrimination in the workplace. This area is one of the most complex issues in employment law systems and has generated much controversy. Notwithstanding this, many global companies seek to support and promote the interests of women regardless of their gender identity or expression. This commitment aligns with the broader international trend of…

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a permanent increase in the automatic extension period for certain Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) up to 540 days. The final rule will take effect on January 13, 2025. Background on the History of Automatic EAD Extensions The automatic extension of EADs was first introduced in 2016 to address extended processing times, which led to gaps in employment. Prior to the automatic extension, an…

By: Andrea Davis The U.S. Department of State announced a significant update to the Exchange Visitor Skills List, effective as of December 9, 2024.  This action is in response to an Executive Order issued last year, in which the Biden Administration gave instructions to “consider initiating a rulemaking to establish new criteria to designate countries and skills on the Department of State’s Exchange Visitor Skills List as it relates to…

We’ve moved into winter and that means many bands and artists are taking a breather after summer and fall tours. Some seemed to go on for eras. For me, that means waiting a few months to catch some favorite acts. But I’ve got plenty of music to digest in the meantime. To my surprise, several of the new bands I’ve discovered do not have federal trademark registrations. No — I won’t be naming names. Okay,…

By: Erin Dougherty Foley, Sara Eber Fowler, Taylor Iaculla, Ridhima Bhalla, and Hannah Sosenko Seyfarth Synopsis: On January 1, 2025, employers in Illinois must be poised to comply with the looming changes to a host of existing and newly enacted employment laws. The changes reflect the state’s ongoing expansion of workers’ rights and addressing issues of employment discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and freedom of speech. Illinois Human Rights Act Amendments Period…

Throwing Away the Contract In Favor of an Environment of Enduring Bargaining: Biden Board Expectedly Reinstates Waiver Analysis for Mid-Term Unilateral Changes | Management Writes: Practical Labor Law Updates Skip to content

Seyfarth Synopsis: Employees who sign an arbitration agreement with one company cannot avoid arbitration with related defendant-companies by arguing they were not parties to the agreement. The California Court of Appeal held that claims against related defendant-companies that are closely tied to the arbitration agreement cannot not be separated for litigation. Edgar Gonzalez v. Nowhere Beverly Hills LLC, B328959. The Facts Edgar Gonzalez worked at a grocery store (Erewhon) operated…

What You Need to Know: As we previously reported, earlier this year a new paid prenatal personal leave entitlement was added to Section 196-b of the New York Labor Law, i.e., the New York State Paid Sick Leave Law. Beginning January 1, 2025, employers must provide at least 20 hours of paid prenatal personal leave (“PPPL”) during any 52 week calendar period, in addition to the existing statutory paid sick…

A record-breaking stock market has again generated significant wealth this year. The gift tax, estate tax and generation-skipping transfer tax are all imposed on the fair market value of assets at the time of transfer. Gifts and other transfers now may allow you to leverage your exclusions and exemptions, freeze the current prices of assets and pass on future appreciation to the next generation. How can you take advantage? The…

A Vegetarian’s Thanksgiving: How a Patent and a Restriction Requirement Highlight Inclusivity | Gadgets, Gigabytes & Goodwill Blog Skip to content

The re-election of Donald Trump has renewed focus on policies prioritizing American interests. The “America First” agenda is expected to impact the logistics industry, both domestically and globally. As the new administration transitions in January 2025, stakeholders must assess the potential ramifications of these policies. By examining anticipated changes in energy, trade, and regulatory policies—and their effects on global trade dynamics—industry participants can better understand the future landscape for logistics…

Traditionally, Republican administrations have favored deregulation and a more lenient approach to antitrust enforcement that is grounded in economics over policy preferences. This environment often leads to an increase in merger and acquisition activity, as companies feel more confident in pursuing significant deals without the fear of stringent regulatory intervention. While a second Trump administration should bring with it a return to an economics-based antitrust enforcement approach, wholesale change in…

Scott Graham, Unsplash Tuesday, December 17, 20241:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Eastern12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Central11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Mountain10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Pacific Register Here About the Program Join us for the final installment of Seyfarth’s 2024 Trade Secrets Webinar Series, where our panel will provide practical guidance on navigating non-compete agreements, safeguarding trade secrets, and understanding critical regulatory developments impacting employers across the United States.…

Attention, inventors, in-house counsel, and anyone with a vested interest in the world of intellectual property: the USPTO just issued its final rule for patent fees. This is a follow-up to the 2023 proposal—but with a slightly softer landing. Starting January 19, 2025, the cost of securing those all-important patent rights is going up—because inflation, higher examiner pay, and new small-entity discounts have left the USPTO needing more revenue to…

In a recent advisory opinion following the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) referral, the National Mediation Board (NMB) ruled on whether the Railway Labor Act (RLA) applies to Swissport Cargo Services, LP, a third-party ground service provider for airlines (i.e., a “derivative carrier”). Deviating from nearly 40 years of history, the NMB held that the RLA does not cover Swissport or its employees, reasoning that Swissport is not a “common…

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) issued its FY 2025 Corporate Scheduling Announcement List (Release 1) (“CSAL”) today.  This list provides advance notice of 2,000 compliance reviews, which OFCCP plans to schedule although the exact timing is unclear.  Federal contractors and subcontractors should review the list to determine whether they have been selected for an upcoming compliance review. OFCCP has posted its FY 2025 CSAL identifying the…

By: Adam Rongo, Andrew Scroggins, and Christopher DeGroff Seyfarth Synopsis: On November 15, 2024, the EEOC released its Agency Financial Report (“AFR”) for Fiscal Year 2024. The AFR is intended to provide a description of the Agency’s financial management and offer high-level performance information. This year’s edition marks the sixth version of the publication, following the release of the inaugural AFR in FY 2019. In years past, the EEOC has…

During the second Trump administration, we anticipate that the EEOC’s routine enforcement and litigation activities would continue, as would policy initiatives capable of garnering bipartisan support. Indeed, the vast majority of the EEOC's day-to-day enforcement and litigation activities are politically uncontroversial and enjoy strong bipartisan support. However, the EEOC is unlikely to move forward with policy initiatives or new litigation filings perceived as advancing Republican priorities, because the EEOC is…

Hush Naidoo Jade Photography, Unsplash Seyfarth Synopsis: The IRS recently published two notices which describe the tax treatment of amounts paid for condoms and expand the list of preventive care benefits permitted to be provided by a high deductible health plan (HDHP) without payment of a deductible. Notice 2024-71 – This notice provides that amounts paid for condoms will be treated as an expense for medical care under section 213(d) of…

By: Paul Galligan On November 4, 2024, Mayor Adams signed Intro 0991-2024, also known as the Safe Hotels Act.  The Act will become effective 180 days after November 4th.  Initially proposed at the NYC Assembly in July 2024, the Safe Hotels Act created a lot of controversy with several hotel associations opposed to it, particularly because of the requirement that hotels in NYC directly employ hotel employees in “core” parts…

Seyfarth Synopsis: Employers must provide current employees with written notice of the 2025 contribution rates for the Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) program. Employees must receive notice of the 2025 contribution rates on or before December 2, 2024. The Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML) has published updated Rate Sheets that includes the required information. The DFML has also issued an updated poster, as well as updated…

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Second District again held that issue preclusion barred plaintiff’s PAGA claim because he failed to establish any violation of the Labor Code and arbitral findings have a preclusive effect on a plaintiff’s standing in a stayed PAGA claim.    The Second District again grappled with the issue of whether an arbitrator’s previous adjudication of Labor Code violations preclude a plaintiff from asserting a PAGA claim based on…

In celebration of the recent release of the 6th Edition of the Government Contracts Compliance Handbook (authored by the Seyfarth Government Contracts Group), we’re sharing six essential questions and answers that every government contractor should be prepared to address regarding procurement fraud. This milestone edition dives into the complexities of compliance, criminal and civil penalties, and the administrative sanctions contractors may face. With procurement fraud risks continually evolving, these six…

Rock Staar, Unsplash As we previously reported, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that it is amending and reorganizing the document requirements for pre-merger notifications under the Hart Scott Rodino Act (“HSR Act”), 15 U.S.C. 18a, which also includes a requirement for buyers to indicate the existence of non-compete and non-solicit agreements among the businesses involved.  The HSR Act and the associated rules require parties to specified mergers and acquisitions…

On November 12, 2024, the final rule issued by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) amending premerger notification requirements under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Antitrust Act was published in the Federal Register. The HSR Act typically requires parties to mergers and acquisitions over a certain size ($119.5 million in 2024) to provide to the FTC and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) advance notice of the proposed transaction and observe a 30-day waiting…

Taking a Slice Out of Parker: District Court Rejects Sixth Circuit’s Reimbursement Standard for Pizza Delivery Drivers | Wage & Hour Litigation Blog Skip to content

The Department of Labor’s Expanded Cybersecurity Guidance: What ERISA Plan Sponsors and Fiduciaries Need to Know | Beneficially Yours Skip to content

What You Need to Know: As we reported last week, paid sick leave initiatives were on the ballot and up for vote in three states – Alaska (“Ballot Measure No. 1”), Missouri (“Proposition A”), and Nebraska (“Initiative 436”). Notably, constituents in all three states have voted and passed their respective paid sick leave ballot measures[1]. The three paid sick leave mandates will go into effect on the following dates: (a)…

Today’s episode of Pioneers and Pathfinders takes a slightly different approach. We are joined by Tony Thai, a returning guest, who is the CEO and Chief Engineer of HyperDraft, a contract automation software platform for various enterprises. We’re also joined by Byong Kim, Senior Director of Technology Innovations at Seyfarth. He runs Seyfarth Labs, which is a tech R&D team that leads the way in applying emerging technologies to the…

Tips from Seyfarth: Opinion Update - Fifth Circuit Clarifies Scope of its Decision Vacating 80/20 Rule | Wage & Hour Litigation Blog Skip to content

HOUSTON - (October 30, 2024) - Seyfarth Shaw LLP has strengthened its nationally recognized Corporate department with the addition of a three-lawyer team to its Houston office. Partner Chris Cottrell, along with associates Michael Szymanski and Xiaoming Gao, have joined Seyfarth to launch the Energy Transactions practice. The team is well-regarded for its extensive experience in the oil and gas industry and its ability to craft innovative, practical legal solutions…

This week, we're joined by Nicole Clark, founder and CEO of Trellis, a state trial court research and analytics platform. For several years, Nicole was an attorney in private practice, handling business litigation and labor and employment matters. The idea for Trellis came from her experience doing research for complicated summary judgement motions. Nicole worked with software developers on an early version of the tool, collecting state trial court data…

The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries has announced the state minimum wage for 2025.  In Washington, the state minimum wage is calculated annually (and generally increases) based on inflation.  Effective January 1, 2025,  Washington’s state minimum wage will increase to $16.66 per hour, which is a 2.35% increase over 2024.  Notably, Washington cities can set minimum wages that exceed the state minimum, and many cities do: City 2025…

Bizarre Dispute Between AI-Biotech Startup and Former Executive Ends in Trade Secret TRO, For Now | Seyfarth Shaw | Trading Secrets Skip to content

Scott Graham, Unsplash In 2016, the Defend Trade Secret Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1836 (the “DTSA”), passed Congress and went into effect. At its heart, it effectively codified the Uniform Trade Secrets Act at the federal level, creating a federal cause of action. Prior to the enactment of the DTSA, a large body of federal common law had developed around the remedies available to a plaintiff after a defendant allegedly…

On December 23, 2022, President Biden signed the “James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023” which, among many other things, amended Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, 12 U.S.C. Section 1829 (FDIA), to reduce hiring barriers across the financial services sector. As a result of this “Fair Hiring in Banking Act,” the category of crimes for which a financial institution can outright reject a…

What You Need to Know: Governor Newsom recently signed new laws – SB 1105 and AB 2499 – which extend and clarify employees’ available reasons for use of California paid sick leave (PSL). The changes go into effect on January 1, 2025. As we previously detailed, at the end of California’s 2023 legislative session, the legislature significantly expanded the state’s Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 (HWHFA), primarily by…

Seyfarth Synopsis:  Out with the old and in with the new.  Governor Newsom recently signed new laws which extend and clarify employees’ available reasons for use of California paid sick leave.  There are expanded unpaid leave protections for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or qualifying acts of violence, as well as for employees summoned to jury duty or responding to a subpoena or court order to testify under…

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has officially announced that the After Final Consideration Pilot Program 2.0 (AFCP 2.0) will soon be laid to rest. In a notice dated October 1, 2024, the USPTO confirmed that the program will end on December 14, 2024. Despite being extended numerous times since its launch in 2013, AFCP 2.0 has now run into fiscal hurdles. Earlier this year, the USPTO proposed a…

We are pleased to invite you to our upcoming webinar series, "Winning Combinations: Exploring Synergies with Government Contracts Law." This series of 30-minute webinars will explore the intersections between government contracts law and related Seyfarth practice areas, focusing on key topics such as cybersecurity, False Claims Act, white collar & investigations, FAR sustainability, mergers and acquisitions, software licensing, real estate, and more. Our team of experienced attorneys will share their insights…