Texas recently enacted a new Workplace Violence Prevention law to protect healthcare employees from violence in Texas healthcare facilities. Texas also implemented a complementary notice requirement applicable to all Texas employers to encourage reporting incidents of workplace violence. Texas implements statutory protec- tions to prevent workplace violence against healthcare workers ...
Introduction The World Health Organization named “vaccine hesitancy” as one of the top global health threats in 2019. In the United States, widespread utilization of non-medical exemptions to mandatory vaccination laws has led to statistically significant outbreaks of measles and other vaccine-preventable illnesses, and many headlines forecast that if vaccination exemptions continue the trajectory they are on, this country may well face a public health emergency ...
So, you want to start a hemp company in Alabama. You have your big idea and a business plan ready, but you begin to wonder whether you should be thinking about any legal issues as you get your company off the ground. That’s where we come in. Bradley’s Cannabis Industry team has a deep understanding of the many unique legal and business issues that impact hemp companies in Alabama and beyond ...
Here's a refresher: Discriminating against a subclass of a sex — e.g., older women or black women — may still be discrimination. In a Sept. 19 opinion in McCreight v. AuburnBank, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit clarified a few things for the summary judgment standard and provided a good refresher on "sex-plus" discrimination, or discrimination based on a subclass of sex ...
The past year has seen substantial activity by the federal courts in guarding against government overreach in False Claims Act cases. One of the principal areas courts have focused on is the FCA's knowledge requirement — i.e., FCA liability can only be imposed where a person violates the act knowingly. Two recent decisions, from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and the U.S ...
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on March 13 issued a highly consequential decision in U.S. Securities andExchange Commission v. Rashid, interpreting and applying the mental state for liability of investment advisers under the Investment Advisers Act. Over a strong dissent, the court reversed a finding of liability of the defendant investment adviser under basic principles of negligence law, and in doing so, provided a road map for future enforcement actions under the act ...
The joint employer rule has been a hot topic in the last several years, mostly in the context of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Recall the drama of the Trump administration's narrower definition of a joint employer for wage purposes, followed by the Biden administration's almost immediate rescission of that rule. Gig economy workers have battled about overtime and their entitlement to it under the FLSA's definitions ...
The glacial pace at which the federal government has implemented cannabis policy–particularly in light of the rapid evolution of cannabis laws at the state level–is at the same time predictable and frustrating to those seeking a measure of certainty ...
In 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, and the U.S. Government Accountability Office issued five decisions worthy of particular note: Inserso Corp. v. U.S.[1] Teledyne Brown Engineering Inc.[2] Kiewit Infrastructure West Co. v. U.S.[3] LAX Electronics Inc. v. U.S.[4] Centerra Integrated Facilities Services LLC ...
With its January opinion in Raymond James & Associates Inc. v. Jalbert, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that the bankruptcy debtor's indemnification obligations were discharged by the confirmed plan because the indemnified party failed to speak up ...
In February 2020, just prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 (Subchapter V) took effect.[1] Subchapter V amends Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code to allow certain individuals and businesses with debts of less than $2,725,625 to file a streamlined Chapter 11 case with the goal to make small business bankruptcies faster and cheaper ...
Law firms periodically receive requests for advice from CPAs regarding a client’s need to come into compliance with the relatively new and sometimes confusing “economic nexus” or “Wayfair” rules for selling goods or providing services to customers in another state ...
With the recent and rapid spread of COVID-19 in the U.S., government contractors have already started experiencing contract performance delays, which inevitably will have a significant financial impact ...
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U.S. Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson is not a stranger to the False Claims Act. In her eight years as a U.S. district judge for the District of Columbia, before she was elevated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in 2021, she handled at least two FCA cases — one about a federal grant recipient and one about a government contractor. Her decisions in these cases show a meticulous and thorough approach, with particular attention to pleading standards ...
Nearly two years following passage of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA), Treasury and the IRS released the unpublished version of the final rule (Final Rule) for compliance with the IRA’s prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements (PWA requirements). Taxpayers seeking to claim the highest available investment and/or production tax credits for renewable energy projects must comply with the PWA requirements ...
As a result of increased government spending at the end of the government's fiscal year — the 12-month period beginning on Oct. 1 and ending on Sept. 30 — the number of bid protest filings peaks in October. Accordingly, government contractors should be particularly mindful this time of year of their rights with respect to intervening in bid protests both at the U.S. Government Accountability Office and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims ...
[!<CDATA[ Moratoriums on foreclosures due to COVID-19 ended this summer, prompting concerns of a shock similar to the 2008 housing crisis. While there are numerous differences between today and the previous recession, financial service providers can stay a step ahead by arming themselves with a few lessons learned ...
Generally, an “accord and satisfaction” is an agreement between two or more contracting parties to accept an alternate agreement and performance in lieu of a preexisting contractual duty between the parties. The new agreement is the “accord,” and the subsequent performance of the new agreement is the “satisfaction ...
[!<CDATA[ With the United States’ recent withdrawal from Afghanistan, it is only a matter of time before the government begins terminating certain federal contracts for the convenience of the government. Accordingly, government contractors need to know their rights and obligations so that they can be best positioned if one or more of their contracts are terminated. This article provides a user-friendly guide for government contractors on these important rights and obligations ...
The Supreme Court's recent decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, abolishing the Chevron doctrine, provides the False Act Claims defense bar with a potent new weapon. Two critical elements of any FCA claim are the falsity of the claim and scienter, which requires proof that the defendant acted knowingly. The government and relators' counsel often rely heavily on regulatory guidance issued by administrative agencies to establish these elements of their FCA claim ...
The US Regional Employment 2020 features 14 states. The guide provides expert legal commentary on the impact of COVID-19 on the workplace, the "Black Lives Matter" and "Me Too" movements, unions, the National Labor Relations Board, the interviewing process, restrictive covenants, discrimination and harassment, and whistle-blower claims. Bradley attorneys authored the Alabama and Tennessee chapters of the US Regional Employment 2020 featured below ...
You did not get paid for your labor and material, so you ask, what can I do? Alabama’s lien law provides you an opportunity to place a lien on the property for certain unpaid amounts for labor and materials. If you follow the proper procedures to perfect the lien and obtain a judgment in your favor, you may force the sale of the property to collect on your judgment (see Ala. Code § 35-11-226). This article focuses on the procedural basics of Alabama’s lien law ...
When Alabama’s Legislature convenes for its annual session on February 2, lawmakers will once again be asked to consider a bill that would provide certain Alabamians with access to medical cannabis ...
Hark! A recent Alabama Supreme Court indemnity decision, Mobile Infirmary Association v. Quest Diagnostics Clinical Laboratories, may require you to retrieve your drafting pen. Although not a case involving a construction dispute, Mobile Infirmary does address a key component of risk shifting in construction contracts — the indemnity clause ...
