On February 26, 2019, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a joint memorandum (Memo) clarifying how state transportation departments that have been delegated responsibility under National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) should implement federal directives to streamline the environmental review and approvals of…
Articles Posted in Construction Generally
SCOTUS, Having Received Views of Solicitor General, Will Decide Whether CWA Regulates Indirect Discharge of Pollutants Into Navigable Water Via Groundwater
Prior to deciding whether to review an important February 1, 2018, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decision involving the jurisdictional reach of the Clean Water Act (CWA), Hawai’i Wildlife Fund, et al., v. County of Maui, the Supreme Court asked the Solicitor General for the views of the…
Update Your California Release Provisions to Include Amended Section 1542 Language
Most companies have been involved in a situation where they want to end their relationship with another company, or with an employee, and to permanently terminate their mutual obligations (e.g., a settlement agreement resolving end-of-project litigation). In 1992, a California Court of Appeals, in Winet v. Price, confirmed that upholding…
District Court Requires More to Establish Standing to Challenge EO 13771
On February 8, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued its latest ruling in a case which challenges the President’s January 30, 2017 Executive Order constraining the ability of federal agencies to issue new regulations and the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) implementation of that Order. The case…
Ninth Circuit Issues an Important Commercial Speech Ruling
On January 31, an en banc panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a unanimous ruling in a commercial speech case, American Beverage Assoc., et al., v. City and County of San Francisco. The Panel held that the lower court’s denial of a preliminary injunction requested…
Bills of Note Passed by the Last Congress (2019)
There were 442 bills passed by the 115th Congress and signed by the President. Most of these new laws have attracted very little attention, so it may be helpful to review a few of them. The list below provides a glimpse into the myriad issues that face each Congress, and…
New Year, New Employment Laws in NY
Today, our colleagues Ken Taber, Rebecca Carr Rizzo and Andrew Lauria published their Client Alert titled New York Employment Law Outlook 2019. Their Client Alert discusses employment laws that were introduced in 2018 in New York. During 2018, a slew of New York state and local legislation combatting sexual harassment…
SCOTUS Will Review Ninth Circuit Ruling in Newton v. Parker Drilling Mgmt. Serv., Ltd.
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed that it will review the U.S. Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit’s February 2018 ruling in Newton v. Parker Drilling Management Services, Ltd. which held that California’s wage and hour laws can apply to claims made by workers employees on Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) platforms…
Let the 90-Day Countdown Begin
Most contractors are diligent about making sure that they pay their licensing fees, renew worker’s compensation insurance, and maintain the required bonds. What may be less obvious is how critically important it is to have current company personnel listed on the company’s licensing records with the Contractor’s State Licensing Board. Only personnel…
Post-Election Outlook
Pillsbury attorneys Stephan E. Becker, Charles F. Donley II, Emily B. Erlingsson, Brian E. Finch, Aimee P. Ghosh, Meghan C. Hammond, Laura E. Jennings, The Honorable Gregory H. Laughlin, Jeffrey S. Merrifield, Elizabeth V. Moeller, Matthew Oresman, Craig J. Saperstein, Edward W. Sauer, and Deborah S. Thoren-Peden discuss the 2018 Midterm…