New directions in environmental and regulatory policy are outlined in these Executive Orders and Presidential Memorandums that have been issued in the past few days: An Executive Order, dated January 30, 2017, requiring federal executive departments and agencies, whenever they propose to add a new regulation, to delete two existing…
Articles Posted in Construction Generally
“Ban the Box” ~ Are you ready?
Today, our colleagues Stacie Yee and Kimberly Higgins posted their client alert discussing a City of Los Angeles ordinance, effective January 22, barring certain private employers doing business in the city from inquiring about a job applicant’s criminal history until a conditional offer of employment has first been extended. Under the…
2017 American Water Infrastructure Opportunities
Recently, our colleagues Michael Reese and Andrew Home posted their client alert discussing the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act. This legislation creates new obligations as well as new opportunities for infrastructure constructors, owners/operators of public water systems and their lenders. This new legislation and related appropriations may pave the…
Following the Remand of a Contentious Overtime Case, Chevron Deference May Be Murky
Last summer, in the waning stages of the Supreme Court’s 2015-2016 term, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion reversing the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit’s use of Chevron deference to overrule a district court which had decided that neither the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) nor the…
Cal CSLB Registrar of Contractors and Chief Deputy Registrar Announce Pending Retirement
On November 29, the California Contractors State License Board (CSLB) issued an Industry Bulletin via email announcing that Cindi A. Christenson, the CSLB’s current Registrar of Contractors, will be retiring effective May 1, 2017. Christenson, the CSLB’s first female Registrar, was appointed to this position on January 1, 2015. Prior…
DOL’s New Overtime Regulations Face Uncertain Fate
Today, our colleagues Julia Judish, Rebecca Carr Rizzo and John Scalia published their alert discussing a U.S. District Court’s very recent issuance of a nationwide preliminary injunction preventing the Department of Labor from implementing and enforcing its new overtime regulations. Those regulations, which would have more than doubled the minimum salary level required to exempt…
Court Issues Nationwide Preliminary Injunction of DOL’s Overtime Rules Effective Dec 1
In Federal Court Rules New Overtime Requirements Won’t Go Into Effect on December 1, our colleague Scott Flick discusses the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas’ ruling in a civil action challenging the Department of Labor’s (DOL) new overtime regulations. The civil action that was brought by the…
Registration Process in China Simplified
Yesterday, our colleagues David Livdahl, Jenny (Jia) Sheng, and Wenjun Cai published an informative client alert discussing the State Administration of Industry and Commerce’s (SAIC) October 18, 2016 Guiding Opinion on Opening-up Enterprise Name Database and Promoting the Reform of Enterprise Name Registration (Guiding Opinion). Now applicants for a company registration in…
Is Your Use of Standard Subrogation Waivers Leaving You Exposed
We recently posted an interesting blog on Pillsbury’s Policyholder Pulse titled Subrogation Waivers and the Perils of Litigation: Wavering on a Precipice. In it, we discuss the perils of using standard subrogation waivers in your insurance policies, and cautions against the use of standard waivers (which can have unintended consequences).
DC Circuit Rules That Basic Structure of CFPB is Unconstitutional
In a decision released on October 11, 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit issued a very long opinion (110 pages) which vacates an order of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) that requires PHH Corporation, a large home mortgage lender, to disgorge $109 million in a…