Ohio Record-Retention Rules: How can banks defend themselves after purging account records that are essential to a future lawsuit? An Ohio customer walks into her local branch and demands access to the contents of her safe deposit box. She presents a key and a one-year lease, capable of annual renewal, from 2005. But the key not only fails to open the box – it does not even fit in the lock. And when you search for records of the lease, you find nothing ...
Dinsmore partner Kelvin Lawrence was published in Bloomberg Tax with his article "Special Commentary: State Tax Treatment of Investment Partnerships." Read an excerpt below. The Multistate Tax Commission has undertaken an ambitious project on the state taxation of partnerships. Their partnership work group consists of volunteers from numerous state revenue departments, with the able assistance of MTC Counsel Helen Hecht and Chris Barber ...
On July 28, 2022, the Michigan Supreme Court determined that employers are prohibited from discriminating against employees based upon sexual orientation. The Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA), MCL 37.2101 et seq., prohibits employers from discriminating against employees or applicants on the basis of "religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, or marital status." MCL 37.2202(1) ...
Ohio’s “Heartbeat” Bill became law in Ohio when the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio lifted its long pending injunction after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade ...
On July 19, 2022, the Court of Claims ordered that the current Improved Workforce Opportunity Wage Act (minimum wage) and Michigan Paid Medical Leave Act (paid leave) are void and reinstated the original ballot initiatives. However, employers do not need to overhaul their policies just yet because the ruling is stayed until February 19, 2023. Pending the outcome of appeal, these changes may not go into effect at all ...
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") recently updated its guidance in July of 2022. According to the new guidance, the COVID-19 pandemic no longer automatically meets the business necessity requirement for medical examinations i.e. COVID-19 testing. This means that employers are now required to conduct an individualized assessment to determine whether COVID testing is warranted based on "evolving pandemic circumstances ...
At the end of July, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a roofing contractor’s complaint against another roofing contractor for allegedly interfering with its contract with a condominium association for roof repairs relating to Hurricane Irma. The case illustrates the importance of timing and advancing work related to insurance claims and should serve as a warning to those that regularly wait on insurance payments before beginning work ...
On June 14, 2022, HB 140 (134th General Assembly; Amended House Bill 140), also known as the “Ballot Uniformity and Transparency Act” (the “Act”), was signed into law, providing dramatic changes to Ohio’s ballot language and election notices for property tax levies and bond issues affecting Ohio political subdivisions (Click Here for Summary) ...
As all court cases do, the Supreme Court's landmark decision in West Virginia v. EPA last month addressed a specific question: whether the Environmental Protection Agency had the statutory authority to shut down power plants and reshape significant parts of the energy sector in its effort to reduce emissions. The answer was a plain and simple no. Equally clear was the court's argument, which has implications for administrative actions well beyond this case ...
If you’re an underwriter, originator, closer, attorney or other professional who specializes in HUD-insured loans, fair housing principles probably aren’t top of mind as you navigate your workday. Still, it pays to have a working knowledge of HUD’s protected classes. Dinsmore was recently involved in a 223(f) closing that provides an instructive case in point ...
The Ohio Department of Health (“ODH”) has released the applications for both skilled and non-medical home healthcare licenses, which are now required pursuant to H.B. 110, now codified as R.C. 3740 et. sec. Agencies providing skilled home health care, nonmedical home health/personal care services, and non-agency providers of nonmedical home health/personal care services will be required to be licensed starting October 1, 2022 ...
On Thursday, September 7, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) published a notice of proposed rulemaking that, if enacted as anticipated, will significantly expand the number of businesses presumed to be “joint employers” for purposes of the National Labor Relations Act. Under the proposed rule, two or more employers would be considered joint employers if they “share or codetermine those matters governing employees' essential terms and conditions of employment ...
Next week, the full Fourth Circuit will hear oral argument in US ex rel. Sheldon v. Allergan Sales, LLC to determine whether a defendant’s “objectively reasonable interpretation” of an ambiguous statute or regulation is sufficient to preclude a finding of intent under the FCA. Defendants and the entire FCA bar will be watching the case closely ...
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) updated its "frequently asked questions" (FAQs) Tuesday, providing guidance relating to the sanctions against Tornado Cash, the Ethereum “mixer” it blacklisted in August, following allegations that North Korea used Tornado Cash to launder stolen digital assets ...
HUD issued Mortgagee Letter 2022-16 (“the Letter”) on September 7, changing a Departmental policy on surplus cash distribution that had been in place for roughly half a century. Multifamily borrowers with loans that close after September 7 may, subject to certain preconditions, take distributions of surplus cash monthly instead of annually or semi-annually ...
On September 9, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced its latest efforts to assert control over and regulate the Web3 ecosystem – an Office of Crypto Assets. This new office will be housed within the Division of Corporation Finance's Disclosure Review Program (DRP), which has historically been the source of focused review of issuer filings. Once officially established later this fall, the office will join the seven existing offices of the DRP ...
“Government efforts to manipulate markets and prices on consumer goods never work as intended, and in this case, would be counterproductive.” The waning days of summer signal the approaching midterm election season. Amid inflation, recession and voter discontent, it’s understandable that a group of congress members are anxious to put points on the board with a price-control scheme that they wrongly believe will lower prescription drug prices ...
On August 19, 2022, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) published that it had received a Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) request from a journalist with the Center for Investigative Reporting. The request sought the disclosure of EEO-1 Type 2 Consolidated Report data filed annually by prime federal government contractors and first tier sub-contractors (“covered contractors”) ...
On September 15, 2022, the Wall Street Journal reported Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler told reporters after a Congressional hearing that digital assets and the intermediaries dealing in such assets that allow for staking may shift the “efforts of others” analysis under the Howey test. If so, they would be re-categorized as securities ...
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) recently filed fraud charges against the City of Rochester, New York (“City”), former City executives, and the City’s municipal advisor, reminding us of the importance of up-to-date, accurate disclosures when it comes to the financial condition of political subdivisions, as well as the risks of issuing debt using outdated financial statements ...
The SEC’s final rule for its pay versus performance disclosure will require registrants to disclose information reflecting the relationship between executive compensation actually paid by a registrant and the registrant’s financial performance. The rules implement the Dodd-Frank Act’s pay versus performance disclosure mandate ...
Following rehearing en banc, an evenly split full Fourth Circuit has affirmed the district court’s dismissal of a qui tam action based on the defendant’s “objectively reasonable” interpretation of ambiguous regulations—the Safeco defense. Though the Fourth Circuit panel’s decision is now vacated, no circuit split exists on the question. Nevertheless, the Supreme Court is weighing a possible grant of cert in two similar Seventh Circuit cases ...
On Monday, a split National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a ruling that requires employers to maintain union dues deductions even after the collective bargaining agreements establishing those arrangements expire. The case is Valley Hospital Medical Center, Inc., NLRB, Case 28-CA-213783 (Sept. 30, 2022). The NLRB’s 3-2 ruling, decided along party lines, reinstates the Obama-era rule[1] requiring dues deductions to continue after a labor contract ends ...
This week, BNY Mellon (“Mellon”), the nation’s oldest bank, announced it was making good on its February 2021 plan to develop the infrastructure necessary to serve as custodian for digital assets. Mellon announced the launch of a proprietary crypto custody software developed in partnership with Fireblocks, a digital asset custody, transfer, and settlement platform. With its announcement, Mellon became the first large U.S ...
On October 19, 2022, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) released the “Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal” poster, replacing the “EEO is the Law” poster. The “Know Your Rights” poster provides updated guidance on federal anti-discrimination laws to applicants, employees, and employers. Covered employers are required to prominently display the “Know Your Rights” poster at their worksites ...
