News & Legal Updates Archive

Jordan Koss and Kenneth Rosenzweig met with more than 50 students from New York City's Cardozo School of Law on  Monday, March 1 to discuss what it takes to be a startup lawyer.

As has been widely reported, Lady Gaga’s dog walker was ambushed while walking two of her French bulldogs in Hollywood, California. With the dogs safely returned and the dog walker on the mend, we can now examine the employment law issues lurking in the background of this tale.

In recent years, Illinois’ costly and strict Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”), 740 ILCS § 14/1 et seq., has been used by the plaintiffs’ class action bar in Illinois and around the country to extract significant monetary settlements from unwary companies, causing substantial disruption to their businesses. Maryland legislators recently introduced a biometric information privacy law that echoes BIPA. The proposed law, titled “Commercial Law – Consumer Protection – Biometric Identifiers and Biometric Information Privacy,” would become only the second in the country to provide a private right of action to plaintiffs and allow successful litigants to recover attorneys’ fees and litigation costs.

On February 25, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Equality Act for a second time in recent years. Among other things, the Equality Act amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to expressly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Businesses and other organizations are subject to privacy requirements that apply to all industries, such as data breach notification laws, data destruction laws, and biometric information privacy laws. In recent months and years, however, a new trend has emerged: many legislatures are enacting, and regulators are implementing, additional industry-specific privacy laws and regulations, often rendering organizations liable to both privacy laws of general applicability and the additional industry-specific laws.

Understanding the scope of the covenants in a loan agreement and how they are impacted by a PPP Loan is essential to a company’s ability to comply with each of their specific requirements.  A borrower should take the time to assess its ability to comply with its loan covenants as part of the PPP Loan process.  

Under President Joe Biden’s recent executive order, OSHA is set on a much more aggressive path to promulgate workplace standards related to COVID-19 and aggressively pursue violations. As such, employers can expect to see a significant increase in workplace safety inspections and ultimately citations. Of particular interest to the agency are the healthcare, hospice, assisted living and industrial workplaces. 

Cross is now the third attorney in the fast-growing Startup-VC group. She has prior experience working on corporate matters as a legal intern at Navistar Inc., and as a legal fellow for U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (IL). Cross will bring a demonstrated focus on tech startup and well-rounded experience to the firm.

A monthly segment from the McDonald Hopkins Public Law Group that asks local, regional and statewide leaders to pass along their wisdom on items of current and lasting interest. This sixth installment asks Cleveland Development Advisors President Yvette Ittu to discuss how CDA benefits Cleveland businesses and neighborhoods and its current challenges.

The laws surrounding noncompete agreements vary state by state, and are rapidly changing. Most recently, Washington, D.C. has banned all noncompete agreements, both during and after employment. Learn more about noncompete agreements and what you can still do to protect your company's business assets. 

One of the many unanticipated consequences of the COVID-19 crisis is a virtual explosion in fraudulent unemployment claims that individuals, employers and states are now dealing with across the country. While unemployment fraud is not new, the availability of enhanced benefits through the CARES Act and other payment programs has led to skyrocketing false claims using stolen identity information.

Furman comes to McDonald Hopkins with more than five years of experience in numerous substantive areas of litigation, including wrongful death, medical malpractice, premises liability, and general negligence.

Despite concern over the continued and lasting impact of COVID-19, there is cautious optimism that business conditions will improve in the months ahead, according to the results of McDonald Hopkins’ 11th annual Business Outlook Survey.

Ross comes to McDonald Hopkins with a broad background representing employers in all aspects of labor and employment law. Her experience includes negotiating collective bargaining agreements, defending employers in grievance arbitrations and counseling employers. 

In a recent release (IR-2021-27), the IRS explained how corporations may qualify for a new 100% limit for non-COVID-19 disaster relief contributions made to certain charitable organizations, and reminded taxpayers of the February 25, 2021, deadline for making such contributions. The IRS also relaxed certain recordkeeping requirements for corporations qualifying for the increased limit.

In Episode 26, Lindsay Griffiths and Jim Giszczak talk about the issues facing firms and companies in cybersecurity and data privacy during the pandemic, why they should be even more of a priority now, and some practical tips to take away.

The Executive Budget is intended to assist the state of Ohio and its citizens recover from the economic and financial hardships faced during the COVID-19 pandemic by focusing on economic growth and vitality. It aims to invest in Ohio’s hardest hit communities, small businesses, families and education.

Cleveland State University recently joined Case Western Reserve University, along with the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals and the MetroHealth System, in announcing the creation of the Cleveland Innovation District, a historic partnership focused on making Northeast Ohio and the state more attractive to business and more competitive regionally, nationally and globally in the growing healthcare and IT sectors.

The Emergency Coronavirus Relief Act of 2020 includes $15 billion to support live entertainment performances, museums and movie theaters through the Grants for Shuttered Venue Operators program. More commonly known as “Save Our Stages,” the program brings welcome and needed relief to some of the businesses most hard hit by the need for social distancing in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting government orders that closed or limited the operations of many of these businesses for most of 2020 and will keep them closed for some time.

In response to President Biden’s Executive Order, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued Guidance on Mitigating and Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in the Workplace, outlining a recommended course of action for employers to further combat COVID-19.

The American Land Title Association and National Society of Professional Surveyors has issued updated Minimum Standard Detail Requirements for ALTA/NSPS Land Title Surveys.

This 10^th edition to the ALTA/NSPS Minimum Standard Detail Requirements, which was passed unanimously by the joint ALTA/NSPS committee, will go into effect for all contracts executed from and after February 23, 2021.

President Biden’s administration and a 50/50 Senate will impact the franchise industry in a number of significant ways. Biden’s push to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour faces significant hurdles in Congress because of strong opposition from Republicans.

Restrictive covenants are never a one-size-fits-all, especially when it comes to physicians. If you employ physicians, review your employment agreements to make certain that the restrictive covenants are not overly broad and narrowly protect your interests should a physician leave the practice.

2020 redefined the words challenging, stressful and hope for all of us.

During these challenging times, we have worked hard to take care of our clients. We came into 2020 with an outstanding data privacy and cybersecurity team. But, as the risks our clients face have continued to grow, we are growing our team so that we can continue to provide the highest level of service. To that end, we are pleased to introduce the following additions to our data privacy team.

Four attorneys at McDonald Hopkins have been recognized on the Illinois Super Lawyers list as being among the top attorneys in Illinois for 2021. Another three McDonald Hopkins attorneys were recognized on the list of Illinois Rising Stars.

Meadows served as a corporate associate at a large law firm in Columbus.  Meadows prepared and negotiated a variety of agreements, including leases, purchase and sale agreements, credit and security agreements and non-disclosure agreements. Additionally, he advised businesses in all aspects of the Paycheck Protection Program, including eligibility, covered costs and forgiveness.

A monthly segment from the McDonald Hopkins Public Law Group that asks local, regional and statewide leaders to pass along their wisdom on items of current and lasting interest. This fifth installment asks Elyria Mayor Frank Whitfield to discuss plans, challenges, opportunities and concerns for his city.

Mowad’s experience includes the Office of the Ohio Attorney General’s Executive Agencies Section where her work included representing executive officials, departments, agencies, and boards at all stages of civil litigation in trial and appellate proceedings, in state and federal court, and in administrative tribunals.

Governor DeWine signed into law the Ohio Employment Law Uniformity Act, HB 352. This was good news for employers as the new law simplifies and clarifies Ohio’s civil rights anti-discrimination laws.

In the January 19 Federal Register, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) clarified the scope of services that are counted in determining whether minimum time requirements are satisfied under remote patient monitoring (RPM) treatment management billing codes.

The U.S. Department of Labor ushered in the new year with a flurry of new guidance on the FLSA, FFCRA, and independent contractors. This activity in the waning days of the current administration reflects the fact that it is the final opportunity for the DOL to address open issues on its agenda.

McDonald Hopkins attorneys Alan Burger and Mary April suggest 10 important steps if you test positive on an anti-doping test.

The enactment of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, H.R. 133 on Dec. 27, 2020 (the “Stimulus Act”) was unprecedented for its scope and for the length of the legislation. It provided much needed relief to many sectors of the United States still struggling from the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic through a combination of funding for government programs, renewal of the Paycheck Protection Program, and extension or expansion of a multitude of expiring tax incentives. The act combines a $1.4 trillion extension of government funding with nearly $1 trillion in new stimulus measures. The various tax provisions amount to approximately one-third of the nearly $328-billion total of the act’s stimulus measures. 

This discussion focuses on the tax aspects of the Stimulus Act.

In December 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (OIG) updated the list of its active work plan categories that will be subject to audit in 2021.

Adam Grais has been drumming most of his life. But these days, as the newly appointed board chair of the Grant Park Music Festival, he is drumming up support — that is, support for a major cultural attraction. This month, Grais began his tenure as board chair of the Grant Park Music Festival.

McDonald Hopkins will serve as a prominent sponsor of the 30th annual Ohio Business Tax Conference, the nation’s largest of its kind. The three-day virtual event from January 19-21, features presenters from around the nation, including four McDonald Hopkins attorneys.

McDonald Hopkins Cleveland Managing Member David Kall was quoted in Crain's Cleveland Business article "Tax tangle: Small businesses should brace for the possibility of withholdings that follow employees to their homes" by Judy Stringer.

Misakian brings experience handling a variety of legal matters involving the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, professional liability, premise liability and insurance coverage litigation. He has assisted clients in the development of cybersecurity frameworks, privacy policies and incident response planning, and advised in preparation for and responding to data security breaches, determining and sending required notifications to affected individuals, state regulators, departments of insurances and states’ offices of attorneys general in compliance with regulatory requirements.

For 11 years, McDonald Hopkins has conducted an annual Business Outlook Survey, attempting to determine how you, our clients and friends, view the business climate. As we close out 2020 and head into 2021, we do so with heightened uncertainty, coupled with a touch of vaccine-driven optimism. We hope that you will share with us your views and help us identify challenges and opportunities for the coming year. We look forward to sharing the results of this year’s survey.

Mandatory vaccination policies are typically legal, but in many cases implementing such policies may prove challenging. In a recent Gallup Poll, only 58% of those in the U.S. said they would willingly be vaccinated. That potentially leaves a significant percent of individuals unvaccinated creating a dilemma for employers about whether to mandate vaccines for employees.

With 2020 coming to an end, speculation swirled among employers about whether the Families First Coronavirus Response Act’s December 31 expiration date would be extended. Well, employers have their answer in the stimulus bill signed by President Trump on December 27. It’s goodbye for now to the FFCRA, but it may not be goodbye forever.

There are challenges and opportunities for physician practices in structuring physician compensation to comply with the new and modified Stark Law standards and related anti-kickback considerations.

With the popularity of impact investing increasing, evaluating a company’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) disclosures – or determining whether the company has issued ESG disclosures at all – is on the rise. An increasing number of companies are including ESG disclosures into mandatory filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as well as publishing such disclosures on their websites, and showing them in presentations to investors.

After months of negotiations, Congress finally passed the 2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act late Monday night. It is expected that the President will quickly sign the Act into law.

The act provides approximately $325 billion in business relief, including roughly $275 billion for another round of Paycheck Protection Program funding. The act also provides answers to questions regarding the first round of PPP loans that have so far gone unanswered. 

While the act is extremely lengthy (5,593 pdf pages long), we have attempted to summarize the most important sections regarding the Paycheck Protection Program.  
 

Congressional lawmakers finally reached an agreement on a new $900 billion COVID-19 relief package during the evening of December 20. The feuding parties were forced to resume negotiations due to the looming expiration of several existing COVID-19 aid measures and a threatened government shutdown. Both Congressional chambers officially passed the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act on December 21, as part of the overarching $1.4 trillion spending package that will keep the government funded until September 2021.

Governor DeWine signed Senate Bill 21 into law to allow for-profit corporations to be classified as “benefit corporations.” SB 21 amends Ohio Corporation law, set forth in Revised Code 1701, to allow corporations and directors the flexibility to pursue beneficial activities in any area, such as arts, education, technology, ESG, and others.

CEC Entertainment, Inc. and its affiliates - better known as children’s entertainment stalwart, “Chuck E. Cheese” - filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy on June 24, in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. The filing was driven by the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting measures taken by state and local governments to limit social gatherings.

Manisha P. Reddy has joined McDonald Hopkins LLC as an associate in the firm’s national Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice Group.

McDonald Hopkins member Alexander Ayar has been appointed to the 2021 Character & Fitness District I Committee of the State Bar of Michigan.

Franchisors are subject to strict regulation when it comes to advertising to potential franchisees, but it’s also important to give sufficient attention to advertisements directed to consumers and ensure they are compliant with relevant advertising laws.