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Inflation Reduction Act
Does Work-From-Home Work for Your Company's Cyber Insurance?
The start of a new year is always a good reminder to take some time to review key areas and assess whether changes are in order. There are many examples of this both personally and professionally, but a company’s insurance...
Vaccine Incentives: How Employers Can Encourage Employee Vaccination
As COVID-19 vaccines become available to broader groups during winter and spring 2021, employers are considering how they can encourage employees to get vaccinated. While the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has stated that employers may require that employees get...
Fifth Circuit Sets New Framework for Fair Labor Standards Act Certification Analysis
Yesterday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit rejected the commonly used and admittedly lenient Lusardi framework for Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) conditional certification and set a new framework for courts to determine whether and to...
US Trade Policy in the Biden Administration
After four of the most volatile years in international trade in recent history, what will be the approach of the incoming Biden Administration on Trump-era tariffs, the China trade war, bilateral and multilateral trade agreements, relations with the World Trade...
2020 Incentive Stock Option & Employee Stock Purchase Plan Reporting
Now that 2021 is here, corporations should be aware of IRS reporting requirements regarding certain 2020 stock transactions with their employees. Section 6039 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), requires a corporation to report (i)...
Opposites Attract: How Oil & Gas and Renewables+Storage Are the Perfect Match
Article originally appeared in the November 2020 issues of Oil, Gas & Energy Law Intelligence (Vol. 18 - issue 6) I. Introduction As the world lives through a global pandemic, it is challenged inter alia with persistent blackouts and wildfires...
Changes to Expect in Environmental Litigation Under Biden
One thing is certain about 2021 – environmental and natural resources-related litigation against the federal government will continue apace and it will impact a range of private projects that require federal authorization of some sort or that rely on public...
Changes to Renewable and Carbon Capture Tax Credits under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021
On December 22, 2020, the U.S. House and Senate approved the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the 2021 Act) and, on December 27, 2020, President Trump signed the 2021 Act into law. The 2021 Act extends tax credits currently available for...
ESG Investing and Retirement Plans
Background As ESG (environmental, social and governance) investing recently has drawn the attention of governmental agencies that oversee the administration of qualified retirement plans and their trillions of dollars in assets. This is unsurprising given that focus and interest in...
PPP 2.0: Expanded Lending For New and Existing Borrowers
After months of stalled negotiations, Congress has passed sweeping new COVID-19 relief legislation that, among other things, revitalizes and revises the Paycheck Protection Program. The new legislation reopens the program to first time borrowers, provides greater flexibility for how borrowers...
FERC Proposes Incentive-Based Rate Treatment for Cybersecurity Investments
On Thursday, December 17, 2020, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NOPR” or “Proposed Rule”) seeking comment on proposals that would allow public utilities to make a filing pursuant to Section 205 of the...
Infrastructure Under the Biden Administration
Watch Kevin Ewing , Ann Navaro , Liam Donovan , and Eric Washburn as they discuss the current transition topics under the Biden Administration.
FERC Adopts Expanded Definition of Cogeneration QFs to Include Certain Fuel Cell Systems
On December 17, 2020, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) adopted a final rule (“Final Rule”) [1] regarding the potential for certain fuel cell systems to attain qualifying facility (“QF”) status pursuant to Sections 201 and 210 of the Public...
City of Houston Tightens Local Hazardous Materials Regulations
The early morning explosion at the Watson Grinding and Manufacturing site on January 24, 2020 continues to have an impact. The Houston City Council significantly amended the city's hazardous enterprises ordinance this week in an effort to exert more local...
EEOC Says Employers May Mandate COVID-19 Vaccinations - Subject to Limitations
With one pharmaceutical company already receiving emergency use authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine, and a second drug maker apparently on the cusp of receiving authorization, employers, eager to return to normal business operations, are considering whether they c an require...