Article
Published 10/12/2021
Industries Real Estate
Alert
Published 10/11/2021
Industries Energy
At the Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr Symposium in Houston in March 2020, a session was dedicated to reviewing steps the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission had taken to expand the Minimum Offer Price Rule (MOPR) applicable in PJM’s Base Residual Auction for electric capacity. On September 29, 2021 a new PJM MOPR took effect, as explained below. The general view at that time was that a FERC December 2019 Order would largely eliminate the possibility of state-subsidized renewable generation sources from receiving PJM capacity payments. FERC’s inaction has allowed the new PJM MOPR to take...
Alert
Published 10/08/2021
By Thomas Prevas, Gregory Waterworth and Pamela Goodwin
Services Environmental
On October 6, 2021, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (“CEQ”) proposed modifications of its regulations for implementing the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”). The proposed rule can be found here . Following the call of President Biden’s Executive Order 13990, Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis , available here , the CEQ proposed rule would undo most of the regulatory modifications CEQ made in the Trump Administration’s 2020 Rule. As explained in the proposed rule itself, it is CEQ’s view...
Alert
Published 10/07/2021
By Bruce D. Armon, Joshua W.B. Richards and Kevin M. Levy
Industries Health Care
On October 6, 2021, the Philadelphia Department of Public Health (DPH) announced a series of extensions designed to allow healthcare employers and institutions of higher education to comply with the City’s vaccine mandate (See announcement here ) . Approximately two months earlier, on August 13, the DPH announced that all healthcare workers and people at colleges and universities in Philadelphia needed to be fully vaccinated against COVID by October 15, 2021 (See the Firm’s alert here ) . What You Need to Know : Workers in hospitals and long-term care facilities and higher education personnel...
Alert
Published 10/04/2021
By Carolyn A. Pellegrini, Zachary M. Kimmel and Amy L. Piccola
Industries Higher Education
On September 29, 2021, Jennifer Abruzzo, General Counsel for the National Labor Relations Board (the “Board”), made headlines with the issuance of a memorandum clarifying the GC’s position that certain college athletes are employees under the National Labor Relations Act (“Act”). Perhaps more notable was GC Abruzzo’s warning that should “an employer misclassify Players at Academic Institutions as ‘student-athletes’ and lead them to believe they do not have statutory protections,” the Agency will “pursue independent violations of Section 8(1)(1) of the Act.” Under Section 8(a)(1), an employer...
Blog Post
Published 10/04/2021
By Jason Tremblay, Elizabeth Thompson
Alert
Published 10/01/2021
Services Employee Benefits and ERISA Litigation
This month’s Friday Five covers cases relating to implied terms in disability definitions, retrieving mistakenly paid pension payments, claims from former beneficiaries who were allegedly and improperly excluded from collecting benefits, whether a drug overdose triggers accidental death and dismemberment benefits, and personal jurisdiction issues. The Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr Employee Benefits/ERISA Litigation Team October 1, 2021 | By Amy Kline , Caitlin Strauss and Michael Joyce Sixth Circuit Grants Plan Leeway to Evaluate Definition of Disability With Implied Terms. In a recent long-...
Article
Published 09/28/2021
Services Intellectual Property | Patents
Alert
Published 09/28/2021
By Melissa A. Clarke
Services Environmental
On September 22, 2021, New Jersey Commissioner of Environmental Protection Shawn M. LaTourette issued an Administrative Order (AO 2021-25) setting new environmental justice-focused requirements for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) to consider in assessing permit applications for facilities located in or proposed to be located in overburdened communities . These new requirements are a stopgap measure, pending NJDEP’s promulgation of regulations to implement the landmark Environmental Justice Law , N.J.S.A. 13:1D-157 (“EJ Law”). What You Need to Know : NJDEP is in...
Alert
Published 09/28/2021
Services Personal Wealth Estates and Trusts
In 2018 the gift and estate tax exemption was doubled from $5 million to $10 million (per person). The exemption is adjusted for inflation every year. In 2021 the exemption as adjusted for inflation is $11.7 million. The exemption applies to both gift tax and estate tax. It is first used against gifts made during life that exceed the annual exclusion (currently $15,000), and any remaining exemption not used against gift tax is applied against estate tax at death. In the case of a couple, each has an exemption of $11.7 million, so with the right planning a couple’s combined estate would not be...
Blog Post
Published 09/28/2021
By Gregory M. Boucher, Frederick N. Poindexter
Alert
Published 09/27/2021
By Judith B. Kassel
Industries Government Contracts
Services Labor and Employment
On September 24, 2021, The Safer Federal Workforce Task Force issued Guidance regarding implementation of Executive Order No. 14042 Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors (“E.O.”). What you need to know : Requires most Federal contractors’ and subcontractors’ employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to perform contracts modified on or after October 15 and new contracts awarded on or after November 15. Vaccination requirement extends to employees who perform services “in connection” with Federal contracts, such as employees working in human resources, billing...
Alert
Published 09/23/2021
By Melissa A. Clarke
Services Environmental
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy Signs Executive Order Allowing Extended Rule-Making Deadlines at NJDEP to Expire and Setting Deadlines for Soil and Fill Recycling Activities and A-901 Licensing Executive Order (EO) 263 , effective September 17, 2021, provides for the expiration of extensions of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) rule-making deadlines that were instituted in EO 127 (2020) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. EO 127 provided an extension for any rules or emergency rules that would have otherwise expired during the public health emergency for 90 days following...
Article
Published 09/22/2021
Services Appellate
Alert
Published 09/21/2021
Services Antitrust | Corporate | Securities Transactions and Regulations
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently fined the CEO of Capital One Financial Corp. $637,950 for completing the acquisition of Capital One voting securities via an option exercise without making a filing under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (HSR). HSR requires persons acquiring voting securities (or assets, or non-corporate interests) of a certain size, and which also meet other thresholds, to file a Premerger Notification Form (HSR Filing) with the FTC and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) 30 days before such an acquisition. If the 30-day waiting...
Blog Post
Published 09/15/2021
By Lisa M. Koblin