The King is dead; long live the King: Tennessee’s Updated Right of Publicity Statute

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:3 mins read

Tennessee has joined the ranks of states regulating, in various ways, the use of artificial intelligence to manipulate an individual’s likeness.  On March 21, 2024, Gov. Bill Lee said “thank you very much” to the Tennessee legislature and signed into law the Ensuring Likeness, Voice, and Image Security (“ELVIS”) Act…

Union Intrusion: New OSHA Rule Permits Non-Employee Union Representatives on OSHA Inspection Walkarounds

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:5 mins read

 By Matthew A. Sloan, A. Scott Hecker, and Adam R. Young Seyfarth Synopsis: On April 1, 2024, the Federal Register published OSHA’s final rule revising its regulations regarding whom employees can authorize to act as their representative(s) to accompany compliance officers during on-site OSHA inspections. Under Section 8(e) of the Occupational Safety and…

April 2024 Global Immigration Alert

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:21 mins read

Please note:  while we address certain country-specific updates, this Alert contains information regarding global requirements, policies, and procedures as they stand as of the date of publication. We highly recommend reviewing any global mobility inquiries on a case-by-case basis, including any consulate-specific or immigration authority resources, in “real-time” before traveling…

White Employee Fired Amidst Corporate Diversity Initiative Wins Discrimination Claim But Loses Multi-Million Dollar Punitive Damage Award

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:6 mins read

By Alex J. Reganata and Barry J. Miller Seyfarth Synopsis: Plaintiff, a white man, was a strong performer in his role before he was fired and replaced by three women, two of whom were racial minorities, amid a Diversity and Inclusion initiative that included a call to restructure the workforce…

Important UK Immigration Work Visa Changes

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:14 mins read

UK Skilled Worker Visa – Significant Changes A major update to the UK immigration rules was published on 14 March 2024.  The new rules will become effective on 4 April 2024. Notably, these new rules will affect a large number of employers and their employees who need UK work visa…

Seyfarth Bolsters White-Collar and Investigations Capabilities with Addition of Partner Matthew Banham in London

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  • Reading time:4 mins read

LONDON (March 21, 2024) - Seyfarth Shaw LLP announced today the arrival of partner Matthew Banham to the firm’s litigation department, further expanding the firm’s globally recognized white-collar and investigations practice. Banham joins Seyfarth from Dechert, where his practice focused on multi-agency and complex cross-border investigations and prosecutions with an…

Upcoming Client Webinar: Charting the Course: AI’s Influence on Legal Practice and IP Protection

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:6 mins read

On Wednesday, March 20, Seyfarth attorneys Rebecca Woods, Owen Wolfe, Lauren Leipold, and Puya Partow-Navid will present and Ken Wilton will moderate, the first session of the 2024 Commercial Litigation Outlook webinar series: Charting the Course: AI’s Influence on Legal Practice and IP Protection. Time of the event:1:00 p.m. to…

Securities and Exchange Commission Pay Versus Performance Updates

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:6 mins read

Seyfarth Synopsis:  As reporting companies prepare their Pay Versus Performance (PVP) disclosures for their upcoming proxy statements, they should take into consideration the most recent guidance on the topic in Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) Compliance & Disclosure Interpretations (CD&Is). The PVP disclosure rules (Item 402(v) of SEC Regulation S-K)…

Seyfarth Announces Creation of Impact & Sustainability Partner Role to Help Drive the Future of Client Service and Innovation

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:3 mins read

March 12, 2024 — Seyfarth Shaw LLP, a leading law firm known for its innovative approach and client-focused services, today announced the creation of its first Impact & Sustainability Partner position, underscoring its commitment to aligning business goals with client values and demands. The firm has appointed seasoned partner Ameena…

Pioneers and Pathfinders: Zack DeMeola

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:3 mins read

Our guest today is Zack DeMeola, Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Law School Admission Council (LSAC), a not-for-profit organization with the goal of advancing law and justice by promoting access, equity, and fairness in law school admission and supporting learning journeys from prelaw through practice. A former corporate…

Proposed New Jersey Bill Would Lower Harassment Standard and Mandate Anti-Harassment Policy and Training

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:5 mins read

Seyfarth Synopsis: A pending bill in New Jersey’s legislature would significantly lower the standard for establishing harassment claims and require employers to implement anti-harassment training and policies and report complaint data to a government agency. Earlier this year, New Jersey legislators introduced Assembly Bill 2443 (“AB 2443” or the “Bill”),…

Report From Final Day of The 2024 ABA OSHA/MSHA Law Conference

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:6 mins read

By Brent I. Clark, James L. Curtis, Patrick D. Joyce, A. Scott Hecker,  Daniel R. Birnbaum, Melissa A. Ortega and Taylor Iaculla Seyfarth Synopsis: This week we are attending the ABA Occupational Safety and Health Law Meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The meeting includes representatives from the U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA Review…

2024 Commercial Litigation Outlook and Webinar Series

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:4 mins read

Seyfarth’s Commercial Litigation practice group is pleased to present the fourth annual installment of the Commercial Litigation Outlook, which provides insights on litigation issues and trends to expect in 2024. Since its inaugural publication in 2020, Seyfarth’s Commercial Litigation Outlook has served as a beacon for legal professionals, providing invaluable…

Report From Day 2 of The 2024 ABA OSHA/MSHA Law Conference

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:8 mins read

By Brent I. Clark, James L. Curtis, Patrick D. Joyce, A. Scott Hecker, Daniel R. Birnbaum, Melissa A. Ortega and Taylor Iaculla Seyfarth Synopsis: This week we are attending the ABA Occupational Safety and Health Law Meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The meeting includes representatives from the U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA Review Commission, the MSHA Review…

Whoa! Cannabis Company Lawsuit Lights Up the Benefits of Creative IP Protection

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:6 mins read

This blog has been cross-posted from Seyfarth’s The Blunt Truth site. Federal trademark registration is typically unavailable for goods and services related to the sale of cannabis.  But a combination of federal copyright registration and state trademark registration for these goods and services may provide an opportunity for cannabis companies…

Report From Day 1 of The 2024 ABA OSHA/MSHA Law Conference

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:6 mins read

By Brent I. Clark, James L. Curtis, Patrick D. Joyce, A. Scott Hecker, Daniel R. Birnbaum, Melissa A. Ortega and Taylor Iaculla Seyfarth Synopsis: This week we are attending the ABA Occupational Safety and Health Law Meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The meeting includes representatives from the U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA Review Commission, the MSHA…

Weaving the Patchwork: How Mandatory Paid Family Leave Laws Stitch Together

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:4 mins read

Seyfarth Synopsis: With each passing year, the country’s patchwork of mandatory state paid family and paid family medical leave (collectively, “PFML” or “PFL”) laws continues to evolve and expand. Why is this existing patchwork so challenging for employers? Look no further than how varied these laws are in terms of…

Working Overtime: Is Publication of DOL’s OT Exemption Rule Imminent?

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:2 mins read

Seyfarth Synopsis: With DOL’s overtime exemption rule currently under White House review, we could see its publication sooner rather than later. We previously reported on the Biden Administration’s April 2024 target date to publish the DOL Wage and Hour Division’s (“WHD”) final rule on increasing the minimum salary level for…

Webinar: Navigating Employer’s Responses to Employees’ Off-Duty Conduct

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:3 mins read

Wednesday, March 13, 202412:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Eastern11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Central10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Mountain9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Pacific About the Program Today’s polarized environment presents many challenges for employers.  One such challenge is how to respond to reports of employees’ off-duty conduct.  Off-duty conduct…

Now Available! Seyfarth Resource – 2023 FLSA Litigation Metrics & Trends

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:2 mins read

As the FLSA landscape continues to evolve, Seyfarth’s national Wage and Hour Litigation practice group is pleased to share our observations and analysis of the 2023 FLSA litigation trends as well as our forward-looking predictions for 2024. Wage and hour litigation and enforcement actions continued as a hot-button concern in…

CDC Trims COVID-19 Isolation Guidance: COVID-Positive Individuals Need Only Isolate for 24 Hours After Being Fever-Free

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:3 mins read

By Adam R. Young, A. Scott Hecker, Patrick D. Joyce, and Craig B. Simonsen Seyfarth Synopsis: The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is shifting its COVID-19 isolation guidance, advising that COVID-positive individuals no longer need to isolate once they have been fever-free for 24 hours and their symptoms are…

March 2024 Global Immigration Alert

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:11 mins read

Please note:  while we address certain country-specific updates, this Alert contains information regarding global requirements, policies, and procedures as they stand as of the date of publication. We highly recommend reviewing any global mobility inquiries on a case-by-case basis, including any consulate-specific or immigration authority resources, in “real-time” before traveling…

The Week in Weed: March 1, 2024

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:3 mins read

Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana. This week, we check on the retail market legislation in Virginia. New Hampshire’s House of Representatives passed an adult-use cannabis bill. Arkansas’ Attorney General gives the go-ahead for advocates to start…

NYC Council Proposes Broad Non-Compete Ban

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:3 mins read

Seyfarth Synopsis: While New York State failed to pass a non-compete ban last year, a new bill in the New York City Council would eliminate non-compete agreements entirely, presenting new challenges and considerations for employers in the Big Apple. On December 12, 2023, the New York State Legislature delivered a…

Wellness Apps and Privacy

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:5 mins read

  Employers looking to enhance their suite of employee benefit programs, and focused on lessons learned during the pandemic on wellbeing, are interested in providing greater access to wellness tools. And, the vendors who support those tools are more than happy to provide them. Global spend in the health and…

New York Pay Transparency in Job Advertisements Law Goes Live

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:10 mins read

New York State’s law on pay transparency in job advertisements went into effect on September 17, 2023.  A few days before the law’s effective date, the state’s Department of Labor published proposed rule making that would clarify key points of the law, while also leaving some questions unanswered. Public comment…

Closing loopholes or creating a noose?

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:8 mins read

Anything but casual… In the first of our series examining the Closing Loopholes Bill introduced into Parliament yesterday, we look at the new measures for casual employment. The Orwellian title of the Closing Loopholes Bill foreshadows its intentions: casual employment is double-plus-ungood. Premised on the doublethink notion that casual employment…

DOJ Issues Proposed ADA Regulations For State and Local Government Websites

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:4 mins read

Almost precisely a year after the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced its intent to begin the rulemaking process to enact website accessibility regulations applicable to state and local governments under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the DOJ has published its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to the Federal…

California Court Casts Doubt on Copyright Claims Relating to AI Images

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:5 mins read

Several U.S. courts are addressing lawsuits brought by artists alleging that AI-generated art infringes on copyrights held by the artists for their artwork. In one of those cases, a California federal judge recently indicated that he would dismiss the bulk of the plaintiffs’ complaint, while giving them a chance to…

Navigating the Weedy Waters of Cannabis Companies in Financial Distress

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:6 mins read

As the cannabis industry matures, there will be winners and losers.  Losers lack access to the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.  Marijuana related assets cannot be sold free and clear of liens and encumbrances via the tried and true bankruptcy section 363 sale, which leaves the loser’s creditors without the best tool…

Secrets Exposed: Trade Secrets, Trust, and a Multi-Million Dollar Lesson

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:4 mins read

At the beginning of the pandemic, concerns were raised that trade secret misappropriation might take a new form. Indeed, with large swaths of the workforce working from home, spouses, roommates, or others living in the same area had an increased opportunity to purloin confidential information that might not have been…

NYC to Consider Indoor Air Quality Regulations

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:3 mins read

  Seyfarth Synopsis: The COVID-19 pandemic and wildfire smoke shrouding the skies over the East Coast this summer have drawn more attention to indoor air quality, leading the New York City Council to propose indoor air quality resolutions.  Indoor air quality has long been a source of employee health complaints. While…

Texas finally pass data privacy and security law

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:8 mins read

2023 has brought several states into the privacy limelight. On June 18, Governor Abbott signed the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act (“TDPSA”) into law, making the Lone Star state the eleventh in the U.S. to pass a comprehensive data privacy and security law. The Act provides Texas consumers with…

Yes, New York State Published a Model Lactation Policy

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:3 mins read

Seyfarth Synopsis: Effective June 7, 2023, New York State employers are required to comply with expanded obligations under recent amendments to New York Labor Law § 206-c, including the provision of a designated pumping location and the adoption of a lactation policy. The New York Department of Labor issued model…

Don’t Play That Funky Music (Might Be Harassing)

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:3 mins read

Eight individuals, which included seven women and one man, sued their former employer, S&S Activewear, L.L.C. (S&S), an apparel manufacturer, for sexual harassment under Title VII. The employees alleged that S&S permitted its managers and employees to routinely play “sexually graphic, violently misogynistic” music throughout its warehouse, which, in turn,…