Yesterday, the White House announced numerous new measures to combat the pandemic and the contagious Delta variant that impact employers. One key change is a new regulation to be issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which is part of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), that will require companies with 100 or more employees to ensure their workforces are either fully vaccinated or test negative for COVID-19 at least once a week.…

Energy & Environmental Law Adviser

The Senate Approved a $1.2 Trillion Infrastructure Bill: Here’s What it Funds

By Emilie McGuire & Robert A.H. Middleton

August 13, 2021

We previously blogged here, here, and here about President Biden’s infrastructure plan, first proposed in March 2021. On August 10, 2021, the Senate passed a bipartisan infrastructure bill that included many pieces of President Biden’s plan, but also contained numerous revisions, reflective of the compromises necessary to pass this ambitious legislation in the Senate. The Senate approved bill scaled down Biden’s infrastructure plan—from $2,600 billion to $550 billion, cutting investments in research and…

Product Liability & Mass Torts Blog

The Hot Coffee Case Revisited: Has Proximate Cause Changed in the 25 Years Since Liebeck v. McDonald’s Restaurants?

By Emilie McGuire & Jeffrey D. Skinner

August 10, 2021

Two cases decided 25 years apart, but there were some facts in common: a hot drink, a consumer alleging that she was burned by the drink, and a lawsuit. These are the facts of the 1994 case Liebeck v. McDonald’s Restaurants that resulted in an award of millions to the consumer, but also the facts from Shih v. Starbucks, a case decided last year. In Shih, however, the court found in favor of the product…

Energy & Environmental Law Adviser

International Plaintiffs’ Suit Jammed for Lack of Jurisdiction: District Court Precludes Plaintiffs’ Claims for Overseas Harms

By Meera Gorjala & J. Michael Showalter

August 6, 2021

Courts exist to adjudicate claimed harms. However, not every court can hear every claim. A recent D.C. district court decision in Jam v. Int’l Fin. Corp. emphasizes how difficult it can be for international plaintiffs to bring U.S. lawsuits for torts occurring abroad. The key holding in Jam – similar to other recent cases – is that just because a corporation makes general decisions about financing or operations in the United States does not mean…

Energy & Environmental Law Adviser

How Manufacturers Can Improve Supply Chain Sustainability Based on New DoD Recommendations

By Amy Antoniolli & Samuel A. Rasche

August 3, 2021

As part of the Biden administration’s 100-day evaluation of U.S. supply chains, in June the Department of Defense (DoD) issued its review of certain “strategic and critical materials” that are key ingredients in electronics and green technologies. Supply chain resiliency is an increasingly important area of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) focus for companies and stakeholders alike, and the DoD’s review has implications for ESG reporting.…

Product Liability & Mass Torts Blog

ADA Website Litigation: Eleventh Circuit Holds Website is Not Subject to Title III

By Brett F. Clements, Matthew B. Mock & Alec Kraus

July 27, 2021

Wheelchair, disabled sign and electroni devices, banner. 3d illustration

Plaintiffs are filing an increasing number of lawsuits against companies alleging that their websites violate Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) because the sites are not accessible to visually impaired customers. But these lawsuits assume an answer to an unresolved question: does Title III apply to websites? Title III applies to “places of public accommodation” and prohibits discrimination on the basis of an individual’s disability. Yet neither the statute nor the accompanying…

Energy & Environmental Law Adviser

California Court Upholds Local Ordinance Precluding Installation of Natural Gas Piping in New Construction

By Emilie McGuire & J. Michael Showalter

July 12, 2021

We often think that environmental regulation comes top-down from Congress and Washington bureaucrats. But that isn’t always the case, as the recent California federal district court decision in California Restaurant Association v. City of Berkeley illustrates. The court there rejected a preemption challenge to a California municipal ordinance banning the installation of natural gas piping in new construction. The decision demonstrates the need for the regulated community to engage on all levels — federal, state,…

Employment Law Landscape

And Stay Out! Supreme Court Rules Golden State Regulation Giving Unions Access to Private Farmland Is Unconstitutional Taking

By Trevor M. Jorgensen & Derek Barella

July 12, 2021

On June 23, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a California provision requiring agricultural employers to allow unionizers onto their property violated the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments – a clear win for employers. The named plaintiff in Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid is a strawberry grower that employs more than 400 seasonal and 100 full-time workers. In October 2015, the United Farm Workers entered Cedar Point’s property and, using bullhorns, encouraged workers to join the…

Product Liability & Mass Torts Blog

UPDATE: Companies Defending Personal Injury or Wrongful Death Suits in Illinois Now Face Prejudgment Interest

By James Cromley & Rachel A. Remke

June 29, 2021

Wood Gavel Standing Front Of the Illinois State Flag Closeup 3d Render

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker recently signed into law SB0072 (the “Prejudgment Interest Act”), a revised version of the bill he had previously vetoed and that we discussed in a prior alert. The Prejudgment Interest Act will amend the Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/2-1303) to provide plaintiffs with prejudgment interest on certain damages awarded in Illinois personal injury and wrongful death cases.[1] While the new law dials back some of…

Employment Law Landscape

Restricting the Restrictions: New Illinois Legislation Would Limit Employer Use of Non-Competition and Similar Restrictive Covenants

By Michael P. Wissa & Matthew F. Prewitt

June 24, 2021

The Illinois General Assembly recently passed Senate Bill 672 (“SB 672” or the “Bill”), which codifies Illinois common law standards for enforceability for covenants not to compete or solicit and imposes several additional statutory limitations on employers’ ability to enter into and enforce post-employment restrictive covenants. The Bill, which is expected to be signed into law by the end of the year, follows a nationwide trend among Democratic state legislatures enacting laws designed to limit…

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White House Announces Vaccination Mandate or Weekly Testing for Large Employers, and Vaccination Mandate for Federal Employees and Contractors

The Senate Approved a $1.2 Trillion Infrastructure Bill: Here’s What it Funds

The Hot Coffee Case Revisited: Has Proximate Cause Changed in the 25 Years Since Liebeck v. McDonald’s Restaurants?

International Plaintiffs’ Suit Jammed for Lack of Jurisdiction: District Court Precludes Plaintiffs’ Claims for Overseas Harms

How Manufacturers Can Improve Supply Chain Sustainability Based on New DoD Recommendations

ADA Website Litigation: Eleventh Circuit Holds Website is Not Subject to Title III

California Court Upholds Local Ordinance Precluding Installation of Natural Gas Piping in New Construction

And Stay Out! Supreme Court Rules Golden State Regulation Giving Unions Access to Private Farmland Is Unconstitutional Taking

UPDATE: Companies Defending Personal Injury or Wrongful Death Suits in Illinois Now Face Prejudgment Interest

Restricting the Restrictions: New Illinois Legislation Would Limit Employer Use of Non-Competition and Similar Restrictive Covenants

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