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Latest from Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP

On March 15th, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court issued its opinion in Anadarko Petro. Corp. v. Pennsylvania, No. 60 C.D. 2018 (Pa. Commw. Ct. March 15, 2019), holding that the Pennsylvania Attorney General could file action for unfair lease negotiations under Pennsylvania’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law (the “Unfair Trade Law”), but could not currently use the Unfair Trade Law to assert antitrust violations as to such alleged activity.  The Attorney General alleged that…
The NLRA permits employers and unions to agree to “union security” clauses in a collective bargaining agreement.  This clause requires employees to join the union (and pay dues) or lose their job with the employer. Congress imposed this “membership” obligation on employees to eliminate what some call the “free rider” problem.  The NLRA requires a union to represent all employees in a bargaining unit.  Without the union security provision, an employee might reap the benefits…
The Seventh Circuit recently ruled that a municipality’s nondiscriminatory ban of all private signs from the public roads and right-a-ways could be used to take down Scabby the Rat.  Scabby is a giant, inflatable balloon that is available in sizes 6 to 25 feet tall.  (The website the court cited in its opinion is here, for the curious!)  Unions have historically used Scabby (or other inflatables) to draw attention to labor disputes by posting…
On February 21, 2019, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed a petition for review of air permits issued by Ohio EPA for two compressor stations to be constructed along the NEXUS pipeline in Ohio. The Court dismissed the petition for review for lack of jurisdiction, holding the environmental groups that filed the petition for review failed to establish standing. In reaching its decision, the Court highlighted that “petitioners bore the burden of establishing the…
Ohio’s Seventh District Court of Appeals was recently asked to analyze whether a fee oil and gas reservation can be extinguished under Ohio’s Marketable Title Act (the “MTA”). In Miller v. Mellott,  2019-Ohio-504,  two different groups claimed ownership over the oil and gas. The surface owners claimed title under the MTA. The mineral owners claimed title through a reservation included in a 1947 deed. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the…
On February 14, 2019, U.S. EPA issued a comprehensive Action Plan for addressing Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in environmental media. The Action Plan, which was developed in response to significant public input received by EPA over the past year, describes EPA’s short- and long-term multi-media and multi-program approach for addressing PFAS. Notable activities that EPA will implement under the Action Plan include: establishing a maximum contaminant level for PFOA and PFOS under the Safe…
The Trump NLRB continues to revisit, and overturn, Obama-era decisions.  Late last week, in SuperShuttle DFW, Inc., the NLRB revisited the test for determining when a worker is an independent contractor, and in the process overruled the Obama NLRB’s decision in FedEx Home Delivery. First, however, a little background information.  As we have previously discussed, employees may join unions; independent contractors may not.  Thus, whether a worker is an employee or an independent…
ATTENTION MH AND SUD PROVIDRS – The Ohio Departments of Medicaid and Mental Health & Addiction Services have announced they are working together to evaluate the status of the Behavioral Health Redesign, and need your input. ODM is issuing a brief 5-minute survey on January 28, 2019 to providers that must be completed by January 30, 2019 at 5:00.  Specifically, MH and SUD providers are requested to complete one survey (per Federal Tax Identification number)…
The joint employer issue at the NLRB continues to be a hotbed of activity.  We last updated our readers on this issue in mid-December.  Here’s what has happened since then: Developments in the Courts.  At the end of the year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled in the appeal of the Obama Board decision that started it all:  BFI v. NLRB.  The court refused to enforce the NLRB’s order finding joint…