Regulation

In November 2008, the U.S. Department of Labor published revised regulations to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA or the Act) for the first time in the Act's 15-year history. The much anticipated regulations are over 750 pages long and take effect on Jan. 16, leaving scant time for employers to implement new procedures to comply with the law. The most significant of these changes are addressed herein.

Many state franchise or distributor statutes contain provisions that purport to limit the enforceability of waivers or releases signed by dealers or franchisees. The restrictions on waivers are often justified on claimed "inequality of power" between the manufacturer or distributor and franchisee. One court recently struck a blow in favor of manufacturers and distributors in upholding a waiver even though part of the statute expressly referenced restrictions on certain waivers.

In only a few short months, franchisors must choose whether to register a top-level domain (TLD) that corresponds with the franchisor's trademark or company name. Similar to current TLDs .com, .net, and .org, new TLDs like .hilton, .coke, or .merrilllynch will be available. A franchisor's choice must balance potentially significant commercial, advertising, and security opportunities with substantial financial and technological investment.

Who's doing what; who's moving where.

In recent years, the rise in the use of electronic documents, especially e-mail, has unquestionably changed the face of discovery in all types of types of litigation. As a result, the obligations counsel has in responding to discovery requests for electronic documents have been rapidly evolving. This article discusses what you need to know.

The ADAAA, which takes effect in January 2009, took aim at two United States Supreme Court decisions rendered during the last decade that were viewed as substantially limiting the scope of covered disabilities under the ADA. This article discusses what it means to you.

This article briefly reviews the history of the DOJ's corporate charging guidelines, discusses the policy changes from the DOJ's earlier charging guidelines, and analyzes the Filip Memo's impact on corporate investigations and prosecutions.

Lately, it is becoming increasingly clear that prisoners in our criminal justice systems are not the only ones at risk for receiving substandard medical care; similar problems are occurring in immigrant detention facilities. A look at two cases.