Regulation

This edition of the Quarterly State Compliance Review looks at some legislation of interest to corporate lawyers that went into effect during the last three months, including amendments to Nevada's corporation and unincorporated entity laws. This edition also discusses recent decisions of interest from the courts of Delaware, New York and California.

Congress enacted the Americans with Disabilities Act ('ADA') as an attempt to provide physically and mentally disabled Americans with a means to combat a long history of discrimination in nearly all areas of civic life. To achieve this goal, Congress divided the Act into five titles, the first of which focuses exclusively on employment discrimination. While the statutory language and regulations seem straightforward, the corresponding legal realities to employers have caused many to come to the realization that 'even the most conscientious employer, without clear guidance as to what the [ADA] statute and implementing regulations require in a given situation, may find itself defending a lawsuit because of business decisions made in good faith, but adversely to an allegedly disabled individual.' 42 Am. Jur. 3d Proof of Facts Sec. 1 (2007).

On Aug. 30, 2007, China's National People's Congress adopted the Anti-Monopoly Law ('AML'), the first ever comprehensive competition law in the largest emerging market in the world. This was the culmination of 13 years of legislative effort and debate since the first draft of this law was originally conceived. What are the essentials of China's emerging antitrust legal regime? The following are the ten key things that you should know about this area.

With a last-minute extension by the IRS, the final regulations adopted under Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code now impose a hard Dec. 31, 2008 deadline on making necessary amendments to deferred compensation arrangements for employees, directors, and certain independent contractors of private, not-for-profit, and public companies in order to avoid federal excise taxes at a rate of 20% (plus retroactive interest).

This past year has seen a flurry of activity under Executive Order 11246 ('EO 11246'), the law that governs the administration of affirmative action programs of employers that have certain government contracts or subcontracts. In the wake of these new changes, this article offers suggestions of best practices relating to one of the most noteworthy developments for EO 11246 compliance: the 'Internet Applicant' rule, which became effective on Feb. 6, 2006.

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act ('USERRA' or the 'Act') tends to be the employment-related statute most frequently placed on the back burner. Of course, this quickly changes when an employee seeks its protection or privileges. When that happens, managers and human resource professionals are often caught behind the eight ball trying to navigate requirements and entitlements of the law.

Part One of this article discussed the EEOC's plans to implement its new Systemic Discrimination Initiative, describing what the initiative is, why it is important and the first two steps in the implementation: identifying systemic cases early and often, and involving lawyers from the start. The conclusion discusses the next four steps in the EEOC's plans, and what employers can expect.

On May 29, the Supreme Court made it significantly easier for employers to defend against Title VII workplace discrimination claims that are based on long-ago decisions about salary and raises. By a 5-4 vote, the Court said that employees claiming they received disparate treatment based on gender or race must do so within 180 days of the original discriminatory action ' not within 180 days of their last paycheck. Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., No. 05-1074.