The Supreme Court is issuing labor law decisions at a fast and furious pace this week. Today’s decision, Harris v. Quinn, struck down an Illinois law that had previously required non-union Medicaid homecare providers to pay fees equivalent to union dues to the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), a public employee union. The rationale had been that such employees should be required to pay fees to help cover the union’s costs of collective bargaining. Although it invalided the Illinois regulation, the Supreme Court did not go so far as to overturn wholesale a long-standing precedent allowing other unions to impose …
Ohio Energy Law to Be Signed by Governor Kasich
Over the past two years, Ohio’s industries, businesses and lawmakers have fiercely debated whether the state’s utility requirements for renewable energy and energy efficiency have been harmful or beneficial to the state’s economy. Efforts to roll back legislation, thereby dismantling clean energy mandates in the state, appear to have been successful. Governor John Kasich plans on signing the legislation that will freeze Ohio’s renewable energy laws for a minimum of two years. Currently, around 30 states have renewable energy standards. Ohio’s renewable energy law was enacted in 2008 and includes the following provisions: 25 percent of electricity sold by each …
Ohio’s Short-Term Lender Act Law Nothing But Smoke and Mirrors
After the passing of Ohio’s Short-Term Lender Act in 2008, many felt enough had been done to curb the predatory practices of payday lenders. Proponents of the law explained that its intention was to limit what payday lenders can charge consumers as well as the repercussions available to them if a consumer fails to pay. However, on Wednesday June 11, 2014, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled in favor of payday lenders in a case involving a two-week loan with more than 235 percent interest. More facts about the case are as follows: On December 5, 2008, Cashland, owned by Ohio …
Inherited IRAs Are Not Exempt From Bankruptcy
When filing for bankruptcy, a person may exempt “retirement funds” from the bankruptcy estate. However, last week the Supreme Court decided that the term “retirement funds” does not include funds in an inherited IRA. An inherited IRA is a traditional or Roth IRA that a person has inherited from the original owner. Inherited IRAs are different from traditional or Roth IRAs. First, the person who inherited the IRA must withdraw the funds within five years of the original owner’s death or take annual minimum distributions regardless of the age of the person. Additionally, the person can withdraw funds at any …
NLRB Rules that Cursing Out The Boss Is Protected Activity
Who knew an employee could dress down the owner of the company with profanity (while angrily pushing aside a chair, no less) and get away with it? The National Labor Relations Board – that’s who! Last week, on remand from the Ninth Circuit, the NLRB in Plaza Auto Center, Inc., 360 NLRB No. 117 (2014), again found that an employer violated the National Labor Relations Act by terminating an employee for a tirade during which the employee cursed at the owner, called him profanity-laced names, and, within the confines of a small enclosed office, pushed a chair aside to underscore …
U.S. Supreme Court holds that severance payments are subject to FICA
In a case decided earlier this year, United States v. Quality Stores, Inc., the U.S. Supreme Court resolved a split among the circuits and held that severance payments that are not linked to the receipt of state unemployment benefits are “wages” subject to FICA withholding. This decision overturned the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit which had concluded that the taxpayer, Quality Stores, Inc., was entitled to a refund of FICA taxes paid with respect to severance payments. While not a favorable decision for the taxpayer, it does offer employers some certainty that severance payments, not linked to the …
Law Firm Evolution: Coolidge Wall Chooses Nextpoint to Provide Litigation Services
Chicago, IL (PRWEB) May 06, 2014 The Dayton, Ohio law firm of Coolidge Wall Co. LPA has chosen Nextpoint to be the firm-wide provider of in-house eDiscovery collections, review, and trial presentation technology. By joining the Nextpoint Select Partner Program, Coolidge Wall will simplify litigation support for its small and medium-sized clients. With the benefit of Nextpoint training, the Firm can begin collecting, processing, reviewing, and stamping electronic evidence for litigation the moment a matter is launched. Founded in 1853, Coolidge is a full-service business law firm based in Dayton, Ohio with more than 30 attorneys practicing in Business, Real …
Changes in Ohio Law to Prevent Opiate Overdose Deaths
On March 11 2014, Governor Kasich signed House Bill 170 into law. HB 170 made sweeping changes to the law in Ohio with regard to a drug known as Naxolone, used to prevent or reverse the effects of opiate overdose, including difficulty breathing, sleepiness, low blood pressure, and even death. Naxolone, brand name Narcan, can be administered as an injection or as a nasal spray. Naloxone does not reverse overdoses that are caused by non-opioid drugs, such as cocaine, benzodiazepines (e.g. Xanex, Klonopin and Valium), methamphetamines, or alcohol. According to the bill’s sponsors, per statistics kept by the Ohio Department …
What happens to our digital property when we die?
As is often the case, sometimes it takes a while for the law to catch up with society’s technological advances. Since the Internet is invisible, most people forget that their intangible digital assets are just as real as their tangible personal property. Currently, there are an estimated thirty million Facebook accounts that belong to people who are deceased. According to McAfee, in 2011 American consumers valued their digital assets, including online gaming, photos, music, client lists, bank accounts and bill-paying accounts at an average of $55,000 per person. And yet, few people plan for what will happen to those digital …
In the digital age, justice never takes a holiday…
Even when the courthouse is closed on the weekends and holidays, the wheels of justice are still turning. The Montgomery County, Ohio Clerk of Courts, in keeping with Dayton’s rich history of technological innovation, has an extensive electronic filing system that allows attorneys (and judges) to file documents 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from virtually anywhere on the planet that has a secure internet connection. Each electronically filed document receives an electronic stamp that includes the date and time it was filed. With a keystroke, a judge signs an electronic document “via a digitalized image of his …