Legislative & Judicial Updates

On April 16, several pieces of key legislation were introduced that set the stage for a Bipartisan, Bicameral International Trade Package.  Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) along with Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI) introduced long-awaited trade legislation to reauthorize Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) and renew several trade preference and liberalization programs.  TPA expired in 2007 and is necessary for the Obama Administration to move forward and conclude the Trans-Pacific Partnership and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations.

Additive manufacturing, otherwise known as 3D printing (3DP), offers exciting possibilities that will impact any number of industries. In the legal field, much of the focus remains on product liability and intellectual property issues, such as patent and copyright law. However, as with any new technology, many of the rules affecting the 3DP industry will be decided in Congress and administrative agencies rather than in courtrooms.

As yet, 3DP remains largely unregulated absent a few exceptions such as firearms. As the technology becomes more mainstream, however, manufacturers and users of 3DP would be foolish to assume the trend will continue. Adding to the potential complexity is that a technology capable of creating anything from body parts to food to automobiles is likely to come under the jurisdiction of a large number of Congressional committees and administrative agencies. Additionally, the IP issues that many lawyers within the industry focus on could just as easily be decided within Congress as within the courts.

After more than a half-century, the U.S. has finally taken steps toward normalizing its relations with Cuba. In a series of executive actions on December 17, 2014, President Obama announced changes to existing regulations that will ease sanctions against Cuba.

U.S. and Cuban officials will meet on February 27, 2015 at the State Department to continue talks of restoring ties and ending the embargo. Likely sticking points will be the opening of a U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba’s continuing appearance on the U.S. list of countries that support and sponsor terrorism, the potential return of Guantanamo Bay to Cuba, and U.S. support for Cuban political dissidents.

The executive actions alone however offer various opportunities for U.S. and Cuban businesses. This is particularly true in industries such as telecommunications and agriculture where technological and scientific advances could lead to improved infrastructure and increased production.

This month the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Eastern District issued an opinion which slammed the door, once again, on the ability of employers to enter into an agreement with their employees whereby parties agree to bypass the court system in favor of private arbitration.  In Jimenez v. Cintas Corporation, S.W.3d (Mo. App. E.D. 2015) the Court found that there was insufficient consideration to support such an agreement due to lack of mutuality of obligation and the at will status of Jimenez’s employment.  This is not the first time in which a Missouri court has addressed this issue.  In Morrow v. Hallmark Cards, Inc., 273 S.W.3d 15 (Mo. App. W.D. 2008) these concepts were also addressed.  However, in Morrow, the issue of consideration was in reference to continued employment, not initial employment, which was the case in Cintas.  However, even more concerning was the fact that Cintas found that since the employer alone was exempt from arbitrating alleged violations of the non-compete provisions the agreement lacked mutuality.

While employers subject to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) must provide unpaid sick leave to employees meeting certain requirements, no federal law requires employers to provide their employees with paid sick leave.  However, employers — including those already providing their employees with paid time off (PTO) — should be aware of the recent spate of state laws and local ordinances permitting employees to earn paid sick leave time.

On September 8, 2014, the state of Illinois begins accepting applications for medicinal marijuana dispensary and cultivation center permits. Under the state’s Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act, passed last year, Illinois will grant one cannabis cultivation permit for each of its 22 state police districts and as many as 60 medicinal marijuana dispensary permits throughout the state.

In a July 17 memo, President Obama announced a new policy encouraging “awareness and understanding” of opportunities to expand the use of public-private partnerships to address U.S. infrastructure challenges. The directive calls for action on the part of the Departments of Transportation and Treasury and establishes an Interagency Infrastructure Finance Working Group. You can read…

Without taking a position regarding the merits of any of the petitions for exemption that seven aerial photo and video production companies submitted to the FAA last month, Husch Blackwell LLP voiced its support for the exemption process to permit commercial operation of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).  In response to the FAA’s request for comment, Husch Blackwell noted in its submission (submitted by Co-Chairs of the firm’s UAS team Tom Gemmell and David Agee, with assistance by Amanda Tummons) to the FAA’s Notice that while there are legitimate concerns regarding the use of UAS, the technology is here to stay and it should be allowed when commercial businesses can demonstrate parameters to ensure safe operations.

Employers in sectors such as manufacturing, energy and agriculture faced with significant shortages of skilled labor, received a major boost from Congress last week. The long-awaited job training program reform bill “Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act” received bipartisan approval. President Obama has expressed support for the legislation and is expected to sign it into law later this week.

Proposed House bill 4727 would create a so-called “national hiring standard” for motor carriers which would preclude states from imposing liability on anyone arranging for transportation of goods, i.e. transportation intermediaries such as shippers, brokers and freight forwarders. The bill requires that no more than 35 days prior to pickup of an arranged shipment, such entities verify that a selected carrier: (1) is registered with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to operate as a motor carrier or household goods carrier; (2) has the minimum insurance coverage required by Federal regulation and (3) does not have an unsatisfactory safety rating issued by FMCSA in force at the time of the verification.