The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have once again teamed up to coordinate efforts in enforcing a federal air carrier safety law. These agencies recently released a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the purpose of which “is to facilitate coordination and cooperation concerning the protection of employees who provide air safety information under . . . 49 U.S.C. § 42121,” the whistleblower protection provision of the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century (AIR-21).  This agreement replaces a previous MOU between the agencies dated March 22, 2002, but the agencies’ other previous MOU, from August 26, 2014, remains intact.

Husch Blackwell partner Edward Manzo is scheduled to present as part of The Federal Circuit Bar Journal’s “Interviews With The Authors” series. Edward will discuss his article The Untold Story of the First Appeal to the Federal Circuit and his personal connection with appeal no. 83-500, the first appeal to the Federal Circuit from a district court, filed on October 1, 1982, the first day of the Federal Circuit’s existence.

Congress has agreed to an omnibus appropriations bill, which contains a number of immigration-related provisions.  Though the vote on the bill is set for December 18, it is widely expected to pass.  In it, Congress has agreed to extend the EB-5 Regional Center program without change until September 30, 2016. The EB-5 Regional Center program permits foreign nationals to obtain a green card if they invest at least $1,000,000 ($500,000 if invested in a targeted employment area) in a U.S. business that creates at least 10 jobs for U.S. workers.  Several bills have been introduced over the past year to reform the EB-5 program; however, House and Senate leaders were unable to agree on the changes to the program before it was to expire on December 16.  Look for changes to the program in upcoming months.

House and White House negotiators have agreed to two provisions of the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015, which may provide an incentive for business aircraft owners. Under the act, which is expected to pass Congress and be signed by the President, “bonus deprecation” is extended and the “expensing” provisions of the Internal Revenue Code are made permanent.

On December 4, 2015, President Obama signed legislation authorizing the federal government to revoke, deny, or limit passports for individuals with a “seriously delinquent tax debt.” The law defines “seriously delinquent tax debt” as owing the IRS more than $50,000 in tax, penalties, and interest. The measure, slipped into the enormous–more than 1,300 pages–highway funding bill [Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (“Fast Act”)], gives the State Department the authority to revoke, deny or limit passports for anyone the IRS certifies as owing more than $50,000 in tax debt. Taxpayers with current installment agreements with the IRS, whereby they have agreed to pay their tax debt over time, are exempted from the law.

On November 30, 2015 the DOT issued its final rule prohibiting coercion of commercial drivers, which expands the current whistle-blowing provisions jointly administered by the Department of Labor and the Department of Transportation via a Memo of Understanding issued last year. The main point of expansion is that now a covered driver is protected not only from discharge, discipline or discrimination for engaging in certain protected activities (focusing on safety regulations issued for this industry), but it now includes “coercion” of such drivers not only as to safety violations, but also as to any violations of commercial regulations that would apply to “motor carriers, shippers, receivers or transportation intermediaries.” The regulations are quite vague regarding what “coercion” shall consist of, stating the DOT will investigate any “non-frivolous” claim that a motor carrier, shipper, receiver or transportation intermediary, or their respective agents, officers, or representatives, have threatened to or actually withheld business, employment or work opportunities from, or taken any adverse employment action against, a driver in order to induce the driver to operate a commercial motor vehicle under conditions in which the driver would be required to violate one or more of the regulations that are codified within the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.

The Shape of Things to Come –
Strategies for Success in the Age of 3D Printing

This webinar is being presented as part of the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America’s 2015 Webinar Series. Members of Husch Blackwell’s 3D Printing team and Calares’ 3D Printing expert will present on the basics of 3D footwear printing, including its capabilities and applications, the current state of the industry, and its impact on manufacturing. They will also discuss the new intellectual property issues inherent in 3D Printing.