Here is the good news, more than ever manufacturers are looking at reshoring manufacturing jobs to the U.S.  A few years ago only 14% were looking at reshoring as a viable option.  That number has climbed to 21% of large manufacturers actually reshoring or preparing to do so, according to a recent article in the Financial Times.  As we recently informed you, executives are looking at onshoring due to rising wages in developing countries, shipping costs, more direct communications between design teams and manufacturing operations, and less money tied up in finished goods as they are transported to their markets.

The Surface Transportation Assistance Act (“STAA”) is a federal law that prohibits employers from discharging or discriminating against truck drivers for reporting safety violations. 29 U.S.C. § 31105. The STAA also protects an employee from termination for refusing to operate a motor vehicle that violates a safety regulation or because the employee has a reasonable apprehension of serious injury to him or herself or the public due to an unsafe condition with the vehicle. To obtain protection under the latter section, the employee must have requested that the employer fix the unsafe condition. 

Missouri Lawyers Weekly honored Husch Blackwell Partner Cynthia Cordes as its 2014 “Lawyer of the Year” on January 24, 2014. Presented annually as part of the Missouri Lawyer Awards Program, the Lawyer of the Year is awarded to “the Missouri lawyer or judge who (has) made a substantial impact on the law or the Missouri legal community.” It is Missouri Lawyers Weekly’s highest honor. Cynthia is the first Husch Blackwell lawyer to be selected as “Lawyer of the Year.”

On January 22, 2014, Husch Blackwell sponsored the Missouri Association of Manufacturers’ (MAM) Annual Meeting in Springfield, Missouri. Catherine Hanaway, Cynthia Cordes and Lowell Pearson led a breakfast panel: “What Every CEO Needs to Know About Interacting with the Government.” Jeff Jensen and Matt Schelp presented “2014 Enforcement, Regulatory & Compliance Trends” as part of MAM’s “On the Horizon” session.

On July 29, 2006 a De Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter departed the Sullivan, Missouri Regional Airport on a local skydiving flight.  Shortly after liftoff the right engine failed, the aircraft lost altitude, and crashed about ½ mile beyond the end of the runway. All on board died.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found that the right engine turbine blades failed but could not determine the cause of the failure.

Corporate clients defending class action lawsuits in state courts within the Eighth Circuit should take note of the recent decision Atwell v. Bos. Scientific Corp., 740 F.3d 1160 (8th Cir., 2013). One portion of the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 allows for removal of “mass actions” from state court to federal court, often thought to be a more favorable venue for defendants in many instances.

Recently in Asbestos Columns, published by Harris Martin, I authored an article on the causation of lung cancer asking how much does asbestos really contribute.  Courts that look at the issue of causation in asbestos cases are now less likely to allow testimony from plaintiff’s experts that any exposure above background will substantially contribute to cause an asbestos related disease and more likely to require a plaintiff to prove that the alleged exposure attributable to a defendant was sufficient to cause his disease.

The New Year is fast approaching and with it comes droves of college students seeking to trade their upcoming summer break for valuable on-the-job training.  This rite of passage has traditionally afforded prized experience and training for a student or recent grad, while allowing the employer to review the temperament and talents of the student to determine if she would be a cultural fit for possible future employment opportunities, and all-the-while, promoting the employer’s brand and reputation at the collegiate level.  However, a wave of wage-and-hour litigation brought by former unpaid interns has challenged to what extent for-profit employers will continue to have unpaid internships and how the surviving internship programs will be structured.

Husch Blackwell partner Carlos Rodriguez‘s article, “Ocean Transportation Intermediaries in the Cross-Fire,” appeared in the New York New Jersey Foreign Freight Forwarders and Brokers Association Inc. Newsletter, Fall/Winter 2013. Carlos concentrates his practice in international and domestic transportation law. He skillfully navigates his maritime clients through the complexities of regulation and…

Yes, the NLRB did voluntarily dismiss its appeal in Chamber of Commerce v. NLRB, the case in which the District Court found that the Board’s expedited representation petition rules were invalid.  But do not get too excited, for as previously posted, the Board has already established that its primary agenda item for the upcoming year are these very rules.