On Tuesday, June 30, 2015, in an attempt to “modernize and streamline” the regulations on exemptions from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (“FLSA”) minimum wage and overtime pay requirements, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM)” which focuses primarily on increasing ...
On June 29, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS), an Obama administration effort to limit toxic emissions of mercury and other hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) from Electric Generating Units (EGUs). In a 5-4 decision under the name Michigan v. EPA, the Court held the EPA ...
In Hisle, et al. v. Correctcare – Integrated Health, Inc., Ky. App. (June 12, 2015), the Kentucky Court of Appeals addressed the issue of what test applies when employees claim to have missed meal breaks. Plaintiffs, who were nurses and medication aids employed at a prison, sued under the Kentucky wage and hour laws alleging ...
Rarely has such a short word or phrase influenced patent claims to such a degree as the phrase, “means for.” This phrase sits at the intersection of function (what an invention accomplishes) and structure (the materials for accomplishing it). 35 U.S.C. § 112, para. 6 is the basis for its use in patent claims:
An element in a claim ...
Earlier today, in Obergefell v. Hodges, No. 14-556, the U.S. Supreme Court declared, in a 5-4 ruling, that same-sex couples have a right to marry anywhere in the United States. Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the majority, stated that “laws excluding same-sex couples from the marriage right impose stigma and injury ...
In less than thirty years, the Internet has evolved from a small consortium of military and educational research offices into a world-wide public system for communication, information-sharing, and business with millions of content providers such as Netflix and CBS News, thousands of connection service providers ...
Last week, the United States Supreme Court agreed to review Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Bouaphakeo, No. 14-1146, which gives the Court an opportunity to consider class certification questions about how damages may be proven in a class action and whether a class can include members who were not injured.
Tyson Foods is a donning and ...
It goes without saying that businesses use software ubiquitously. Perhaps easier to miss at times is how any given company utilizes software – who uses a particular program and how many machines have the program installed - changes on a monthly, weekly or even daily basis. Such fluidity could expose your company to potential ...
By Matthew M. Lubozynski and Amanda Warford Edge
Just over a year ago, on April 29, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court issued two landmark patent opinions—Octane Fitness, LLC v. Icon Health & Fitness, Inc.1 and Highmark Inc. v. Allcare Health Mgmt. System, Inc.2 Both cases dealt with the Federal Circuit’s application of 35 U.S.C. § 285, which ...
Last week, the United States Supreme Court issued an important ruling in Commil USA, LLC v. Cisco Systems, Inc., concerning defenses available to a defendant accused of inducing infringement of a patent. Generally, under 35 U.S.C. § 271, there are 3 ways one can be found liable for patent infringement. First, one can be found to ...
Clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch ("Abercrombie") refused to hire Samantha Elauf ("Elauf"), a practicing Muslim, because the headscarf required by her religion violated Abercrombie's "Look Policy" prohibiting "caps" of any kind. Although Elauf’s interviewer informed the store manager that she believed ...