Share on LinkedIn Share by Email Share Back to top Analysis by Julie Dautermann, Competitive Intelligence Analyst This update helps automotive suppliers inform their legal and operational decisions to help address challenges and opportunities. Contact your Foley relationship partner, or Ann Marie Uetz, Vanessa L. Miller, or Nicholas J. Ellis, to follow up. Key Developments Full-year 2023 U.S. new light-vehicle sales are expected to reach 15.5 million units, and increase to 15.9 million units in 2024, according to projections from S&P Global Mobility. Global light ..read more

Share on LinkedIn Share by Email Share Back to top As many celebrate the holiday season, SECURE 2.0 keeps gifting us its presence for the new year and beyond with the advent of auto-enrollment expansion, extra catch-up contributions, the new saver’s match, fee disclosure improvements, and new requirements for paper statements. SECURE 2.0 DEEP DIVE The SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0) significantly changes the legal and administrative compliance landscape for U.S. retirement plans. Foley & Lardner LLP is authoring a series of articles that take a “deep dive” into key SE ..read more

Group health plan sponsors are required to submit the Gag Clause Prohibition Compliance Attestation (GCPCA) by December 31, 2023, as we recently discussed here. Below are the five most asked questions we have received on the GCPCA, and our answers. Question 1: What is the GCPCA? Answer: A new regulatory filing that must be completed by December 31, 2023, for most group health plans. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA) requires group health plans and health insurance issuers to attest that they are in compliance with the CAA’s gag clause prohibition. On a high level, this rule proh ..read more

Share on LinkedIn Share by Email Share Back to top On December 5, 2023, the Ninth Circuit in Bielski, et al. v. Coinbase, Inc., No. 22-15566 (9th Cir. 2023) concluded that federal courts can look to the parties’ agreement as a whole when determining whether the delegation provision of an arbitration agreement is enforceable and held that the at-issue delegation provision was not unconscionable. Abraham Bielski filed a putative class action against Coinbase in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California under the Electronic Funds Transfer Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1693–1693r ..read more

As the year draws to a close, employers face a myriad of challenges related to employment issues. These challenges can impact the overall well-being of the workforce, compliance with regulations, and the smooth functioning of the organization. Here are three of the most problematic year-end employment issues that employers often grapple with: Performance Reviews and Bonuses: Challenge: Conducting fair and constructive performance reviews, as well as managing year-end bonuses, can be challenging. Reviews are typically used in employment litigation — such as discrimination and retaliation cas ..read more

Share on LinkedIn Share by Email Share Back to top On December 14, 2023, the Cook County Board of Commissioners (“the Board”) overhauled the 2017 Cook County Earned Sick Leave Ordinance, replacing it with the Cook County Paid Leave Ordinance (CCPLO or “the Ordinance”). The changes are a major shift from the previous ordinance which allowed employees working for an employer in Cook County to earn and use up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per year and outlined conditions under which that leave could be used (e.g., when the employee or their family member was ill, receiving medical care, et ..read more

Share on LinkedIn Share by Email Share Back to top Nearly six months after it was passed — with overwhelming support — by the New York Legislature, Governor Kathy Hochul recently signed Assembly Bill A6040, or the Freelance Isn’t Free Act (the “Act”). With an effective date of May 20, 2024, New York employers engaging freelance workers must prepare to enter written contracts if work to be performed by such workers is valued at $800 or greater (which includes total renumeration for services over a 120-day period).  The written contract must, at a minimum, specify: the parties’ names ..read more

New York City imposes a two percent tax on the gross premiums of foreign insurance companies for the use and benefit of the city’s fire department. The fire premiums tax, sometimes referred to as the Foreign Fire Tax, is in addition to insurance taxes imposed by New York State, and often gets overlooked due to the fire-specific and local nature of the tax. Non-compliant taxpayers are subject to hefty assessments for unpaid taxes, plus penalties and interest, for all years in which the tax was due. There may be an opportunity, however, for insurers to minimize exposure by proactively approachi ..read more

Share on LinkedIn Share by Email Share Back to top In a livestream webinar hosted by 4thly Accelerator’s Bret Waters, Foley partners Louis Lehot and Julie-Anne Lutfi shared data and war stories about the state of the venture capital market in the fourth quarter of 2023. While deal flow and deal count continue to see declines, speakers shared optimism about the amount of dry powder still waiting to be deployed at historically attractive valuations and deal terms.   Capital Investment U.S. Venture funding quarterly deal value falls to the lowest figure since Q ..read more

Share on LinkedIn Share by Email Share Back to top “Seldom is so ambitious a case filed on so slight a basis.”[1] This is not the accolade any plaintiff wants to receive, and especially not on behalf of 11.8 million class members. But on November 27, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a proposed class lacked standing to proceed with PFAS claims,[2] denied of “one of the largest class actions in history,” and even worse, ordered dismissal of the case entirely.[3] PFAS Plaintiff Asserts Nationwide Class Plaintiff Kevin Hardwick sued a group of 10 manufacturers and distributors of ..read more