Madalyn Kinsey Addresses the Impact of a Recent 7th Circuit Opinion on Bank Financed Projects in Indiana

Blog, Business, Corporate Law, Employment Law

So…Now What?  What Employers Should Know And Be Doing About The New Proposed Overtime/Minimum Salary Rule

If you run a business, there’s a decent chance your inbox has been/will be more crowded than usual this days with alerts about the new Department of Labor (DOL) Overtime/Minimum Wage Rule.  And you may also get a slight feeling of déjà vu, because the same thing happened back in the Fall of 2016.  That’s when a federal judge blocked the Obama Administration DOL from implementing a rule that would have significantly increased the minimum salary employers have to pay employees who are classified as exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).  Rather than fighting over that version of the rule in court, the DOL went back to the drawing board, and it’s been working on a revised regulation for the last couple years.  On March 7, 2019 DOL unveiled its long-awaited proposal for the “Minimum Salary Rule 2.0.”  The full DOL proposal exceeds 200 pages, but your friendly neighborhood @HoosierHRLawyer prefers bullet points where possible (actually, one of my mentors taught me to hate bullet points, so here’s some ordered lists instead): What’s The New (Proposed) Rule Say? Well, a lot.  But here’s some highlights: If you’re an employer in any of the 50 U.S. States and have “white collar exempt” employees (administrative, executive, or professional), you’ll need to pay them at least $35,308 annually ($679 per week).  This is an increase from the current rule, which requires only $23,660 annually ($455 per week).  If you don’t pay your exempt workers the minimum salary (consistently each week), you can’t treat them as exempt, and…

Blog, Environmental Law

PFAS – New Drinking Water Standards Coming

PFAS.  They’re everywhere and they’re not going away. PFAS are the toxic substances known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl.   Most Americans have PFAS in their blood, it accumulates and it does not break down. According to US EPA, recent studies indicate that PFAS compounds can cause reproductive and developmental, liver and kidney, and immunological effects in laboratory animals. Both per- and polyfluoroalkyl have caused tumors in animals. The most consistent findings are increased cholesterol levels, with more limited findings related to low infant birth weights, effects on the immune system, cancer, and thyroid hormone disruption. PFAS has been around since the 1940s.  People can be exposed through cookware, pizza boxes, and stain repellents, among a host of other household products. Although its production has been curtailed in the US, it can be found in carpet, leather apparel, textiles, paper and packaging, coatings, rubber and plastics.  And it’s been found in our drinking water. US EPA has just announced that new drinking water standards will be developed to cope with PFAS.  The first steps will be taken by the end of the year.  US EPA has been using a drinking water advisory level of 70 parts per trillion, with a “t”, approximately 1000 times as strict has the most toxic drinking water standards.  The new drinking water standard may result in a higher or lower standard.  PFAS may be added to the Superfund list of hazardous substances and the Toxic Release Inventory under TSCA’s Significant New Use Rules. Much additional work will be needed to understand the sources…

Construction Law, Uncategorized

Timber!

Timber is coming to tall building construction.  The International Building Code is set to include all-wood high rise construction, up to 18 stories, in its 2021 edition.  Depending on fire resistance, allowable heights from 85 feet to 270 feet would be available to architects and engineers.  Indiana incorporates many parts of the IBC into the building code and can accept or reject these new construction regulations once issued.  Wood is a carbon-neutral building material and can perform as well or better than concrete or steel.  Testing by the Federal ATF and Department of Agriculture indicated that mass timber structures provided more fire protection than currently required by the IBC for conventional tall building construction.  We can expect vigorous lobbying by the American Wood Council as the states debate the new code provisions.  As expected, the Portland Cement Association thinks this is a bad idea.  

Blog, News

Announcing Our 2019 Best Lawyers

We are pleased to post that the following attorneys from the firm have been selected to the The Best Lawyers in America (2019 Edition). Banking and Finance Law Jay P. Kennedy Madalyn S. Kinsey James G. Lauck Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law Jay P. Kennedy James A. Knauer Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law Brian C. Bosma Corporate Compliance Law David E. Wright Environmental Law Gregory P. Cafouros Government Relations Practice Brian C. Bosma Litigation – Banking and Finance Jay P. Kennedy James G. Lauck Litigation – Bankruptcy James A. Knauer

Bankruptcy Law, Blog, Business, Business Litigation

Business and Commercial Cases of Interest to Professionals