Mary E. Switzer Memorial Building in Washington, D.C. | (Photo: The Christian Post)
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services finalized a new rule last week rescinding Obama-era regulations that critics argue constitute “discrimination” against faith-based adoption agencies that don’t place children with same-sex couples.
The DHS, led by Secretary Alex Azar, found that a portion of the Code of Federal Regulations outlining requirements for awardees of HHS funds violated portions of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
The code was amended during the latter part of the Obama administration to require all HHS grant-receiving organizations to adhere to rules that forbid discrimination against same-sex couples and LGBT individuals.
On Thursday, January 7, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (“USDOL”) published its long-awaited
Federal Register revising its interpretation of independent contractor (“IC”) status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). Significantly, the Rule is NOT scheduled to go into effect until March 8, 2021, AFTER President-elect Biden will have been sworn in as the 46th President of the United States. While the new Final Rule would give employers and workers greater flexibility to arrange their work relationships, it is unlikely to survive, absent court challenge, since President-elect Biden has already vowed to immediately retract it once he becomes President.
Retracting the new Trump Rule would leave existing Obama-era Rules in place defining who are “employees” and who are ICs. However, retracting the new Trump Rules
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As anticipated, the Trump Administration Department of Labor (“DOL”) published on January 6, 2021 final regulations redefining and simplifying the independent contractor standards under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The new regulations are significant because the FLSA’s minimum wage, overtime and record-keeping requirements do not apply to independent contractors.
Although the new regulations are slated to become effective on March 8, 2021, they face a cloudy future under the incoming Biden Administration. On December 30, 2020, Biden’s press secretary, Jen Psaki, issued a statement criticizing the then-proposed DOL regulations, among others, as “midnight” rules that Biden intended to “halt or delay” immediately following the Inauguration.
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In summary
Rights holders have traditionally turned to court litigation to protect IP rights such as patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets – or to enforce IP licensing agreements. This brings certain challenges, such as a public forum, unfamiliar laws and procedures, judges with varying IP law expertise, concern for national interests, and the risk that a judgment cannot be enforced in other jurisdictions. Arbitration offers an alternative mechanism and has a number of advantages, including confidentiality, a neutral forum or a single forum, the ability to select arbitrators with technical expertise, symmetrical risk for licensors, and cross-border enforceability of arbitral awards. This chapter considers the viability and desirability of arbitration as a means of resolving cross-border IP and IP-related disputes with a focus on Asia.