Amy M. Stewart

Federal Court Vacates DOL Rule Raising Salary Threshold for Exempt Employees. Employment Law Alert by Lamb McErlane attorneys Vasilios Kalogredis and Sonal Parekh, Esq. On November 15, 2024, a federal judge in the Eastern District Court of Texas struck down the Biden administration’s Department of Labor’s (“DOL’s”) overtime final rule (“Final Rule”), which raised the salary threshold to qualify an employee for exempt status as an executive, administrative or professional (“EAP”) employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”).[1] Specifically, the Final Rule implemented a two-phase approach to increasing the minimum salary threshold under the FLSA overtime regulations. The first increase took effect on July 1, 2024 (“July 2024 Increase”) and the second increase was to take effect on January 1, 2025 (“January 2025 Increase”), which would have increased the minimum salary threshold to $1,128 per week (or $58,656 per year).   Read the full alert here: https://lnkd.in/egWJ7rBK #DepartmentofLabor #finalrule #overtimefinalrule #employmentlaw #FairLaborStandardsAct #FLSA #healthlawattorney #salarythreshold [1] See State of Texas v. U.S. Dept’ of Labor, Civil Action No. 4:24-cv-499, E.D. Tex. (Nov. 15, 2024).

9

BREAKING NEWS - Court decision on the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) - On Tuesday, December 3, 2024, a United States district court in the Eastern District of Texas preliminarily enjoined the enforcement of the #CorporateTransparencyAct (“CTA”) in its entirety nationwide, and also specifically stayed the reporting deadline of January 1, 2025 for reporting companies formed or registered to do business in the U.S. before January 1, 2024. (See Texas Top Cop Shop, Inc., et al. v. Garland, et al., Case No. 4:24-cv-478.) THE SITUATION, however, IS IN FLUX, as we anticipate the government to request an immediate stay on the injunction or a narrowing of its application to only the parties in the case, as well as an appeal of the injunction. In light of the uncertainty surrounding this situation, we believe that it would be expedient for clients who have not already provided the information required to file a Beneficial Ownership Interest Report (“BOIR”) to do so for their entities, so that, in the event the injunction is stayed, we can quickly and efficiently file BOIRs and ensure client compliance with the CTA, thereby avoiding costly fines. #BOIR #CTA #Deadline #BeneficialOwnership #whenitmatters

2

On December 3, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas granted a nationwide preliminary injunction preventing enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act. The court found that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed in their claim that the C.T.A. is unconstitutional. This means that the C.T.A. filing obligation has, at least temporarily, been suspended, and that the January 1 deadline is currently inapplicable. However, the filing obligation could come back into effect if the injunction is overturned or if the government ultimately prevails in the case. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gw-k5NmB #CorporateTransparencyAct #Compliance #TaxLaw

4

Selecting The Right Partner For Top Local Counsel: The ABA identifies five key attributes. Deep Local Knowledge: Understanding local legal nuances, judges, and community. Procedural Expertise: Mastery of state & federal procedural rules. Courthouse Savvy: Expert in local filing, logistics, and courtroom technology. Trial Experience: Proven success, with sufficient insight into the venue. Collaborative Partnership: Responsive, organized, and flexible. Select local counsel who exhibit these qualities. Our new blogpost (https://lnkd.in/guCdQU-d) explores these criteria further. Durst Kerridge checks all the boxes for those considering firms for local counsel in Ohio. We embody the ABA's principles and boast a proven track record. Contact us for more info. #LocalCounsel #OhioLawyers #LegalStrategy #VenueSelection #LawFirms

2

Popps Law & Consulting, PLLC's Laura Bayouth Popps discusses important changes regarding client consultations and conflicts rules. If you're a lawyer (and you probably are if you follow our page!), give this a read.

1

Breaking News regarding the Corporate Transparency Act... I am writing with an important update on the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). On December 3, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas granted a preliminary injunction that temporarily halts the enforcement of the CTA nationwide and suspends the reporting requirements, which were to be effective on January 1, 2025. Specifically, the Court stated: “…the CTA, 31 U.S.C. § 5336 is hereby enjoined. Enforcement of the Reporting Rule, 31 C.F.R. 1010.380 is also hereby enjoined, and the compliance deadline is stayed under § 705 of the APA. Neither may be enforced, and reporting companies need not comply with the CTA’s January 1, 2025, BOI reporting deadline pending further order of the Court.   Please be advised, this is NOT a permanent injunction and there will most likely be further developments. This means that an appellate court may overturn the preliminary injunction. As such, we will continue to monitor CTA developments and be prepared to notify you in the event that you need to resume compliance activities and meet any reporting requirements if the injunction is lifted as the case progresses. 

1

The Texas Lateral Market Report is out now. There were twenty partner and counsel moves in September. For more insights into the Texas lateral market, reach out to Saadia Sultan. https://bit.ly/4fgfGcG #themccormickgroup #legal #lateralhiring

3

Join Byron Egan and Daniel Lewis on Tuesday, July 23 at 10 a.m. Central for a webinar presented by LexisNexis and CSC discussing the distinctive aspects of LLC laws in Texas and Delaware. The webinar will cover: 🏛 Differences in the court structures of Texas (including Texas’ new Business Courts) and Delaware. 📜 Texas and Delaware fiduciary duties, applicable cases, and relevant statutes. 🏢 Dissimilarities as they apply to mergers and acquisitions. 💰 Entity formation and implications of federal and state taxes.

11

Important CTA Update: As of December 3, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction against the enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act. Please click the link for additional information: https://lnkd.in/gNtWPvqh #corporatetransparencyact #CTA #FinCEN #BOI #legalnews #legalupdate #CSRLawFirm

6

Significant Case Decision from a Texas Federal Court has Profound Implications on the Enforceability of the Corporate Transparency Act. For more information regarding how this decision may affect your association, please see the link below. https://lnkd.in/g2mpaW5R #CTA #CorporateTransparencyAct #Compliance #LegalNews #Associations

12

Paralegals in Texas who are licensed under a proposed new program will be able to provide some legal services to low-income individuals, under rules preliminarily approved by the state's top court. Joining other U.S. states that have created similar programs, the Texas Supreme Court said in an order on Aug. 6 that allowing licensed legal paraprofessionals to deliver limited legal services in areas including family law, estate planning and probate law, and consumer debt law will help close the 'justice gap' and address unmet civil legal needs. Resources and staffing constraints prevent legal aid and volunteer attorney organizations from being able to serve most people that qualify for assistance, the order said. Read more: https://lnkd.in/g4-BDA_Q #legal

4

In-house legal recruiting ain’t what it used to be. That was the conclusion of the more than 50 NALSC: the National Association of Legal Search Consultants members who attended the Virtual Recruiting Roundtable on In-House Recruiting on June 6, 2024 led by Amy Mccormack of McCormack Schreiber Legal Search and VP, Membership: Mary Clare Garber of Princeton Legal Search Group, LLC. Factors leading to that conclusion are the ever-widening delta between law firm and in-house compensation and the perception of more scheduling flexibility in law firms than in corporations. What other factors do you see affecting the recruitment and placement of lawyers with in-house legal departments? Do you agree with the assessment stated above? #nalsc #lawjobs #legaljobs #inhousecounsel #legalrecruiting

6

3 Comments

BREAKING UPDATE: As of Tuesday, Dec. 3, a Texas federal court issued a nationwide injunction that blocks the implementation of the CTA and its regulations, determining that the Act is unconstitutional. Additional litigation regarding the CTA is anticipated, with the case likely moving to higher appellate courts in the coming weeks, creating additional uncertainty about the law’s future enforceability. As we await further guidance, companies have a few options on how to proceed. 1.     File reports regardless of the injunction to avoid future penalties should the law be reinstated (SST’s recommended approach). 2.     Continue preparing your filings but hold on submitting until further guidance is issued. 3.     Hold on preparing your filings under the assumption that the injunction will hold. 4.     Consult legal counsel for personalized guidance. Click here for further reading: https://lnkd.in/eJMHfqRK #BOI #CorporateTransparencyAct #FinancialReporting #AccountingFirm

5