Insights on Consumer Products

H-1B status is a non-immigrant status that allows a foreign national to work for a specific employer in a specific job at a specific worksite, for a specific period of time. Employers must file a petition with US Citizenship and Immigration Services on behalf of a foreign national.

Following a trend previously reported in our January 31, 2014 alert, the City of Philadelphia has become the latest jurisdiction to require covered employers to reasonably accommodate pregnant workers.

Companies Are Warned Over Optimism for Future Negotiations

By a narrow 3-2 margin, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM or Notice) on February 6, 2014 to amend its rules and regulations on representation election procedures under Section 9 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA or Act).

Attention employers with employees working in the United States on L-1 (intra-company transferee) visas: US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has begun conducting worksite visits under its Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS) site inspection program.

On January 21, 2014, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed legislation that adds pregnancy as a protected status under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD) and requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for female employees affected by pregnancy.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently ruled that even a temporary impairment caused by an injury can constitute a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA or Act). Summers v. Altarum Institute Corp., 2014 WL 243425 (4th Cir. Jan. 23, 2014).

Earlier today, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued its much-anticipated decision on the maritime dispute brought by Peru against Chile.

Recently, OSHA launched a high-profile effort to address its permissible exposure levels (PELs) for chemicals in the workplace. OSHA last attempted to update its PELs — which are over four decades old — via a rulemaking in 1989.

Associations are walking antitrust risks, and plaintiffs and the government took their aim at a variety of association activity in 2013 — from dentists to music teachers, wire transfers to equines.

The Supreme Court recently announced that it would hear a lawsuit brought by major television broadcasters against a service that streams the broadcasters’ video content over the internet without permission.

On January 22, 2014, the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a public notice seeking comment on the Retail Industry Leaders Association’s (RILA) petition for declaratory ruling filed on December 30, 2013.

On January 13, 2014, the FDA issued a Draft Guidance entitled “Fulfilling Regulatory Requirements for Postmarketing Submissions of Interactive Promotional Media for Prescription Human and Animal Drugs and Biologics.”

On January 15, 2014, District of Columbia Mayor Vince Gray signed a bill that will increase the District’s minimum wage to $11.50 per hour by 2016.

The US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia recently awarded the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) $36,320.49 in legal expenses, including its attorneys’ fees, in a case brought by an applicant appealing the PTO’s refusal to register a mark on the basis.

This afternoon, the House of Representatives approved by a 359-67 margin the “omnibus appropriations” bill (H.R. 3457) that emerged late Monday from several weeks of negotiations between the House and Senate Appropriations Committees.

In the category of lesser regulatory changes that occurred during the pre-holiday season, on December 19, 2013, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amended its Export Administration Regulations (EAR) for exports to persons listed on the Unverified List (UVL).

On January 9, 2014, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler released a blog post indicating that he intends to prod smaller wireless carriers and over-the-top (OTT) texting services to provide their customers text-to-911 services by no later than the end of this year.

The Court held that an employee who cannot perform an essential function of his or her job is not a qualified individual under the ADA, even if the employer previously chose to accommodate the employee by excusing the employee from performing the essential function.

On January 7, 2014, the Court of Appeals of New York revisited its decision in K2 Investment v. American Guarantee, 21 N.Y.3d 384 (2013).

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) issued a statement indicating that it has decided not to seek US Supreme Court review of two US Court of Appeals decisions invalidating the NLRB’s Notice Posting Rule.

On December 26, 2013, President Barack Obama signed into law a bill (H.R. 3487) that gives the Federal Election Commission (FEC) new authority to impose automatic fines for campaign finance reporting violations on nonprofit organizations, Super PACs, and political party committees.

The US Food and Drug Administration recently published a proposed rule relating to food defense, as part of its implementation of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011 (FSMA or the Act).