Insights

A constitutional challenge to Indiana’s Right to Farm Act (“RTFA”) was recently tossed by the Indiana Court of Appeals, rejecting a neighbor group’s claims that a Central Indiana concentrated animal feeding operation (“CAFO”) constitutionally deprived them of their property rights. In Himsel v. 4/9 Livestock, LLC, et al. the neighbors alleged nuisance, negligence and trespassing...Read More

  The United States Supreme Court announced on April 22, 2019, that it will consider a trio of cases relating to whether LGBT employees are protected under federal workplace discrimination laws.  Two of these cases will determine whether gay, lesbian, or bisexual employees are protected under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits...Read More

Now that the window to submit petitions for H-1B workers for fiscal year 2020 has officially closed, employers that filed petitions are nervously awaiting to see if their petitions survived the cap and were selected for processing. This year saw a record 201,011 petitions filed for H-1B workers.  With only 85,000 H-1B visas available, the...Read More

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule on April 5, 2019, that allows Medicare Advantage (MA) plans to expand their telehealth benefits starting in plan year 2020.  The legislation allows MA plans to include “additional telehealth benefits” that surpass the benefits allowed under Original Medicare in their bids for the...Read More

In Indiana, maternal and paternal grandparents have the right to petition for visitation with their grandchildren in certain circumstances. The grandparents may seek visitation rights if: The child’s parent is deceased, The marriage of the child’s parents was dissolved in Indiana, or The child was born out of wedlock and paternity has been established. Of...Read More

The Department of Labor today unveiled new proposed changes to overtime pay requirements.  The proposal, if adopted, will automatically allow workers who make less than $35,308 annually to be eligible for time-and-a-half pay for all hours worked above 40 a week.  The current income threshold for employees to qualify for time-and-a-half pay is $24,000 per...Read More

The Illinois Supreme Court recently issued its controversial opinion in Rosenbach v. Six Flags, holding that a person is not required to allege or suffer an actual injury under the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”) in order to recover under the Act.  Illinois adopted BIPA in 2008, which regulates the collection and use of...Read More

When seeking to monetize a real estate property, real estate owners often attempt to draft a “lease with option to purchase” contract, which provides the occupant with an option, but not an obligation, to purchase the real estate at the end of a defined term. Alternatively, real estate owners may desire to enter into a...Read More

The National Labor Relations Board (“Board”) announced today that it is overturning a controversial Obama-era decision and returning to its previous independent contractor standard. In SuperShuttle DFW, Inc., the Board ruled against shuttle van drivers’ attempts to unionize at Dallas-Fort Worth airport.  The Board analyzed factors such as ownership of vehicles, method of compensation, and...Read More