Michael Severino is pleased to announce that he has been selected to the Maryland Super Lawyers List for business litigation for the fourth year in a row. Each year, no more than five percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this honor.

Recently, Mike Severino secured a victory for a client in a bid protest involving the electronic receipt of a bid. With bid protests, timing is paramount. Contractors almost always need to file protests within a very short time period – often as short as five or seven days. Also, procurement agencies – either the State, a county, an individual school system, a state agency, etc. – often have their own specific procurement regulations that one must review and analyze.

Flying Dog Brewery is known for its unique beer names and labels, which are often provocative and eye-catching. After North Carolina rejected one of Flying Dog’s labels, Flying Dog sued and prevailed on First Amendment grounds. Analyzing constitutional protections for commercial speech, the court ruled that North Carolina’s regulation was an impermissible infringement on Flying Dog’s First Amendment rights.

Maryland recently took the first step in enacting a comprehensive biometric data privacy law. On March 13, 2022, the Maryland House of Delegates passed the Biometric Data Privacy Act. The Act now goes to the Maryland Senate for review and potential passage into law. Maryland joins the growing number of states that are strengthening their data protection laws. The new Act introduces a number of requirements for biometric data (i.e. fingerprint, voiceprint, retina scan, etc.) and prohibits certain practices.

The Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021 has cleared both the Senate and House and now goes to the President, who is expected to sign it into law. The Act invalidates any pre-dispute arbitration requirement for sexual assault or sexual harassment claims.

Michael Severino is pleased to announce that he has been selected to the Maryland Super Lawyers List for business litigation for the third year in a row. Each year, no more than five percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this honor.

The annual selections are made using a process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates and peer reviews by practice area.

On December 17, 2021, the Sixth Circuit, in a 2-1 ruling, dissolved the Fifth Circuit’s stay of OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) requiring employers with 100 or more employees to mandate either (a) employee vaccinations or (b) that unvaccinated employees wear protective face coverings with weekly COVID tests. The ETS permits employers to choose the compliance method, and does not apply to workers who exclusively work outside or from home.

This post is a short Q & A with Matt Smith, who is a relationship manager with Consilio, an eDiscovery, litigation support, and alternative legal service provider for law firms and corporations. In addition to discussing the benefits Consilio can provide, Matt also shares his thoughts on the consolidation in the legal industry, alternative legal services and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

On December 7, 2021, the United States District Court for the District of Georgia enjoined the President’s Executive Order requiring federal contractors and subcontractors to be fully vaccinated on all new contracts and renewals by January 22, 2022.

Federal contractors and subcontractors should be aware that the minimum wage for workers on many Federal contracts increases to $15 per hour on January 30, 2022 for new contracts (which includes renewals, extensions, and options).

Anyone who has read my prior posts about student-athlete NIL compensation knows that recent NIL changes permitting athletes to profit from their NIL will be big business for popular, and not so popular, athletes. One needs look no further than Bryce Young, Alabama’s presumed starting QB.

Mike Severino is pleased to announce that he prevailed after trial in his efforts to have the Court order the buyer of his client’s former business to convey the stock back to Mike’s client. After the buyer of the business defaulted on the payment for the stock, the Court ultimately ordered the buyer to convey the stock back to Mike’s client pursuant to the sale documents.

In a unanimous ruling, the Supreme Court dealt a powerful blow to the NCAA’s oft-recited concept of amateurism. Used to restrict athletes from obtaining nearly any benefit for their athletic abilities other than their scholarships and attendant benefits, the NCAA’s reliance on amateurism to escape antitrust scrutiny failed before the Supreme Court, which affirmed that NCAA limitations on education-related benefits constitute illegal restraints on trade.

Anyone who follows college sports knows that the use of an athlete’s name, image and likeness (NIL) has been a hot topic in the last couple of years. Various states have enacted laws allowing student-athletes to earn NIL compensation, contrary to the NCAA’s long established amateurism rules.

Maryland has become the latest state to join the growing chorus of states allowing NIL compensation with Governor Hogan signing the Jordan McNair Safe and Fair Play Act.

FinCEN has now received public comment to the Corporate Transparency Act, found in National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (NDAA). The Act affects certain limited liability companies and corporations (especially those that are closely held) and requires disclosure of certain beneficial owners of the entities.

On April 27th, 2021, President Biden issued an Executive Order raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour for all federal contractors. Contractors must incorporate the higher wage in new contract solicitations starting January 30th, 2022 and implement the new wage by March 30th, 2022.

The Maryland Senate earlier this week approved a proposed constitutional amendment that would raise the minimum threshold for a right to a jury trial in Maryland from $15,000 to $30,000. The measure now goes to the Maryland House of Delegates for a vote there.

Michael Severino is pleased to announce that he has been selected to the Maryland Super Lawyers List for business litigation for the second year in a row. Each year, no more than five percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this honor.

Tucked away in the lengthy National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (NDAA) is the little-known Corporate Transparency Act. The Act affects certain limited liability companies and corporations (especially those that are closely held) and requires disclosure of certain beneficial owners of the entities.

A trade group made up of commercial general contractors recently filed a lawsuit in federal court calling into question the Small Business Administration's questionnaires used to aid in determining whether loans made under the PPP are subject to forgiveness. The lawsuit seeks to disallow any examination of the borrower’s financial condition after applying for the PPP loan because the required certification is limited to the time the certification was executed.