If you are a motor carrier and are not registered for the FMCSA Clearinghouse, do so now.  The Jan. 6 implementation date is here.  As we have discussed in Part I and Part II, registering for and utilizing the Clearinghouse are important steps in the process.  As we move forward, however, compliance with the process […]

We’re now just a few weeks away from the nation’s most stringent independent contractor misclassification law taking effect in California. But if a group of truck drivers have their way, the law will stall out before it ever gets on the road. The California Trucking Association filed an amended lawsuit in federal court on November 12, 2019 […]

For your enjoyment, here are some 2019 holiday themed legal issues only Scrooge could love . . . threatening litigation over  holiday sweaters, attacking favorite holiday candy and gifts, endless HOA litigation over holiday decorating, and “stealing” from the Grinch.  Bah! Humbug!  The Coke Snorting Santa Sweater – A Colombian government agency is threatening to […]

In 2018, there were 1,618 automobile crashes, 105 serious injuries, and 10 deaths in Virginia reported as attributable to cell phone use while driving (the actual number may be higher). See 2018 Virginia Traffic Crash Facts, Virginia DMV, available at https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/safety/crash_data/crash_facts/crash_facts_18.pdf. Richmond drivers have notoriously high rates of accidents, speeding tickets, DUIs, and citations. A recent study by QuoteWizard […]

  A distillery in Virginia is “toasting” the end of a “heavy-handed” lawsuit filed this summer by the Scotch Whisky Association.   https://wtop.com/virginia/2019/08/virginia-whiskey-maker-settles-with-scotch-whisky-group/ ; see also https://valawyersweekly.com/2019/07/22/whisky-business/  The lawsuit, brought in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware against an independent distillery in Lovingston, Virginia, called the Virginia Distillery Company LLC., alleged […]

Employees who make less than $35,568 are now eligible for overtime pay under a final rule issued in September 2019 by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The new rate will take effect Jan. 1, 2020. To be exempt from overtime under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employees must be paid a salary greater than $35,568.00 and meet certain […]

In a legal climate where the case is never about the facts and always about compliance, a good understanding of the Commercial Driver’s License Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse and how to use it is crucial.  Unfortunately, the new regulation is as easy to follow as GPS without a cellular signal.   From Part I of […]

Elon Musk is a media magnet.  Ignore that he is involved with a company creating neural computer interfaces, dates pop stars and actresses, sells flamethrowers, and is trying to solve city congestion by drilling tunnels.  He ran Tesla until the SEC forced him to step down as chair, but is still listed by the company as its “co-founder and CEO.”  Tesla alone has […]