By Andrew J. Henson A recent Eighth Circuit opinion found that a trucking company could force heavy-set truck drivers to submit to a sleep apnea exam as a “business necessity,” avoiding liability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), possibly paving the way for future class-wide medical examination requirements that comply with the ADA. In […]
By Robin Shea In the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew, 23 North Carolina counties have been approved to receive federal Disaster Unemployment Assistance. Gov. Pat McCrory has directed the state Department of Employment Security not to enforce the one-week waiting period that normally applies to unemployment claims. The eligible counties are as follows: Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, […]
By Joshua D. Bryant Fellow Tax Section Members: As I write this, the inaugural post for our section’s blog, much of eastern North Carolina is beginning the long process of recovering from the heavy rains brought by Hurricane Matthew. Early maps depicting alternate possible paths for the storm reflected the uncertainty that is characteristic of […]
By Steven B. Long Late last year, Congress enacted Section 506, which requires any organization seeking to operate as a tax-exempt social welfare organization pursuant to Section 501(c)(4) to register with the IRS within 60 days of formation. Failure to do so exposes the organization to a penalty of $20 per day, up to a […]
By Charles H. Mercer Jr. and Reed J. Hollander North Carolina Property Tax Commission Case No. 13 PTC 822 (March 20, 2015) North Carolina Court of Appeals 786 S.E.2d 816 (N.C.App. 2016) County tax assessors sometimes contend a commercial or industrial property is a “special purpose” property and, on that basis, determine there is no market […]
By Sean F. Herrmann In EEOC v. Dimensions Healthcare Sys., No. 15-2342 (D. Md. Sept. 2, 2016), the District of Maryland denied the defendant’s motion for summary judgment on the plaintiff’s Title VII and Pregnancy Discrimination Act claims. The court’s decision largely turned on a decision maker’s comment, which the court found could be direct […]
By Darrell A. Fruth Please allow me to introduce myself as chair of the IP Section, along with our new blog format. We will use this blog to share articles and keep you posted on networking events and other programs that we are planning for the year. If I can get you to do one […]
By Michael D. McKnight The EEOC published two items last week of interest to employment counsel: First, in the September volume of its Digest of Equal Employment Opportunity Law, the EEOC provided some rare insight into the way it views discrimination on the basis of mental health conditions under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) […]
By Annette Phelps Welcome everyone to your new Paralegal Division blog! I am Annette Phelps, your new division chair, and I look forward to serving our division over the next year. At the Paralegal Division Council’s annual retreat in July, the council decided to join other NCBA divisions and sections and move to a blog format. […]
By Pegeen Turner I recently returned from the Clio Conference in Chicago. Clio is cloud-based practice management software for law firms. But, don’t stop reading this post just because your firm does not use Clio or the cloud. This post is pertinent to you as long as you continue to practice law in 2016. The Clio […]