The Federal Lawyer (2010)

On April 23, 2010, the governor of Arizona, Janice K. Brewer, signed the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act, Arizona Revised Statute § 11-1051(B) (S. 1070) into law. The bill sparked a firestorm of media attention and a flurry of lawsuits. It also reignited the debate, stalled by the…

When employers expand their operation into federal government contract work as prime contractors or subcontractors, they are faced with number of rules that differ from those in the private sector. Statutes and regulations governing treatment of a federal contractor’s employees present a significant challenge both for contractors and for the attorneys advising them. The
consequences of noncompliance can be severe and can include monetary penalties, contract termination, and debarment. Increased government enforcement of these
statutes and regulations is a trap for the unwary and uninformed; therefore, it is well worth the effort (and expense) to understand the different employment statutes and regulations and to bring employment-related practices into compliance with federal laws.

Signing the Declaration of Independence, Stephen Hopkins referred to his cerebral palsy, saying “My hand trembles but my heart does not.” More than two centuries later, thousands of people attended the signing of the Americans With Disabilities Act.

The banking crisis of the past few years is not only the result of failures on Wall
Street, but the result of check kiting schemes that range from actual criminal
intent of the participants to negligent business practices of banks and customers.
All bank officers and employees need to be trained to recognize check kiting
schemes and the civil and criminal implications for the participants and the bank.

Not since Gen. Omar Bradley, “the soldiers’ general,” took command of the Veterans Administration after World War II has anyone assuming the reins of leadership of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) faced the kinds of challenges that confront Gen. Eric K. Shinseki. A combat veteran of the Vietnam War, in which he was wounded in action, Gen. Shinseki inherited an agency in near total disarray. The question facing Secretary Shinseki is whether he can become “the veterans’ general.”

Efraim Santos received a 60-month sentence for operating an illegal gambling operation as well as a 210 month sentence for money-laundering. The latter was based on an interpretation of the undefined term “proceeds” under the money-laundering statute to include payments made to Santos’ employees and the gambling winners. This obviously created a wide-reaching effect of the statute, allowing prosecution to tack on money-laundering charges to almost any illegal enterprise. What follows is a brief overview of the various approaches taken by courts throughout the United States.

In the first eight months after the Iqbal decision was published some 5,200 federal court opinions cited it. The circuits are busy interpreting, refining, and applying Iqbal’s teachings to actual pleadings in a variety of matters. Several of the opinions already issued by the courts of appeals give us some early insight into where pleading law is headed and how much practical impact the Supreme Court’s ruling will have in the future.

Introduced last year with bipartisan support by retiring Sen. Byron L. Dorgan, chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, S. 797 is long overdue. But time may be quickly running out.

The cases discussed in this article are those that many bankruptcy practitioners can recite by case name, largely because they established a bedrock principle of bankruptcy law.

This primer on employment law aims to help you understand the major employment
laws and who they protect.