On November 9, 2009, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued its Economic Sanctions Enforcement Guidelines.

The omnibus tax bill, signed May 29, 2008, by Gov. Tim Pawlenty, contains a small tax law change—Minn. Stat. § 297A.71, subd. 23 that could save nonprofit developers of low-income housing projects thousands of dollars.

Time is running out for sponsors of defined benefit pension plans to adopt amendments that must be made by the end of the year to provide for limits on benefit payments and benefit accruals as required under section 436 of the Internal Revenue Code.

Internal Revenue Code Section 409A allows a "separation from service" to be a payment trigger for deferred compensation, including separation pay, supplemental retirement benefits, account-balance deferred compensation and other payments.

The Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA) has changed very little since it was enacted in 1938. The workplace, however, has changed dramatically over the past 70 years—and the plaintiffs' bar has seized upon this old law to generate a record number of FLSA-related lawsuits recently.

The IRS plans to audit 6,000 companies for employment tax compliance during the next three years. Its primary focus will be worker classification (i.e., whether workers are being properly classified as independent contractors rather than as employees), but it also intends to examine fringe benefits, backup withholding, Form 1099 compliance, and Code section 409A issues.

The current recession has brought significant challenges to the commercial real estate market. Among the most acute difficulties are disappearance of capital from customary lending sources and diminishing property income and property values.

For more than a decade, courts across the country have rejected the premise that a manufacturer of a name-brand medication is liable for injuries resulting from a plaintiff's use of the generic version of that medication.

On May 20, the Iowa Supreme Court heard oral arguments in KFC Corporation vs. Iowa Department of Revenue, a case that could have a substantial financial impact on franchisors across the nation.

When Congress initially rejected the financial bailout package proposed by the Bush administration in September, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson lamented that the government did not have sufficient tools in its toolkit to respond to the ongoing economic crisis.

On July 6, 2010, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit decided "In re Novartis Wage & Hour Litigation", No. 09-0437-cv, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 13708 (2d Cir. July 6, 2010), holding that Novartis pharmaceutical sales representatives are not exempt from the requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is now law. And while federal reform legislation may evolve over time, absent outright repeal, the new law will reshape America's delivery system—with significant implications for hospitals, physicians, and other providers nationwide.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, the cost of food, as that term is used in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), increased 5.1 percent for the year that ended May 31, 2008.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security recently announced changes to the Visa Waiver Program and implementation of the Electronic System for Travel Authorization.

On July 14, 2010, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published notice of proposed rulemaking to modify the HIPAA privacy, security, and enforcement rules under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act.

The Kerry-Lieberman climate bill has arrived. On May 12, 2010, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) released their long-awaited "discussion draft" of climate change legislation.

"Internal Revenue Code Section 409A introduced new rules governing non-qualified retirement plans and other deferred compensation arrangements. In this series of articles, we take an in-depth look at selected issues under Section 409A."

On June 10, the United States Treasury issued an interim final rule that provides welcome guidance to recipients of financial assistance under the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) regarding the broadened executive compensation restrictions and stricter corporate governance standards imposed by the American Recovery and Relief Act of 2009 (ARRA).

Next term the United States Supreme Court will decide Wyeth v. Levine—perhaps the most highly anticipated pharmaceutical products liability ruling since the court's 1993 decision in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals.

As change in health care moves forward—with or without the imperative of federal legislation—certain outcomes regarding the payment and delivery system seem inevitable