The Department of Labor is funding 19 states’ efforts to crack down on businesses that fail to make unemployment contributions for individuals misclassified as independent contractors.

With President Obama taking the oath of office this month, employers and human resources professionals are asking what a second term under an Obama administration will mean for them.

Several comments filed by various industry groups on proposed regulations issued in January by the Internal Revenue Service have focused on worker classification ambiguities that are embedded in the "common law" standard for distinguishing between "common law employees" and bona fide non-employee service providers.

A discussion on the draft general guidance on methods of addressing indoor vapour intrusion from contaminated soil and groundwater plumes released by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The EPA’s recently released 2013 Report on Children’s Health and the Environment in America concluded that the median concentration of total mercury in the blood of U.S. child-bearing age women is 0.8 millionths of a gram per liter.

In an effort to summarize the highlights of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) LEAN E-mail Blasts that we receive, and rarely have time to review in a timely fashion, we at Pepper are providing this quick synopsis of the latest LEAN update.

A chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee requested court approval of a sale of vacant land to a bank that held a first lien on the property, with the sale to be "free and clear" of the junior liens of two judgment creditors.

Equitable concepts and considerations frequently play a significant role in disputes tried before a bankruptcy court.

An individual debtor owned commercial real estate with his wife as tenants by the entireties and co-owned rental properties with his son as tenants in common.

A lender that attached the wrong legal description to its recorded mortgage sought equitable subrogation and/or reformation of the mortgage to obtain a first priority lien.

A couple of hours before the Cooks filed a chapter 13 bankruptcy case, their home was sold at a foreclosure sale as the final step in a foreclosure of the first mortgage.

Prior to bankruptcy, a chapter 11 debtor who had been a member of two limited liability companies was expelled by the other members on the basis that he took excess distributions from the LLCs.

A discussion on the description of legal mortgages.

A mortgagee moved to dismiss two Chapter 11 bankruptcies that were filed by its mortgagors to prevent a scheduled foreclosure sale.

A chapter 11 debtor’s plan of reorganization placed two secured creditors in the same class. (No one objected to this classification.)

Turner Construction Company surveyed over 700 executives from a wide variety of companies involved with real estate – including architect, construction, real estate consulting, corporate owner-occupant, developer, engineering, real estate owner, corporate tenant, and broker/real estate service provider companies.

Even minor errors in a mortgage can result in avoiding the mortgage in a bankruptcy.

In response to taxpayer concerns about the practicality of meeting certain FATCA compliance timeline dates, the IRS has extended some of those dates and made certain conforming changes.

On January 10, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a final rule, as mandated by provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

On September 17, 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced enforcement actions against 23 investment firms for violations of Rule 105 of SEC Regulation M.