Labor & Employment Law, Transportation Law

What's Happening in Business Aviation? May 2013

by Burns & Levinson LLP on 5/22/2013

This edition of the Burns & Levinson Business Aviation Report covers new developments in the following areas of business aviation: • Rentals from leasing aircraft may be subject to the new 3.8 percent tax on net...more

Ban on Hand-Held Cell Phone Use for Commercial Motor Vehicle Drivers—What Employers Should Know

by Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 5/13/2013

As the number of smartphones sold in the United States and worldwide overtakes sales of so-called ordinary cells phones, more Americans are using these devices while driving....more

Treasury Releases “Green Book” of Obama Administration FY 2014 Tax Priorities

by Mary Burke Baker, Michael W. Evans, Andrés Gil, Karishma Shah Page, Stefanos Roulakis, Ryan J. Severson | K&L Gates LLP on 4/18/2013

On April 10, the Treasury Department released its “General Explanations of the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2014 Revenue Proposals.” Known as the “Green Book,” the document provides an explanation of the Administration’s FY...more

New Jersey DOL Clarifies Overtime Exemption For Employees Of Common Carriers Of Passengers By Motor Bus

by Mark Diana, Evan J. Shenkman, Allyson M. Smith | Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 4/8/2013

Under current state law, employees of a common carrier of passengers by motor bus are exempt from overtime. N.J.S.A. 34:11-56a4. However, the term “common carrier of passengers by motor bus” was never defined in the...more

Legislative Update Report No. 2013-06 -- Mar 25, 2013

by Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP on 3/25/2013

In This Article: Federal Government; Alberta; British Columbia; Manitoba; New Brunswick; Newfoundland; Northwest Territories; Nova Scotia; Nunavut; Ontario; Prince Edward Island; Québec/Quebec; Saskatchewan; and Yukon...more

OSHA Penalizes Another Railroad Company In Whistleblower Action

by Michael Graham, Steven J. Pearlman | Proskauer - Whistleblowing & Retaliation on 3/25/2013

On February 28, 2013, OSHA ordered Union Pacific Railroad (UP) to reinstate the employment of and pay over $309,000 ($150,000 in punitive damages, $87,600 in compensatory damages, $71,700 in back pay with interest, plus...more

Congress Passes New Transportation Funding Bill

by Begam & Marks on 3/21/2013

MAP-21 has been signed into law. The U.S Congress passed the immense new transportation bill that mandates many new provisions affecting motor carrier safety. One of the most important provisions being that all interstate bus...more

Aircraft Terminal Charge And SIFL Mileage Rates Issued For First Half Of 2013

by Rena Pirsos | XpertHR - Partnered with LexisNexis on 3/11/2013

The US Department of Transportation has released the terminal charge and standard industry fare level (SIFL) mileage rates for the first half of 2013. These rates are revised semiannually and are used by the Internal Revenue...more

OSHA Issues Stiff Penalties To Railroad Company In FRSA Whistleblower Matters

by Rachel Fischer, Steven J. Pearlman | Proskauer - Whistleblowing & Retaliation on 3/7/2013

OSHA recently announced that it ordered Norfolk Southern Railway (Company) to pay three former workers a combined $1,121,099 for violating the whistleblower provisions of the Federal Railroad Safety Act (FRSA), which protects...more

Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal to Order Minimum Conditions for Drivers

by Maurice Baroni, Matthew Parker | K&L Gates LLP on 2/21/2013

On 1 July 2012, the Road Safety Remuneration Act 2012 (Cth) (Act) came in to force imposing requirements on employers across the road transport industry to meet new remuneration and employment standards for their drivers....more

Sexual Harassment Settlement Provides Valuable Lessons For Transportation Employers

by Beth P. Zoller | XpertHR - Partnered with LexisNexis on 2/18/2013

Because the trucking industry is a male-dominated industry in which women remain a minority, transportation employers have frequently encountered sex harassment and sex discrimination lawsuits. Although the Equal Employment...more

Trucking Company Pays $200,000 For Race Harassment

by Beth P. Zoller | XpertHR - Partnered with LexisNexis on 2/7/2013

The transportation and trucking industry - which has traditionally employed mostly white males - has long been hit with discrimination claims based on race, sex, disability and other protected classes. A recent jury award...more

Cabinet Re-Shuffle - A Game of Musical Chairs by George C. Crawford

by King & Spalding on 1/31/2013

The announcement that Hilda Solis would be departing as Secretary of Labor added to the list of vacancies of high-level positions in the Administration. Such turnover is nothing new for presidents who have been elected to a...more

IRS Provides Administrative Guidance On Excludable Transportation Benefit Limits, Retroactively Increased As Of January 1, 2012

by Randall I. Cherkas, Michael Kadlec, Andrew J. Rudolph | Pepper Hamilton LLP on 1/25/2013

On January 16, 2013, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2013-8 providing a special administrative procedure for employers with respect to 2012 transit benefits. Under Section 132(f) of the Internal Revenue Code...more

Employers Can Obtain Refund for Excess FICA Tax Paid as Result of Increased Excludable Limit for Transit Benefits

by Maureen O'Brien, Ruth Wimer | McDermott Will & Emery on 1/23/2013

On January 11, 2013, the Internal Revenue Service published Notice 2013-8 providing a special administrative procedure for employers with respect to 2012 transit pass benefits. The American Taxpayer Relief Act retroactively...more

IRS Guidance on Retroactive Increase in Qualified Transportation Benefits

by Ropes & Gray LLP on 1/21/2013

The IRS has released guidance to address employers’ questions about the retroactive increase in the monthly income exclusion for certain transportation benefits enacted as part of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 on...more

Supreme Ct. Adds Employment-Related Case To Schedule

by David B. Weisenfeld | XpertHR - Partnered with LexisNexis on 1/15/2013

The Supreme Court will soon hear a case involving a controversial Port of Los Angeles rule that would require trucking companies to hire their drivers as employees rather than independent contractors. The Court added American...more

Update on Fiscal Cliff Commuter Tax Benefits

by Patricia Moran | Mintz Levin - Employment, Labor & Benefits on 1/14/2013

On January 4, we blogged about the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012’s (the “Act”) increases in the pre-tax contribution that commuters may make towards van pools as well as transit passes....more

Florida Port Strike May Not Happen As Negotiations Continue Into 2013: News Release of the Week

by Rosa Eckstein Schechter on 1/2/2013

Florida's economy needs its active and efficient ports and while on one hand, there's construction underway to make Port Miami big enough to deal with the increased traffic coming from the Panama Canal expansion, on the other...more

ILA-USMX Contract Extended 30 Days

by Amanda C. Blunt, Ashley Craig, William H. Devaney, Michael Volpe, Ariel S. Wolf | Venable LLP on 1/2/2013

The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) agreed on a 30-day extension of the current coast-wide master contract, temporarily shielding East and Gulf Coast ports from...more

Strike Threatens Port of Charleston

by Julius H. Hines | Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC on 12/20/2012

After the latest breakdown in labor negotiations, ports along the U.S. East and Gulf coasts, including Charleston, are threatened with a strike by the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA). The ILA and the...more

Legislative Update Report No. 2012-23 -- Dec 15, 2012

by Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP on 12/15/2012

In This Article: Federal Government; Alberta; British Columbia; Manitoba; New Brunswick; Newfoundland; Northwest Territories; Nova Scotia; Nunavut; Ontario; Prince Edward Island; Québec/Quebec; Saskatchewan; and...more

DOT Clarifies Position After States Permit Recreational Use of Marijuana

by Tressi L. Cordaro | Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 12/11/2012

On December 3, 2012, U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Director, Jim Swart, with the Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance, issued a letter responding to inquires about the impact to DOT regulations after the...more

Combating Loss Of Life From Commercial Vehicle Wrecks

by Johnston, Moore & Thompson, Huntsville... on 12/10/2012

Recently we blogged about the tightening of controls around medical exams for commercial vehicle drivers across the country set to being in May 2014. In accordance with this same aim to increase the safety of lives on the...more

DOT Issues Compliance Notice Regarding Marijuana

by Tammy Ensslin on 12/3/2012

Today, Jim Swart, the Director of the Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance Office of the Department of Transportation issued a "Compliance Notice" relating to the recent initiative passed by some states to permit...more

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Labor & Employment Law › Transportation Law