PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Can Employers Impose a Health Insurance Surcharge on Plan Participants Not Vaccinated for COVID-19?
AGG Talks: Solving Employers’ Problems - Health Plan Premium Surcharges for the Unvaccinated: Are They Legal and How Do They Work?
On January 5, New York City’s Office of the Mayor issued two executive orders on “junk fees” and “deceptive” subscription practices. Both orders directed the city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) act...more
2025 has been a year of breaking news, including in the intellectual property space. While AI developments and big court decisions grabbed many of the 2025 headlines, the most immediate and practical changes to U.S. trademark...more
When competition law enforcers in Washington, London, and Brussels talk about “lock‑in” agreements, they are describing the quiet power of contracts and licensing terms that can tilt a market. In cloud computing, that tilt...more
Last year, we notified employers about recently filed class action lawsuits related to wellness programs that impose a “smoker’s surcharge” on employee health plan premiums. We are now revisiting that litigation ahead of 2026...more
The multidistrict interchange class action litigation (“Interchange MDL”) against Visa and Mastercard has been going on for over 20 years before the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. A unique...more
With the signing of New York Senate Bill S4153A by Gov. Kathy Hochul, New York state has enacted a sweeping requirement for "retail establishments" and "food stores" to accept cash payments for in-person transactions. The...more
The U.S. Department of the Treasury's decision to cease minting 1-cent coins has led to a severe shortage in penny circulation that requires businesses to adapt their pricing and payment strategies. As organizations respond...more
The practice of charging consumers a fee for paying via credit card — known as surcharging — has been both increasingly common and increasingly controversial over the last decade. Visa and Mastercard first began to allow...more
This Freeman Law Insights blog discusses Chapter 604A of the Texas Business and Commerce Code (“Chapter 604A”) which, as written, prohibits merchants from imposing a surcharge on a buyer who uses a debit card or a credit card...more
With regulators, lawmakers, and consumers increasingly focused on pricing transparency, understanding the legal treatment of surcharges, "junk fees," and disclosure practices is more important than ever. Recent federal and...more
New Jersey residents are familiar with the “Mansion Tax” and its companion, the “Controlling Interest Transfer Tax,” which were implemented in 2004 and 2006, respectively. The Mansion Tax requires purchasers of certain...more
As this year’s legislative session is wrapping up, two states, Virginia and Oklahoma, enacted legislation to reform their laws related to surcharges. May 2, 2025, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed Senate Bill 1212 to amend...more
On May 28, Oklahoma enacted SB 677, which became law without the signature of Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt. This new law repeals Oklahoma Statute Title 14A, Section 2-417, which previously barred sellers from imposing a...more
The May Monthly Minute brings you up-to-date on mental health parity enforcement relief, as well as smoker surcharge and prohibited transaction litigation. Nonenforcement of 2024 Mental Health Parity Regulations - Earlier...more
On May 2, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin signed Senate Bill 1212 (SB 1212) into law, introducing new requirements and prohibitions under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act. Specifically, SB 1212 targets the disclosure of...more
A federal court in California granted Dunkin’ Donuts’ motion to dismiss claims by customers alleging that a surcharge for non-dairy substitutes in beverages discriminated against customers with lactose intolerance and milk...more
In the wake of the Trump administration’s newly-imposed tariffs, many retailers are facing significant unanticipated cost increases across their supply chains, from raw materials, to manufacturing, to transporting goods...more
Credit card surcharging is on the rise. Imposing a surcharge in a compliant manner is more than adding a fee at the point of sale. Below we review on a high level the legal and commercial considerations for merchants before...more
Rail fuel surcharges are a moving target. They are constantly changing, wildly inconsistent across carriers, and often buried in websites or PDFs that require extra effort to decode. Keeping up with these charges can feel...more
Over the past year, numerous class actions have been filed against large employers claiming their health plan surcharge for tobacco use is not in compliance with HIPAA nondiscrimination rules. With yet another lawsuit filed...more
The United States has announced the imposition of new tariffs on Canadian goods, effective immediately as of March 4, 2025. These tariffs include a 25% surcharge on a wide range of products imported from Canada....more
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) could see fewer trademark applications filed in numerous Classes with lengthy descriptions of goods and services as a result of an increase in trademark fees and new surcharges...more
The USPTO has announced significant changes to its trademark fee schedule, introducing new surcharges and increasing existing fees. These changes will take effect on January 18, 2025, for most filings and on February 18,...more
On January 21, 2025, New York Governor Hochul released her Fiscal Year 2026 Executive Budget and accompanying legislation (the Budget Bill). The Budget Bill includes a middle-class tax cut, a temporary personal income tax...more
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) has announced increases and adjustments of certain trademark official fees, effective January 18, 2025. These changes follow a year-long comprehensive review process and...more