Flying Dog Brewery is known for its unique beer names and labels, which are often provocative and eye-catching. After North Carolina rejected one of Flying Dog’s labels, Flying Dog sued and prevailed on First Amendment grounds. Analyzing constitutional protections for commercial speech, the court ruled that North Carolina’s regulation was an impermissible infringement on Flying Dog’s First Amendment rights.

One of the most important provisions for a subcontractor in any subcontract is a “pay if paid” clause. That clause, when used with the proper language, conditions payment by the general contractor to the subcontractor on payment by the owner to the general contractor. Last month, Virginia took steps to remedy this risk-shifting mechanism by amending current law to prohibit “pay if paid” clauses and impose new contract requirements on public and private jobs.

Contractors should be aware that OSHA has launched a National Emphasis Program aimed at preventing heat-related illness and death. Per the NEP, OSHA will conduct workplace inspections in 70 high-risk industries whenever the weather service issues a heat advisory for the area.

The implementation of the District of Columbia’s ban on most non-competition agreements has been delayed by the District of Columbia Council until October 1, 2022.

Maryland recently took the first step in enacting a comprehensive biometric data privacy law. On March 13, 2022, the Maryland House of Delegates passed the Biometric Data Privacy Act. The Act now goes to the Maryland Senate for review and potential passage into law. Maryland joins the growing number of states that are strengthening their data protection laws. The new Act introduces a number of requirements for biometric data (i.e. fingerprint, voiceprint, retina scan, etc.) and prohibits certain practices.

The Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021 has cleared both the Senate and House and now goes to the President, who is expected to sign it into law. The Act invalidates any pre-dispute arbitration requirement for sexual assault or sexual harassment claims.

On December 17, 2021, the Sixth Circuit, in a 2-1 ruling, dissolved the Fifth Circuit’s stay of OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) requiring employers with 100 or more employees to mandate either (a) employee vaccinations or (b) that unvaccinated employees wear protective face coverings with weekly COVID tests. The ETS permits employers to choose the compliance method, and does not apply to workers who exclusively work outside or from home.

On December 7, 2021, the United States District Court for the District of Georgia enjoined the President’s Executive Order requiring federal contractors and subcontractors to be fully vaccinated on all new contracts and renewals by January 22, 2022.

Federal contractors and subcontractors should be aware that the minimum wage for workers on many Federal contracts increases to $15 per hour on January 30, 2022 for new contracts (which includes renewals, extensions, and options).

In a unanimous ruling, the Supreme Court dealt a powerful blow to the NCAA’s oft-recited concept of amateurism. Used to restrict athletes from obtaining nearly any benefit for their athletic abilities other than their scholarships and attendant benefits, the NCAA’s reliance on amateurism to escape antitrust scrutiny failed before the Supreme Court, which affirmed that NCAA limitations on education-related benefits constitute illegal restraints on trade.

Anyone who follows college sports knows that the use of an athlete’s name, image and likeness (NIL) has been a hot topic in the last couple of years. Various states have enacted laws allowing student-athletes to earn NIL compensation, contrary to the NCAA’s long established amateurism rules.

Maryland has become the latest state to join the growing chorus of states allowing NIL compensation with Governor Hogan signing the Jordan McNair Safe and Fair Play Act.

FinCEN has now received public comment to the Corporate Transparency Act, found in National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (NDAA). The Act affects certain limited liability companies and corporations (especially those that are closely held) and requires disclosure of certain beneficial owners of the entities.

On April 27th, 2021, President Biden issued an Executive Order raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour for all federal contractors. Contractors must incorporate the higher wage in new contract solicitations starting January 30th, 2022 and implement the new wage by March 30th, 2022.