Articles From the Miller Nash LLP Web Site http://www.millernash.com/articles.aspx en-us Copyright 2003, Miller Nash LLP clientservices@millernash.com seth@saturnodesign.com http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 9/2/2010 9:44:55 AM http://www.millernash.com/showarticle.aspx?Show=3464 With all the media attention given to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, there was almost no mention of a far-reaching provision (Section 342) that imposes new diversity requirements on businesses in or connected to the ... 8/20/2010 12:00:00 AM http://www.millernash.com/showarticle.aspx?Show=3393 One of the hallmarks of good tax policy is predictability in administration. Practically speaking, a taxpayer should be able to rely on the laws in effect when it files its tax return. The Internal Revenue Code adopts this approach in IRC § ... 7/16/2010 12:00:00 AM http://www.millernash.com/showarticle.aspx?Show=3389 Once perceived to be a leader in renewable energy development, Oregon now risks becoming a diminishing market. The Oregon Business Energy Tax Credit ("BETC," pronounced "Betsy") has been degraded from an effective incentive into something risky, confusing, ... 7/16/2010 12:00:00 AM http://www.millernash.com/showarticle.aspx?Show=3392 During the last legislative session, the Washington legislature made some significant changes to Washington's tax system. This review highlights and briefly discusses some of the most significant updates. Corporate Directors Subject to Tax on Compensation ... 7/16/2010 12:00:00 AM http://www.millernash.com/showarticle.aspx?Show=3390 School is out, and summer internships are beginning across the Northwest. Employers might not be thinking about whether their unpaid summer interns qualify as employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (the "FLSA"). After all, the intern and the ... 7/16/2010 12:00:00 AM http://www.millernash.com/showarticle.aspx?Show=3376 CertainTeed Corporation filed suit against Snohomish County resident Jim Garcia in federal court for making false and misleading statements about CertainTeed's roofing products. Mr. Garcia does business as "Seattle RoofBrokers," and operates a number ... 7/12/2010 12:00:00 AM http://www.millernash.com/showarticle.aspx?Show=3373 The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (collectively referred to as the "Act"), will change the way employers provide health coverage to employees. The Act's provisions are ... 6/28/2010 12:00:00 AM http://www.millernash.com/showarticle.aspx?Show=3368 Christine Masse authored the chapter entitled Under Pressure: How Economic and Regulatory Strains Threaten to Undermine Tribal Gaming, in the Thompson Reuters/Aspatore book Inside the Minds: Understanding Gaming Law Issues which was published in 2010. Understanding ... 6/28/2010 12:00:00 AM http://www.millernash.com/showarticle.aspx?Show=3366 At full strength for the first time in three years, the National Labor Relations Board is poised to overturn pro employer "Bush Board" rulings and tackle a backlog of several hundred cases that the Supreme Court recently held were improperly decided. ... 6/25/2010 12:00:00 AM http://www.millernash.com/showarticle.aspx?Show=3362 The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (collectively referred to as the "Act"), will change the way employers provide health coverage to employees. The Act's provisions are ... 6/24/2010 12:00:00 AM http://www.millernash.com/showarticle.aspx?Show=3359 On June 17, 2010, the United States Supreme Court in City of Ontario v. Quon, Case No. 08-1332, unanimously ruled that a police department was justified in searching a SWAT team sergeant's sexually explicit text messages, which he had sent to his wife ... 6/22/2010 12:00:00 AM http://www.millernash.com/showarticle.aspx?Show=3346 In the 2010 special session, the Oregon legislature made it unlawful for employers to use credit histories when making most employment decisions. In June, the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries ("BOLI") implemented new final regulations to carry out ... 6/16/2010 12:00:00 AM http://www.millernash.com/showarticle.aspx?Show=3344 If your company does significant business with the federal government or with prime contractors, you will likely soon be required to post an official notice notifying your employees of their rights to join a union and engage in concerted activity ... 6/14/2010 12:00:00 AM http://www.millernash.com/showarticle.aspx?Show=3339 On April 15, 2010, the Portland City Council unanimously approved River Plan. River Plan limits development along most of the shoreline of the North Reach of the Willamette River, and within the river itself, primarily through a new overlay zone and ... 6/11/2010 12:00:00 AM http://www.millernash.com/showarticle.aspx?Show=3343 Article originally appeared in the Oregon State Bar's Corporate Counselor, Issue I, 2010. In mergers and acquisitions, due diligence can be a whirlwind. Piles of documents covering all aspects of the target's business lie between you and the closing ... 6/11/2010 12:00:00 AM http://www.millernash.com/showarticle.aspx?Show=3341 A recent decision from the Washington Court of Appeals is a reminder that contractors should use caution when executing lien notices. Recently, in Williams v. Athletic Field, Inc., No. 33607-3-II, 2010 WL 1408281 (Wash. Ct. App. Apr. 7, 2010), the ... 6/11/2010 12:00:00 AM http://www.millernash.com/showarticle.aspx?Show=3338 In its 2010 special session, the Oregon Legislature passed SB 1059, which directs the Oregon Department of Transportation ("ODOT") and the Department of Land Conservation and Development ("DLCD") to, among other things, develop a statewide transportation ... 6/11/2010 12:00:00 AM http://www.millernash.com/showarticle.aspx?Show=3337 Enough already with so much fear and doom talking about the future of commercial real estate. Yes, prices and volume of transactions are down. But those wading out into this swampy market are finding some firmer ground to work. Many professionals who ... 6/11/2010 12:00:00 AM http://www.millernash.com/showarticle.aspx?Show=3335 Just in time for summer, the U.S. Department of Labor (the "DOL") has announced its intention to vigorously enforce its standards for unpaid internship positions. The DOL identifies six factors that must all be met for a position to qualify as an ... 6/1/2010 12:00:00 AM http://www.millernash.com/showarticle.aspx?Show=3331 To keep informed about Washington State's estate tax and possible changes to the federal estate tax, see the below related file entitled "State of the Estate Tax—May 2010." The purpose of this State of the Estate Tax summary is to briefly outline current ... 5/26/2010 12:00:00 AM http://www.millernash.com/showarticle.aspx?Show=3327 The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration ("OSHA") has announced the details of a new program, the Severe Violators Enforcement Program (the "SVEP"). Effective June 7, 2010, "Severe Violators" will face a variety of beefed-up enforcement ... 5/20/2010 12:00:00 AM http://www.millernash.com/showarticle.aspx?Show=3297 Although providing breaks and accommodations to breast-feeding employees is probably not a completely new concept for most employers, the new federal health care legislation enacted by Congress and signed by President Obama on March 23, 2010, now requires ... 4/29/2010 12:00:00 AM http://www.millernash.com/showarticle.aspx?Show=3307 The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (collectively referred to as the "Act"), makes sweeping changes to the way in which employers will provide health benefits to employees ... 4/29/2010 12:00:00 AM http://www.millernash.com/showarticle.aspx?Show=3304 The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (collectively referred to as the "Act"), makes sweeping changes to the way in which employers will provide health benefits to employees ... 4/28/2010 12:00:00 AM http://www.millernash.com/showarticle.aspx?Show=3298 The U.S. Department of Labor has just unveiled its new Web site, designed to make the enforcement data of five agencies "transparent." The result is a searchable database of company-specific information, accessible by anyone with access to a computer, ... 4/28/2010 12:00:00 AM http://www.millernash.com/showarticle.aspx?Show=3300 On April 15, 2010, in Emerald Steel Fabricators, Inc. v. Bureau of Labor & Industries, the Oregon Supreme Court ruled that Oregon employers are not required to accommodate employees' use of medical marijuana. In so doing, the court rejected the ... 4/23/2010 12:00:00 AM http://www.millernash.com/showarticle.aspx?Show=3296 The Washington legislature has finally gone home after regular and special sessions, but it leaves behind a handful of new labor and employment laws promoting state enforcement of state wage and antidiscrimination statutes and opening the door to state ... 4/21/2010 12:00:00 AM http://www.millernash.com/showarticle.aspx?Show=3289 If you start adding employees, do not miss this new tax incentive. On March 18, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act, sometimes called the HIRE or New Hire Act. Of most immediate significance for employers ... 4/12/2010 12:00:00 AM http://www.millernash.com/showarticle.aspx?Show=3288 ... 4/7/2010 12:00:00 AM http://www.millernash.com/showarticle.aspx?Show=3284 The Portland Harbor Superfund Site Study Area is a ten-mile stretch of the Willamette River located just downstream from Portland, Oregon. According to the recently released draft remedial investigation report, polychlorinated biphe­nyls (PCBs) ... 4/7/2010 12:00:00 AM