Supreme Court Update - Court Set to Weigh-In On ATSA Immunity
In Air Wisconsin Airlines Corp. v. Hoeper, William
Hoeper was a pilot for Air Wisconsin and also a Federal Flight Deck
Officer authorized to carry a TSA-issued firearm. He had
previously failed three aircraft proficiency tests and was aware
that a fourth failure could result in his termination at the option
of Air Wisconsin. During the final test, Mr. Hoeper allegedly
exhibited irrational behavior and directed angry outbursts at his
test administrator, accusing him of underm...
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The Supreme Court Rules that Lump Sum Severance Payments are Wages Subject to FICA Taxes
In a much anticipated ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court on March
25, 2014 ruled 8-0 that lump-sum severance payments made to
involuntarily laid off workers are subject to FICA taxes. Currently
FICA requires workers and employers to each pay a 6.2% Social
Security tax on wages earned up to an annual cap as well as a 1.45%
Medicare tax on all wages.
In 2001 and 2002, Quality Stores, Inc. closed more than 300
stores and made severance paymets to 3,100 laid off workers. The
company paid ...
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Illinois Legistlature Imposes Time Limits for Payment of Settlements
On August 26, 2013, the Illinois Governor signed into law an
amendment to the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure that establishes
a timeline for the tendering of a release and payment of the
settlement funds after a settlement agreement has been
reached. The new provision, 735 ILCS §5/2-2301, takes effect
January 1, 2014, and applies to all personal injury, property
damage, wrongful death, and tort actions involving a claim for
monetary damages, except class actions and claims involving
...
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Recent Cases Find Insurance Coverage for TCPA Claims, Rejecting Insurer's Arguments that Statutory Damages are Punitive in Nature
Two cases involving the application of insurance coverage for
violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act ("TCPA"), 47
U.S.C. § 227 (2012), were recently addressed by two separate state
supreme Courts. The TCPA places restrictions on unsolicited,
automatic telephone calls and faxes in order to protect the privacy
interests of residential and commercial telephone subscribers, and
permits recipients of such unsolicited communications to bring "an
action to recover for actual monetary l...
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Illinois Courts Show Support for the Right of a Condo Association to Create and Enforce its Regulations
Illinois Not-for-Profit Associations will welcome several
important decisions from the Illinois courts. These decisions
reinforce an association's authority to promulgate and enforce
reasonable rules and regulations relating to the management of its
development.
In Poris v. Lake Holiday Property Owners
Association, the plaintiff challenged the association's
authority to enforce a traffic citation issued by a private
security department created by the association. The plaintiff, a
membe...
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RUSSELL V. SNFA: Illinois Supreme Court Finds Specific Personal Jurisdiction Over Foreign Component Part Manufacturer
The Illinois Supreme Court issued a significant personal
jurisdiction decision last week in an aviation product liability
case, Russell v. SNFA, 2013 IL 113909 (Apr. 18,
2013), which has profound implications for component part
manufacturers and the aviation industry. The Court found that a
French manufacturer is subject to Illinois jurisdiction even though
it did not have any direct Illinois customers for its custom-made
helicopter bearings and lacked knowledge that its compone...
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The Changing Landscape Of Illinois And Chicago Minimum Wage Laws
The Illinois minimum wage of $8.25 has remained unchanged since
2011. It seems an increase is inevitable. On November 4, 2014,
voters approved the Illinois Minimum Wage Increase Question. The
nonbinding referendum asked voters whether they support increasing
the minimum wage to $10 an hour by January 1, 2015. The advisory
question itself has no force of law. Instead, it was introduced
into the Illinois Legislature as House Bill 3814 to garner support
for legislation to increase the m...
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