News & Insights

 

Our News & Insights

Search News & Insights

Keep Up To Date

For invitations to our events and updates on key legal issues and business concerns:

Please Click Here

CMS Releases the First Comprehensive Overhaul of Nursing Home Conditions of Participation in Over 25 Years

Posted on November 2, 2016 by

On October 4, 2016, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published a final rule to revise the requirements that Long-Term Care facilities must meet to participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. CMS states that the revisions to nursing home regulations are intended to reflect the substantial advances that have been made in […]

Lincoln’s Law Becomes Even More Absurd When Applied to the Health Care Industry

Posted on November 2, 2016 by

When Congress originally passed the False Claims Act (31 USC §§ 3729-3733), no one had the health care system in mind.  The False Claims Act was also commonly referred to as the “Lincoln Law”.  The original law was focused on unscrupulous vendors who provided overpriced and often faulty supplies to the military during the Civil […]

Tortious Interference with Contract/Employment Relationship/Truthfulness of Statements/Defense to Tort Claim

Posted on November 2, 2016 by

A recent ruling from the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals extended the notion of “truth as a defense” to a tortious interference with employment claim under Wisconsin law.  This establishes a sound defense to a claim by an employee against other employees that they have tortiously interfered with the employee’s contract for employment with a […]

IRS Announces 2017 Qualified Plan Limits; Pumpkin Spice Inexplicably Lacking

Posted on October 27, 2016 by

Late each October, the IRS gets around to announcing the cost of living adjustments for qualified plans for the upcoming year.  This year was no exception, and here they are [Plan Limits].   Unlike last year, 2017 brings some increases to the limits, like the increase in the compensation limit (the maximum amount of compensation a […]

NLRB Gives It the Old College Try – Again Hints that Athletes May Indeed Be Employees

Posted on October 24, 2016 by

Labor and employment practitioners will undoubtedly recall the NLRB’s well-publicized foray last year into the ongoing public debate surrounding whether certain college athletes should be considered compensated employees—Northwestern University, 362 NLRB No. 167 (Aug. 17, 2015). Through Northwestern University, the Board punted—but left open—the substantive issue of whether private university, grant-in-aid scholarship football players meet […]

Ruder Ware Earns Recertification in Meritas, a Global Alliance of Business Law Firms

Posted on October 4, 2016

Ruder Ware recently was awarded recertification in Meritas, a global alliance of business law firms. Ruder Ware is required to successfully complete recertification every three years. Meritas is the only law firm alliance with an established and comprehensive means of monitoring and enhancing the quality of its member firms—a process that saves clients time in […]

DOL Overtime Rule Update: Breaking News!!!!!

Posted on September 22, 2016 by

On September 20, 2016, two lawsuits were filed in an attempt to block the DOL’s proposed overtime rule (the “Rule”).  Wisconsin joined 20 other states in filing one suit while the U.S. Chamber of Commerce along with 50 other business groups filed the other.  Both suits, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern […]

Hairstyle Is Not a Protected Category but Sexual Orientation Likely Is

Posted on September 20, 2016 by

Several recent decisions have opened the door to further scrutiny regarding discrimination and the basis for a finding of discriminatory conduct by an employer.  These decisions continue to show the volatility of discrimination claims and determinations of whether or not an employee can claim discrimination based on company actions. In one court decision, it was […]

The Importance of Buy-Sell Agreements

Posted on September 14, 2016 by

When business partners form a company and get started in their new venture, optimism and opportunity are usually in full supply. At that point, it is only natural to avoid thinking about some difficult questions about the business. One key, and all too frequent mistake, is the failure to discuss and plan for how a […]

IRS Finalizes Same-Sex Marriage Recognition Regulations

Posted on September 1, 2016 by

It took almost eleven months, and minimal comments from the public, but the IRS has now finalized its October 2015 regulations which recognized same-sex marriages as lawful marriages for purposes of the tax code.  More information on that found here Recognition of Same-Sex Marriage Officially the Tax Law of the Land.  No need to go […]