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Explaining NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) and How the Department of Justice is Cracking Down on NFT Fraud
April 12, 2022 By Harrison J. Clinton | Business Insights
Non-Fungible Tokens
A non-fungible token (“NFT”) is a non-interchangeable unit of data which can be sold and traded. NFTs come in varying forms, though commonly, they take the form of a simple .jpeg image. Popular auction houses, such as Sotheby’s and Christie’s, have recently reached hit numbers due to NFT sales.
Read More...To Mask or Not to Mask: Virginia DOLI Board Votes to Repeal COVID Permanent Standard
On March 21, 2022, the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry (DOLI), Safety and Health Codes Board (Board) voted to revoke the Virginia Standard for Infectious Disease Prevention of the SARS-CoV-2 Virus That Causes COVID-19 (the “Permanent Standard”).
Read More...HUBZone Compliance, Protests and Affiliates
What Happens if my Employees Move Out of a HUBZone After Certification? What Happens If my Business Merges with Another Company?
Once certified, a HUBZone contractor must monitor the residences of its employees to ensure compliance with the Small Business Administration’s regulations. Because employees move – and not necessarily with the approval of their employers! – the regulations allow for some flexibility once an employee establishes a residence in a HUBZone and later moves.
Read More...DOLI Moves to Repeal Virginia’s COVID-19 Workplace Safety Regulations
As summarized in a recent blog post about COVID-19 workplace facemask requirements, Virginia was one of the first states in the U.S. to implement comprehensive emergency temporary COVID-19 workplace safety regulations, with a permanent set of regulations (“Permanent Standard”) implemented in September 2021, by the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry’s (“DOLI”) Safety and Health Codes Board (the “Board”). Now, with COVID-19 transmission rates, hospitalizations and deaths sharply declining across the Commonwealth and a new occupant in the governor’s mansion in Richmond, the Board has begun the regulatory process that seems likely to lead to the repeal of the Permanent Standard in the not-too-distant future.
Read More...What are the Requirements for Becoming and Maintaining HUBZone Certification?
Intended to fuel small business growth in historically underutilized geographic areas, the government set a goal of awarding at least 3% of federal contract dollars to HUBZone certified companies that operate and employ residents of those areas each year. The program is beneficial for small businesses because, once certified, contracting officers may make sole-source awards to HUBZone contractors, and can receive a price preference on full and open competition.
Read More...Are Facemasks Still Required in Virginia Workplaces?
Back in July 2020, Virginia became one of the first states in the U.S. to implement comprehensive emergency temporary COVID-19 workplace safety regulations. Then, on September 8, 2021, the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry’s (“DOLI”) Safety and Health Codes Board (the “Board”) approved a permanent set of regulations governing workplace safety standards and disease prevention relating to COVID-19 (the “Permanent Standard”), which became effective upon approval by then-Governor Ralph Northam. Mandatory use of cloth facemasks at work during times of significant or high rates COVID-19 community transmission was one of the COVID-19 safety hallmarks under the Permanent Standard.
Read More...Big News for Big Employers: Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Reinstates OSHA COVID Workplace Safety Standards for Large Employers
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (“OSHA”) on-again-off-again COVID workplace safety regulations requiring businesses with 100 or more employees to mandate COVID vaccines for those employees or require face masks and weekly testing (the “ETS”) are back on, reinstated by the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a decision issued on December 17, 2021. The Sixth Circuit’s decision lifted the November 6, 2021 stay issued by the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The stay barred OSHA from enforcing the ETS pending full judicial review, finding that OSHA had exceeded the scope of its regulatory authority in issuing the ETS, in response to multiple lawsuits brought by private employers, labor unions, state governments and individual citizens across the country. Those lawsuits had been consolidated into a single proceeding before the Sixth Circuit, under federal multi-district litigation rules.
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Employment Law in Focus
In Episode 14 of Employment Law in Focus, attorney Doug Taylor discusses the new amended COVID-19 workplace safety regulations that went into effect on September 8, 2021, in Virginia.
Read More...What if Your Employee Refuses to Get the COVID-19 Vaccine?
In light of recent directives from the Biden Administration, an increasing number of employers with COVID-19 vaccine mandates will be faced with the question of what to do if an employee refuses to get vaccinated.
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