As we have written before, any property owner whose property has been damaged or rendered non-operational as a result of an emergency declared by the governor can seek a reduction in the value of their affected property even though January 1st has passed. See La. R. S. 47:1978.1. On March 23, 2022, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards declared a statewide state of emergency due the severe storm that spawned several tornadoes. As such,…
We took a deeper dive into Mississippi’s milestones throughout 2020 and have listed those highlights below.
Mobile Wagering Legislation Has No Legs — Yet
Coast Senators Scott Delano and Philip Moran and others introduced bills (SB 2732, SB 2396, and HB 1042) to allow mobile sports betting statewide in an effort to enable Mississippi sports wagering to fend off competition from surrounding states. Alas, all mobile sports wagering bills stalled out in committee. Delano believes…
In a 2–1 decision, the US Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals dissolved the stay that had prevented implementation of the OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) requiring COVID-19 vaccination or testing. Within hours of that decision, numerous emergency appeals were filed with the US Supreme Court asking that the stay be put back in place pending Supreme Court review. Justice Kavanaugh set a deadline of 4 p.m. Dec. 30 for the Biden administration to respond to the appeals.
OSHA…
On December 7, 2021, the US District Court for the Southern District of Georgia granted a preliminary injunction to temporarily halt the enforcement of the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for government contractors nationwide. The court held that President Biden’s executive order likely exceeded his authority under the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act, 40 U.S.C. § 101 et seq. In his decision, Judge Baker stated the “direct impact” of President Biden’s executive order “goes beyond the administration…
Yesterday, November 18, 2021, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation designed to give employees numerous COVID-19 vaccination exemptions to use to avoid any mandatory vaccination policy their employers seek to impose. Specifically, private employers must grant exemptions for: health or religious concerns; pregnancy or anticipated future pregnancy; past recovery from COVID-19; periodic testing or using PPE (i.e., masks). The private employer would bear the costs of the periodic testing and/or PPE.
Employers who violate these…
Yesterday, November, 17th, OSHA officially suspended all activities regarding the implementation and enforcement of the recent ETS establishing the COVID-19 vaccination/testing mandate for employers. OSHA did this in response to the current injunction and in recognition of the fact that the viability of the ETS will take some time to work its way through the court system and ultimately almost certainly before the US Supreme Court.
What’s the takeaway? For now, employers need not worry…
Today, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued its much-anticipated emergency temporary standard (ETS) addressing COVID-19 vaccination and testing. Unlike other OSHA standards that count employees on an “establishment” basis, the ETS covers any private employer with 100 or more employees across the entire company. This broad definition is much more inclusive and will affect many more employers than many previous OSHA standards. Part-time, full-time, and remote employees are all included in the count. The new…
On September 9, 2021, President Biden issued his “COVID-19 Action Plan” that orders OSHA to establish a rule to mandate COVID-19 vaccines or weekly testing for all employers with 100 or more employees. The plan also includes an Executive Order with similar requirements for certain federal contractors. While many questions remain regarding what the final rules will look like, there are steps that companies can take now to prepare. In this live webinar, members of …
The Jones Walker LLP State and Local Tax Team is back with a day-long program on October 6, 2021, titled Jones Walker: Gameshow! This state and local tax workshop will be addressing all the relevant issues that have been picked up for a new season, as well as discussing and previewing all the new additions to the lineup. First, you will be guided through the Familiar Feud of Louisiana state and local tax procedure. Then, get ready…
In response to the pandemic, the Jones Walker SALT team published an article regarding La. R.S. 47:1978.1 and its mandate that property damaged, destroyed, or rendered nonoperational due to an emergency declared by the governor was subject to reassessment, including the consideration of additional obsolescence, as a result of that physical and financial damage.
In response to Hurricane Ida, Governor John Bel Edwards issued a statewide state of emergency order on August 26, 2021. As…