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Lawwise
    Lawwise

      Subjects

      This handbook

      Lawwise — The working handbook for ten regulated fields

      Water Rights

      Groundwater Management Areas and Pumping Limits

      Groundwater law began by letting a landowner pump without limit. Where aquifers are declining, states now draw a boundary on a map, close it to new appropriations, meter what is already there, and reduce it on a schedule.

      5 min readState law

      A center pivot sprinkler standing over a harvested field with a well head, electrical panel and pipe in the foreground.
      Advertising Law

      Comparative Claims and Challenges by Competitors

      A comparative claim must be supported by testing of the advertised product and the named comparison product, performed under identical conditions on the versions currently sold. Where the comparison names its evidence, the evidence must exist in that form. Beyond agency enforcement, a rival may sue under Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act for false advertising, seeking an injunction and monetary relief, or bring the claim before a self-regulatory advertising body.

      6 min readFederal and state

      Immigration Sponsorship

      Withdrawing and Refiling a Labor Certification

      Requests to modify an Application for Permanent Employment Certification are not accepted once it is filed. An employer that needs a different job title, wage, worksite or requirement must withdraw and refile. Withdrawal does not erase an audit notification already issued, does not preserve the priority date, and does not extend the validity of recruitment beyond the windows the regulation sets. The refiled case is new in every respect except the retention duty, which attaches to both.

      6 min readFederal law

      Government Contracts

      The Debriefing and the Clock It Starts

      An offeror excluded before award, or notified of an award in a negotiated procurement, may obtain a debriefing by written request made within three days of the notice. A required debriefing must disclose the evaluation of the offeror's own proposal, the awardee's evaluated price and technical rating, any overall ranking and the rationale for award. It may not disclose point-by-point comparisons. The debriefing date controls both the protest deadline and the window for the automatic suspension.

      5 min readFederal law

      Immigration Sponsorship

      The sponsor's obligations — the files, postings, audits and verification programs on the employer and institution side.

      All articles

      Withdrawing and Refiling a Labor Certification

      The Department of Labor does not accept requests to modify a filed application. An employer that finds an error has two options, and only one of them preserves anything: file the case as it stands and defend it, or withdraw and start over with a new priority date.

      6 min readFederal law

      Environmental Law

      Permits, discharges, waste and contaminated land — the compliance obligations and who enforces them.

      All articles
      Environmental Law

      All Appropriate Inquiries Before Buying Land

      All appropriate inquiries is the pre-acquisition investigation required for the innocent landowner, bona fide prospective purchaser and contiguous property owner protections. It must be performed by or under the supervision of an environmental professional meeting stated qualifications, must include specified inquiries and user-supplied information, must be completed within one year before acquisition, and must have five components updated within one hundred eighty days of acquisition.

      6 min readFederal and state

      Environmental Law

      Citizen Suits: Notice, Standing and the Diligent Prosecution Bar

      Most federal environmental statutes authorize any person to sue a violator or the administrator, after serving notice on the agency, the state and the alleged violator. The waiting period is sixty days for most claims and ninety days for endangerment claims under the waste statute. The suit is barred where the agency or state has commenced and is diligently prosecuting a qualifying action. Remedies are injunctive relief, penalties payable to the Treasury, and litigation costs.

      6 min readFederal and state

      Environmental Law

      Contaminated Land Liability and the Defenses to It

      Four classes of person are liable for response costs at a contaminated site: the current owner or operator, the owner or operator at the time of disposal, a person who arranged for disposal or treatment, and a transporter who selected the site. Liability is strict, retroactive and often joint and several. The statute supplies only three defenses, and the practical protections for purchasers and neighbors require pre-acquisition inquiry plus continuing obligations.

      6 min readFederal and state

      Agricultural & Food Law

      The law of farming and of what reaches the table — programs, protections, standards and labels.

      All articles
      Cattle in a holding pen at a livestock auction barn, with numbered lots chalked on a board above the gate.
      The deduction happens here, at the sale, before the check is written.

      Healthcare Regulation

      The rules a provider operates under — licensure, records, referrals, billing and the audits behind them.

      All articles

      Using Health Information Without Written Authorization

      Most disclosures of patient information happen without a signed form, because the privacy rule permits a defined list of purposes outright. The list is closed, the permission is narrower than it sounds, and a separate standard limits how much information each permitted purpose may carry.

      5 min readFederal and state

      Government Contracts

      Selling to the federal government — how the award is made, challenged, priced and ended.

      All articles
      Government Contracts

      The Debriefing and the Clock It Starts

      An offeror excluded before award, or notified of an award in a negotiated procurement, may obtain a debriefing by written request made within three days of the notice. A required debriefing must disclose the evaluation of the offeror's own proposal, the awardee's evaluated price and technical rating, any overall ranking and the rationale for award. It may not disclose point-by-point comparisons. The debriefing date controls both the protest deadline and the window for the automatic suspension.

      5 min readFederal law

      Government Contracts

      Sealed Bidding and Negotiated Procurement Compared

      Sealed bidding is required where time permits, award will be made on price and price-related factors, discussions are unnecessary, and more than one bid is expected. Bids are opened publicly and award goes to the responsible bidder whose responsive bid is most advantageous considering price alone. Negotiated procurement evaluates proposals against stated factors, permits a competitive range and discussions, and allows an award to other than the lowest price where the solicitation says so.

      5 min readFederal law

      Government Contracts

      The Settlement Proposal After a Contract Is Ended Early

      On a convenience termination the contractor stops work, terminates subcontracts, protects and disposes of property, and submits a settlement proposal within one year of the effective date unless the period is extended in writing. Recoverable amounts include preparations and work done, initial costs, settlement expenses, subcontractor settlements, and reasonable profit on work performed. Anticipatory profit is not recoverable, and a loss contract carries no profit.

      5 min readFederal law

      Labor Relations

      Collective law rather than individual employment — organizing, bargaining, and the disputes between them.

      All articles
      A hearing room with a plain table, a water pitcher, three chairs and a stenographer's machine on a stand.
      One hearing, one decision, and almost no prospect of a second look.

      Water Rights

      Who may take water, how much, and in what order — the oldest scarcity law in the West.

      All articles

      Groundwater Management Areas and Pumping Limits

      Groundwater law began by letting a landowner pump without limit. Where aquifers are declining, states now draw a boundary on a map, close it to new appropriations, meter what is already there, and reduce it on a schedule.

      5 min readState law

      Motor Carrier Law

      Operating authority, driver limits and cargo liability across the trucking and freight system.

      All articles
      Motor Carrier Law

      Cargo Loss and Damage Claims Against a Carrier

      Under 49 U.S.C. 14706 a receiving carrier is liable for the actual loss or injury to property it transports in interstate commerce. The claimant proves delivery in good condition, arrival short or damaged, and the amount of the loss. The carrier escapes only by proving freedom from negligence and one of five excepted causes. The bill of lading may not allow less than nine months to file a claim, or less than two years to sue after disallowance.

      6 min readFederal law

      Motor Carrier Law

      Equipment Leasing and Owner-Operator Protections

      A carrier operating equipment it does not own must have a written lease meeting 49 CFR 376.12. The lease must state the compensation, provide payment within fifteen days of submission of the delivery documents, itemize every chargeback and how it is computed, disclose insurance charges, and account for any escrow fund with interest and its return within forty-five days of termination. Violations may be pursued privately under 49 U.S.C. 14704.

      6 min readFederal law

      Motor Carrier Law

      Drug and Alcohol Testing Programs and the Clearinghouse

      A motor carrier employing drivers who operate vehicles requiring a commercial driver's license must run a testing program under 49 CFR Part 382 using the procedures in 49 CFR Part 40. Six categories of test are required: pre-employment, random, post-accident, reasonable suspicion, return-to-duty and follow-up. A full clearinghouse query precedes employment and a limited query runs at least annually. A driver with a violation is prohibited until the return-to-duty process is complete.

      6 min readFederal law

      Advertising Law

      What a claim must be able to prove, and what a seller may not do to close a sale.

      All articles
      Two identical measuring instruments on a workbench beside a printed results table and a pair of calipers.
      A comparison holds only if both products were measured the same way, at the same time.

      Correctional Law

      The procedural law of custody — grievances, discipline, conditions and the road to release.

      All articles

      Sentence Computation, Jail Credit and Earned Time

      A release date is arithmetic performed on documents. The sentence commences when the person is received into custody, prior custody credit is added under a rule with one firm exclusion, and credit earned in custody is applied against the total.

      6 min readFederal and state