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      All articles — page 9

      The full handbook in alphabetical order, across every subject.

      97
      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

      98
      Environmental Law

      Self-Disclosure and the Penalty Reduction It Buys

      The federal audit policy waives one hundred percent of the gravity-based penalty where a violation is found through systematic discovery, disclosed voluntarily and promptly, corrected and remediated, and where recurrence is prevented, no repeat or serious harm violation is involved, and the discloser cooperates. Discovery outside a systematic process reduces the waiver to seventy-five percent. Economic benefit is not waived, and the policy binds only the federal agency.

      6 min readFederal and state

      99
      Correctional Law

      Sentence Computation, Jail Credit and Earned Time

      Under 18 U.S.C. 3585 a sentence commences on the date the person is received into custody awaiting transportation to or arriving at the designated facility. Prior custody credit is given for time spent in official detention before the sentence commenced, as a result of the offense or of related conduct, but only where that time has not been credited against another sentence. Good conduct time under 18 U.S.C. 3624(b) and earned time credits then reduce the time actually served.

      6 min readFederal and state

      100
      Government Contracts

      Size Protests and the Affiliation Rules

      An offeror not eliminated for reasons unrelated to size may protest an awardee's size by a writing received by the contracting officer before the close of business on the fifth business day after being notified of the prospective awardee, or after bid opening in a sealed bid. The protest must plead specific facts. Size is measured as of the date of self-certification with the initial offer including price, and it includes the concern together with all of its affiliates worldwide.

      5 min readFederal law

      101
      Environmental Law

      Spill and Release Reporting: What, to Whom, How Fast

      A release of a hazardous substance at or above its reportable quantity within twenty-four hours requires immediate notification to the National Response Center. A release of an extremely hazardous substance also requires immediate notice to the state emergency response commission and the local emergency planning committee, followed by a written report. Oil discharges causing a sheen on navigable waters, and permit and waste rule violations, carry their own separate notifications.

      6 min readFederal and state

      102
      Environmental Law

      Stormwater Permits for Construction Sites and Industrial Land

      Stormwater associated with construction activity disturbing one acre or more, and stormwater associated with activity in one of the listed industrial categories, requires permit coverage. Coverage is normally obtained under a general permit by filing a notice of intent after a pollution prevention plan has been prepared. The plan, the inspection records and the corrective action entries are the compliance record, and coverage ends only on a filed notice of termination.

      6 min readFederal and state

      103
      Immigration Sponsorship

      Student Record Reporting and the Cost of a Late Entry

      A certified school reports each term whether an enrolled student registered, dropped below a full course of study or failed to appear, and it does so within a fixed period after the registration deadline. Separately, it reports defined changes within twenty-one days of the change. Both duties rest on the school rather than the student. A missed entry leaves the record contradicting the student's actual situation, and that contradiction is what a reviewer reads.

      6 min readFederal law

      104
      Advertising Law

      Substantiation: What a Claim Must Prove Before It Is Made

      Under the Federal Trade Commission Act an objective product claim carries an implied representation that the advertiser had a reasonable basis for it at the time of dissemination. Proof acquired after publication does not cure the failure. Where the claim names its support, the advertiser must hold that support in the form claimed. Health, safety and efficacy claims are ordinarily measured against competent and reliable scientific evidence.

      6 min readFederal law

      105
      Immigration Sponsorship

      Substantive and Technical Violations: Which Can Be Cured

      The statute treats a technical or procedural failure as compliance where the employer made a good faith attempt, provided it is given notice and at least ten business days to correct. Substantive failures carry no cure. The distinction is drawn by agency guidance rather than by regulation, and the adjudicating judges have not always followed it. Penalties begin with the proportion of forms carrying violations and are adjusted for five statutory factors.

      5 min readFederal law

      106
      Immigration Sponsorship

      Successor Employers and the Records They Inherit

      A buyer acquiring a workforce chooses between adopting the seller's employment verification forms and completing new ones, and adopting them means inheriting their defects. Wage attestations pass to a successor only where it assumes the predecessor's obligations in a sworn statement placed in each public access file. An approved labor certification and its priority date may follow a successor that assumed the predecessor's rights and assets. Program enrollment does not transfer to a new entity.

      6 min readFederal law

      107
      Labor Relations

      Successorship and the Obligation to Bargain

      A buyer becomes a successor where there is substantial continuity in the business and a majority of its employees in an appropriate unit came from the predecessor. A successor must recognize and bargain with the incumbent representative but is not bound by the predecessor's agreement and may generally set initial terms. That freedom is lost where the buyer has made retention perfectly clear.

      5 min readFederal law

      108
      Healthcare Regulation

      Telehealth: Where the Patient Is, and Which License Applies

      State law almost uniformly treats the practice of medicine as occurring at the patient's location, so a clinician furnishing a remote encounter needs a license in the patient's state. Interstate compacts reduce the cost of obtaining one but work differently by profession: some expedite full licensure in each state, others confer a privilege to practice on a single home-state license. Prescribing authority, payment rules and malpractice coverage are separate questions with separate answers.

      5 min readState law