Amundsen Davis

Tipping has been part of the modern-day American restaurant experience for decades. Like most forms of income, these tips are taxable and subject to income tax. But what if this income was free from income tax liability?This idea was proposed under the recently introduced bicameral legislation dubbed the No Tax on Tips Act (“Act”). This newly proposed regime has also seen traction and support at the state level. Wisconsin legislatures have proposed a similar bill to provide relief for
Continue Reading No Tax on Tips Act: How Taxpayers Can Prepare

ArticleAmundsen Davis Intellectual Property AlertMarch 10, 2025For a business planning to market a product that incorporates an invention, having an enforceable patent to protect the invention is often desirable.
Two recent federal circuit cases reiterate what many patent holders and patent practitioners alike have observed: It is important to understand the deadlines that may dictate when a patent application should or must be filed to maintain exclusive rights to an invention.
Caselaw Background: Invalid Patent Examples
In Celanese International
Continue Reading Preserving Patent Rights: Impact of Public Use on Patenting

Join Amundsen Davis for a new complimentary webcast series, Breakfast Briefings. Beginning with our first session on Wednesday, March 19, this series offers employers the tips, tricks, and guidance needed to thrive in an ever-changing landscape.
Continue Reading Register Now for Breakfast Briefings: Ensuring Effective Employee
Communications and Compliance Expectations

Governor Evers takes another swing at legalizing marijuana in Wisconsin. Companion bills AB50 and SB45 would create several avenues to legally obtain marijuana, including through an adult-use market, a medical program, and home grow opportunities.

In the 2025-27 proposed Wisconsin state budget, Governor Evers takes another swing at legalizing marijuana. Companion bills AB50 and SB45 (“Bills”) detail what legalization could look like in the state.

The Bills would create several avenues to legally obtain marijuana, including through an adult-use
Continue Reading Marijuana Legalization Proposed Again in Wisconsin: Considerations and Potential Opportunities

The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced plans to significantly reduce the number of entities that must report under the Corporation Transparency Act (CTA). The announcement indicates that the Treasury Department intends to eliminate the reporting obligation for domestic companies.
Continue Reading Treasury Department Announces Suspension of Enforcement of Corporate
Transparency Act

President Trump returned to office for a second non-contiguous term in January 2025 with a much more coherent and methodical trade plan than during his first administration.This term, he aims to prioritize strict enforcement of U.S. trade laws against perceived economic competitors with the goal of forcing U.S. companies and those of the competitors to set up businesses domestically. It has been just over 40 days since the administration returned to office and the flurries of executive orders and
Continue Reading How Companies Can Adapt and Thrive in an Uncertain Trade Environment

On February 21, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced it was dropping its case against Coinbase. Many in the crypto world believe this might represent the beginning of the SEC’s capitulation on its crypto enforcement litigation.
Continue Reading SEC Drops Case Against Coinbase: What Are the Implications for Other
Cryptocurrency Cases With the SEC?

ArticleAmundsen Davis International Trade AlertFebruary 26, 2025On February 1, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Orders (“EOs”) imposing additional 25 percent duties on almost all imports from Canada and Mexico, and 10 percent duties on import of energy from Canada.
These tariffs were due to go into effect on February 4, 2025, but were suspended for an additional 30 calendar days pending negotiation. They are now scheduled to become effective on Friday March 4, 2025, unless a new agreement is
Continue Reading U.S. Businesses Brace for 25% Duties on Imports From Canada and Mexico

On February 21, 2025, a U.S. District Court judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking the enforcement of key provisions of the Trump administration’s executive orders terminating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) grants, contracts, and initiatives. This ruling is the first—and likely not the last—in a series of challenges and the final outcome is likely to have a significant impact on employers.
Continue Reading “Red Light, Green Light”: Federal Court Blocks Trump’s DEI Executive Orders

As part of the Paperwork Burden Reduction Act, signed into law on December 23, 2024, Internal Revenue Code (IRC) sections 6055(c) and 6056(c) were amended to allow the use of the alternative method for distributing Forms 1095-B and 1095-C.

Stated simply, employers were given the green light to simply post a general notice of availability instead of being required to individually distribute Form 1095-C.

Existing guidance was already in place describing requirements for an alternative method of distributing Form
Continue Reading IRS Issues Guidance on Alternative Distribution Method for Form 1095-C

On Friday, Feb. 21, Governor Whitmer signed House Bill 4002 (H.B. 4002) and Senate Bill 8 (S.B. 8) into law, which impose last minute and new amendments to Michigan’s Earned Sick Time Act (ESTA) and minimum wage law (i.e., the Improved Workforce Opportunity Wage Act) that were set to take effect on Feb. 21, 2025.

Both bills were effective immediately upon the governor’s signature, making it critical for employers to understand the amendments.
Background on Michigan’s Sick Time and
Continue Reading Michigan Amends Its Minimum Wage and Earned Sick Time Laws Effective Immediately… Again

The Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act is a federal law that requires parties to a future business sale transaction to disclose certain information to determine that the transaction does not violate antitrust laws and harm competition if consummated.

As part of the required disclosure, each party is required to prepare and submit an HSR Form for the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to conduct a risk assessment prior to approval. The agencies recently released updated HSR Forms
Continue Reading New Merger Review Process: How to Prepare for Your Next Filing

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced in a February 19, 2025 alert that the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) is back in effect. The new deadline for most companies to file beneficial ownership information (BOI) reports is now March 21, 2025.

FinCEN’s announcement follows a February 17, 2025 order by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Smith, et al. v. U.S. Department of Treasury, et al., which effectively 
Continue Reading The Corporate Transparency Act Is Back in Effect With a March 21 Reporting Deadline

ArticleAmundsen Davis International Trade AlertFebruary 18, 2025On February 14, 2025, two federal registrar notices, including Annex I, were published, providing details on “derivative articles” that fall within the scope of the two presidential proclamations that impose an additional 25 percent duties on imported steel and aluminum products into the U.S. The annexes define additional derivative products that will be subject to these duties beginning March 12.
Per the two notices, derivative articles are defined by tariff classification in the
Continue Reading Steel and Aluminum Tariff “Derivative Articles” Defined

On February 14, 2025, William Cowen, the acting general counsel (“GC”) for the National Labor Relations Board (“Board”) rescinded several Guidance Memorandums that were previously issued by the Board’s former GC, Jennifer Abruzzo, during the Biden administration. The recissions made through Memorandum GC 25-05 impact very significant and slightly controversial policy priorities under Abruzzo.

The action appears to be part of the Trump Administration’s efforts to reorganize and overhaul government and government agencies. Indeed, Acting GC Cowen explained:
Over
Continue Reading NLRB’s Acting General Counsel Rescinds Biden-Era Guidance Memorandums

ArticleAmundsen Davis International Trade AlertFebruary 12, 2025On February 10 and 11, 2025, President Trump issued two exceptionally aggressive proclamations that impose additional tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to the U.S. Although there will be forthcoming Annexes that provide additional details on covered scope and compliance requirements for the trade community, there are several key takeaways to be aware of at this juncture.

  • Beginning March 12, 2025, all duties, including on derivative articles on steel and aluminum, will go


Continue Reading Key Takeaways From President Trump’s February 2025 Steel and Aluminum
Tariff Proclamations