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Latest from Amundsen Davis Newsletters & Alerts

Federal and state prevailing wage mandates are colliding on construction projects in Illinois, exposing owners, developers, and contractors to conflicting compliance obligations and increased project costs. Construction hard hat and high-vis vestWith the enactment of Illinois HB 1189, projects that long fell exclusively under the federal prevailing wage law (Davis-Bacon) may now also be subject to the state’s prevailing wage law mandates.While the Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) has issued guidance for contractors, there is little clarity on how to reconcile fundamental and incompatible…
Continue Reading Are Your Federal Construction Projects Now Subject to the Illinois
Prevailing Wage? What Contractors Must Know

ArticleAmundsen Davis Construction AlertApril 27, 2026
The U.S. Department of Labor has revised OSHA’s National Emphasis Program (NEP) on outdoor and indoor heat-related hazards, signaling that construction employers should expect continued heat inspections rather than the rollout of a new federal heat standard. Construction site in the sunlight
The updated NEP, which takes effect immediately and continues through April 10, 2031, refines how OSHA targets employers, including construction jobsites, for heat-related inspections when the heat index is expected to be 80 degrees or higher.

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Continue Reading OSHA Revises Heat Enforcement Program for Construction Jobsites, Signaling
Continued Enforcement Instead of a Federal Heat Rule

In a major win for businesses facing Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”) claims, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently held that the 2024 amendment limiting damages applies retroactively to cases pending at the time of enactment.

This decision significantly reduces potential exposure by limiting plaintiffs who allege multiple, biometric data collections or disclosures to a single recovery, rather than per-scan statutory damages, even for actions that predate the amendment. The ruling also undercuts the

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Continue Reading Seventh Circuit Ruling Curbs BIPA Damages for Illinois Businesses

Book about Defamation Law and gavel.
Book about Defamation Law and gavel.

A new lawsuit filed by Lebohang “Lebo M” Morake, the Grammy‑winning composer behind the iconic opening chant in Disney’s The Lion King, raises important questions about defamation, comedy, and reputational harm. Morake has sued comedian Learnmore “Jonasi” Mwanyenyeka for $27 million, alleging that a joking “translation” of the chant during a podcast appearance damaged his reputation by misrepresenting the meaning of the lyrics to a global audience.

At the center of the dispute is a viral podcast clip

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Continue Reading Defamation or Comedy? Lion King Composer’s Lawsuit Tests the Limits of Reputation Protection

Federal Court Draws the Line on PIPS After Muldrow: A Win for Employers in Walsh v. HNTB

In the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2024 Muldrow v. City of St. Louis decision, the Court expanded the legal standard for what qualifies as an “adverse employment action” by pivoting from asking whether a change to an employee’s terms or conditions of employment was “material” to whether  the change left the employee worse off in those terms or conditions. Supreme Court of the United StatesUnsurprisingly, employers saw a

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Continue Reading Federal Court Draws the Line on PIPS After Muldrow: A Win for Employers in
Walsh v. HNTB

Ohio is currently at the center of one of the most significant shifts in name, image, and likeness (“NIL”) rights for high school student-athletes.

After years of focusing on NIL in college athletics, the most consequential developments are now occurring much earlier in the athletic pipeline, with direct implications for students, schools, and policymakers.

Until recently, Ohio stood as one of the last holdouts in the country, prohibiting high school student-athletes from earning compensation tied to their name, image,

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Continue Reading Leveling the Playing Field: How Ohio’s NIL Battle Signals the Future of High School Sports

ArticleAmundsen Davis International Trade AlertApril 9, 2026
On April 2, 2026, President Trump issued a proclamation under section 232 tariff authority imposing sweeping new tariffs on patented pharmaceutical products and ingredients imported into the U.S., with rates reaching up to 100 percent and taking effect as early as July 2026 for certain companies.Prescription pill bottole
The implementation timelines and rates vary depending on the importing company’s size, product country of origin, and trade deals with partners. Companies identified in Annex III will face

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Continue Reading Trump Overhauls Section 232 Tariffs on Patented Pharmaceutical Products

On April 2, President Trump issued a new presidential proclamation adjusting his earlier issued section 232 tariffs on steel, aluminum, copper, and their respective derivative products. The changes went into effect on April 6 and alter how these tariffs are assessed and calculated.
Key Changes to Section 232 Tariffs
The “adjustments,” which are specifically provided in the accompanying Annexes I-A, I-B, II, III & IV, provide as follows:

  • Articles made entirely or almost entirely of aluminum, steel, or

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Continue Reading Trump Overhauls Section 232 Tariffs on Steel, Aluminum, and Copper

A major shift in federal tax law now allows innovative businesses to deduct many domestic research and experimental costs immediately.  The One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 (the “OBBB”) created new Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) §174A, permitting full first‑year expensing of domestic “research and experimental” costs for tax years beginning after Dec. 31, 2024.

Alternatively, taxpayers may elect to amortize those domestic “research and experimental” costs over a period of not less than 60 months. This reverses the…
Continue Reading New Federal Research Tax Credit Rules: How Increasing Research Activity Can Benefit Innovators From the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

Article
A growing wave of CIPA lawsuits claims that common website analytics tools unlawfully “eavesdrop” on California consumers by collecting behavioral data without clear disclosure or consent. Any business with a website accessible in California could be at risk. Understanding what triggers these lawsuits and how to tighten up website privacy practices can help companies stay out of the crosshairs.

Continue Reading Wiretap or Trap and Trace: A Common Data Privacy Claim That May Be Coming
Your Way

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), in response to an order issued by the Court of International Trade (CIT), proposed on March 6 an administrative process to refund tariffs imposed by President Trump.
As we previously reported, on February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) was unconstitutional. As a result of that decision, the case was kicked back to the CIT to address the refund…
Continue Reading Trump Tariffs: CBP Proposes Refund Process Following Court of International Trade Order

On July 3, 2025, Congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (“OBBBA”). This legislation was officially signed into law on July 4, 2025, and makes permanent a number of provisions first introduced in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). Below are some of the highlights from the OBBBA as they pertain to estate planning and personal tax strategies.
Gift and Estate Tax Exemption
Under the TCJA, the estate and gift tax exemption amounts were increased, with

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Continue Reading Tax Changes Under the OBBBA Relevant to Estate Planning

In a significant development for U.S. trade policy, on February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA”) to impose (1) overly broad worldwide reciprocal tariffs and (2) fentanyl/penalty/ immigration-related tariffs on China, Mexico, and Canada was unconstitutional.

As a result of that decision, the Supreme Court reaffirmed the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“CAFC”) decision, and kicked the case back to the Court of International…
Continue Reading The Supreme Court of the United States Strikes Down Trump Administration’s Use of Emergency Commerce Law to Impose Broad Tariffs

Many experts in the commercial transportation industry are bracing themselves for continued increase in cargo theft in 2026.  A recent federal case highlights the increasing sophistication of cargo thieves and high stakes.

On January 16, 2026, the Department of Justice of the Southern District of Indiana announced the arrest and sentencing of six individuals connected with an organized theft ring and responsible for a multi-million dollar cargo heist. The group responsible carried out at least 14 separate cargo thefts…
Continue Reading Combatting Cargo Theft and Organized Crime: Strategies for Trucking and Logistics Companies

Over the past year, escalating protective tariffs have prompted many domestic and foreign medical device manufacturers to reach out for assistance with duty-free entry of their products into the U.S.

In many cases, relief is available under the little-known international agreement, the Nairobi Protocol, formally known as the Protocol to the Agreement on the Importation of Educational, Scientific and Cultural Materials.
How the Nairobi Protocol Provides Duty-Free Entry
The U.S. implements the Nairobi Protocol through special provision of the

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Continue Reading How to Qualify Medical Devices for Duty-Free Import Into the U.S.