Scopelitis Law Firm

On February 10, 2025, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 736, Protect Small Businesses From Excessive Paperwork Act of 2025, 408–0. The bill extends the deadline for filing Beneficial Ownership Information (“BOI”) reports to January 1, 2026, for reporting companies formed before January 1, 2024. A companion bill has been introduced in the Senate. The Senate bill has been referred to committee but remains pending. If the bill passes the Senate, it will impact approximately 32 million small businesses. Until the bill passes, however, the BOI reporting deadline for all reporting companies remains March 21, 2025. Contact Scopelitis Attorneys Katie Feary-Gardner, Jordan Yu, and Jay D. Robinson with questions. https://lnkd.in/e7aCcbBP

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it intends to send to Congress several waivers granted by EPA to California during the Biden administration to enforce vehicle emissions standards on new trucks imposed by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). The waivers that EPA announced it will be sending to Congress are with respect to the following CARB regulations: -- Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) -- Heavy-Duty Omnibus/Low NOx (Omnibus) -- Advanced Clean Cars II More from Scopelitis Partner Prasad Sharma on what’s to come for new truck availability. https://lnkd.in/g3SHGSMA

Scopelitis Partners Greg Feary, Steven A. Pletcher, and Braden Core will lead a Transportation Regulatory Update session at the Customized Logistics and Delivery Association (CLDA)'s 2025 Final Mile Forum in San Diego, California. Topics will include the latest on the US DOL IC Test Rule, FMCSA’s Truck Leasing Task Force, FMCSA insurance limits, non-compete provisions under the Federal Trade Commission, and air cargo issues. https://lnkd.in/gN4DaiTP #FMF25 #FinalMile #Logistics

Scopelitis Partner Mary Beth (Steiner) Hughes will lead the next installment of the American Trucking Associations Law Review Webinar Series. During "Workers’ Compensation Legal Update: Piecing Together the Puzzle of 50 States’ Laws," Hughes will discuss a variety of workers’ compensation topics affecting the trucking industry, including multi-jurisdictional accident litigation and potential legislative reforms to workers’ compensation laws across the country. https://lnkd.in/g2PjVHJw

This week, Scopelitis Attorneys Caroline Milner and Dylan Goetsch are teaching Case Studies in Warehouse Law at Global Cold Chain Alliance (GCCA)’s Cold Chain Institute East in Atlanta. The GCCF Cold Chain Institute is the premier training program for cold chain professionals engaged in temperature-controlled logistics, including cold chain management, employee safety, food safety, warehouse operations, and transportation operations.   https://lnkd.in/efBcAqqk #SupplyChain #Warehousing #Logistics

Late Monday, President Trump fired National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo in a highly anticipated move. At the outset of President Biden’s term in early 2021, Biden fired Trump appointee Peter Robb, and federal courts subsequently affirmed the firing as appropriate. The Board’s deputy general counsel, Jessica Rutter, has temporarily assumed the role of acting general counsel while Trump seeks out a new General Counsel. Trump also fired Board Member Gwynne Wilcox, whose term does not expire until August 2028. If that firing stands (which seems to run contrary to legal precedent), it would leave the Board with only two members: Chair Marvin Kaplan, a Republican, and David Prouty, a Democrat. The Board was similarly positioned with only two members in 2007 when it issued several decisions despite lacking a three-member quorum. The United States Supreme Court ruled that a two-member Board does not satisfy the Board’s quorum requirement, invalidating all decisions made by that two-member Board. We expect the Board to follow that precedent and refrain from rendering any decisions until at least a third member is appointed, which can be a lengthy process. Decision-making before the NLRB will, therefore, likely just grind to a halt. For more information on the legality of firing Board Member Wilcox or questions about where the Board may go from here, please contact James Hanson, Don Vogel, A. Jack Finklea. https://lnkd.in/et53YHxv

This week Scopelitis Partner Kevin Phillips is teaching Warehouse 101 at International Warehouse Logistics Association's 2025 IWLA Essentials of Warehousing Course in New Orleans. Essentials of Warehousing gives warehousing professionals a broad perspective of third-party warehousing, from operations to staffing to leadership to customer service to law and more.   https://lnkd.in/etRvCsqB #SupplyChain #Warehousing #Logistics

Scopelitis Partners Nathaniel Saylor and Clifford Lauchlan on the increase in instances of motor carriers filing or threatening to file defamation lawsuits against brokers in an effort to have negative online reviews and reports published by the broker removed. The recent case, 𝘖𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘕𝘰𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘷. 𝘕𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘎𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱, 𝘓𝘓𝘊, provides an example of this trend. In this case, there were several miscommunications between broker and carrier regarding delivery times and the weight of the load. These miscommunications led to complications in pick-up and resulted in the carrier giving the broker an “ultimatum,” holding the freight hostage, and demanding additional compensation. More on how this case offers a timely reminder to freight brokers on how to mitigate potential exposure and risk. https://lnkd.in/gbugsHre

The January 2025 Transportation Brief focuses on what President Trump’s return means for the supply chain, including potential changes to taxes, the regulatory landscape, emissions, Independent Contractor classification, and beyond. Read more from Scopelitis Partners Greg Feary, Shannon Cohen, Prasad Sharma, Chris Eckhart, Katie Feary-Gardner, Don Vogel, Nathaniel Saylor, and Braden Core. https://lnkd.in/g-QVwhFw

This month marks the retirement of several attorneys whose talent and dedication contributed to the Firm’s success. Their work helped expand practice areas, including Labor & Employment, Corporate Structuring & Strategy, Mergers & Acquisitions, Negotiation Counsel, and beyond.  “This group worked tirelessly to serve our clients for over fifty years combined,” said Scopelitis Law Firm President & Managing Partner Greg Feary. “Their careers and value to us as colleagues and friends will have a lasting impact on our work and the industry for years to come.” Thanks to Bill Brejcha, Fritz Damm, Jim Golden, and John Smeltzer, and best of luck during your well-deserved retirements.