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Maryland Bans the Box

by Declan Leonard | February 13, 2020 | Business Litigation

Last month, Maryland officially “banned the box” and enacted legislation that prohibits employers from initially seeking job applicants’ criminal records. Maryland now joins the District of Columbia and 13 other states that mandate removing criminal history questions from job applications for private employers. Virginia has not joined these states and…

#MeToo: Legislation of Non-Disclosure Agreements in Virginia

On Behalf of Berenzweig Leonard, LLP | February 13, 2020 | Employment & Labor Law

In 2019, Virginia became one of the few states in the nation to pass legislation aimed ataddressing one of the many issues exposed by the #MeToo movement: Non-Disclosure Agreements. Non-disclosure agreements, or NDAs, are a legal contract between two parties agreeing to keep confidential, or to limit the disclosure, of…

Changes Coming to Non-Competes in the DMV

by Nick Johnson | February 13, 2020 | Employment & Labor Law

Commonly used non-compete restrictions often found in employment agreements are facing mounting scrutiny on a nation-wide level. Several states, such as California, North Dakota, and Oklahoma, have already largely banned the use of non-competes, and many other states are taking a similar approach to varying degrees. With recent statistics from…

Maryland and Virginia Take Steps to Enact Privacy Laws

On Behalf of Berenzweig Leonard, LLP | February 13, 2020 | Business Litigation

Maryland and Virginia are the most recent states taking initiatives to enact consumer-focused privacy laws.  They join a growing trend among states to pass privacy protection laws aimed at protecting their residents.  The most notable and widely talked about was the California Consumer Privacy Act (also known as…

New Employment Records Disclosure and Pay Stub Requirements for Virginia Employers 

On Behalf of Berenzweig Leonard, LLP | February 13, 2020 | Employment & Labor Law

It is time for employers in Virginia to take steps to evaluate their employment records and payroll practices. The Virginia General Assembly enacted an employment records disclosure law requiring employers to furnish current and former employees certain personnel documents upon request. That law took effect on July 1, 2019. …

DoD releases Version 1 of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Framework

On Behalf of Berenzweig Leonard, LLP | February 11, 2020 | Government Contracts

DoD Releases V1 of CMMC Framework On January 30, 2020, DoD released Version 1 of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Framework (CMMC v.1).  When fully implemented, this framework will create a unified standard by which all DoD contractors will be required to certify their ability to protect Federal Contract…

Should Patent Law Permit AI Systems to be Inventors?

by Clyde E. Findley | February 3, 2020 | Intellectual Property

It’s starting to happen. Artificial intelligence (“AI”) systems have become smart enough to create new inventions. Two recent examples of AI-authored inventions were produced by a system called “Device for the Autonomous Bootstrapping of Unified Sentience” or simply “DABUS.” According to Dr. Stephen Thaler, who developed it, DABUS is a…

Agency’s Failure to Provide an Offered, but Not Required, Debriefing Does Not Extend Unsuccessful Offeror’s Deadline for Filing a Bid Protest

by Stephanie Wilson | January 22, 2020 | Government Contracts

A recent GAO decision reaffirms that an agency’s alleged failure to comply with debriefing requirements is a procedural matter not considered by GAO. This decision also highlights why an unsuccessful offeror should be aware of the situations in which a debriefing is actually required by the FAR, as opposed to…

Welcome To Berenzweig Leonard’s Riding The Rocket Docket Blog

On Behalf of Berenzweig Leonard, LLP | January 17, 2020 | Rocket Docket

This is the inaugural entry of Berenzweig Leonard’s newest blog, named “Riding the Rocket Docket”— intended to focus on the Alexandria Division of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, frequently referred to as “the Rocket Docket.” In 2019, change came to the Alexandria Division of the…

Vendor Improperly Used Continuous FSS Contracts

On Behalf of Berenzweig Leonard, LLP | January 8, 2020 | Government Contracts

Contractors holding “continuous” GSA Federal Supply Schedule (“FSS”) contracts must be careful they bid under the correct FSS contract.   Starting in February 2016, the General Services Administration (“GSA”) Federal Acquisition Service (“FAS”) allowed contractors to hold two continuous FSS contracts. The revised policies and procedures allow contractors to…

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