Kean Miller

Subscribe to Kean Miller's Posts

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) began a pilot program for Expedited Penalty Agreements in mid-2004 which is continuing until June 10, 2005, and may be renewed. This pilot program establishes fixed penalty amounts for common environmental violations of minor to moderate significance – for instance, failure to report RQ releases, late submittal of air and water reports, missed sampling events, sanitary sewer system problems, UST requirements, waste oil requirements and the like.
Continue Reading Effective Use of DEQ Expedited Penalty Agreements Saves Money

Put this in the category of – “What’s in a name?” Or “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” An issue which arises often in the employment area is the significance of a title given to an employee or to a job. The question arises when an employer enters into a contract with someone characterized as an “independent contractor,” or the employer gives a job/position a title such as “salaried administrative.” Simply put, you cannot change the nature of an employment relationship by naming a position or entering into a contract.
Continue Reading What’s in a Name? – Significance of Employee Titles

LSU Chemistry Professor Isiah Warner was awarded a $1 million professorship from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Warner intends to use the funds to establish a diversity mentoring program to enhance science education among minorities to encourage minorities to enter science professions. LSU already produces more African-American chemistry Ph.D.’s than any other graduate shcool in…

If you think that Louisiana’s environmental penalty settlement process is already political – you ain’t seen nothin’ yet! Representative Wayne Waddel of Shreveport has introduced House Bill 347 in the 2005 Louisiana Legislative Session to amend the environmental statutes to require that ten percent of any fine imposed by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality…

In an unprecedented hearing today, the Louisiana Tax Commission ruled to give 90% obsolescence to Future Utility wells, reversing the Commission’s adopted rule of 60% for Future Utility wells published in the January Louisiana Register.

LIOGA President Don Briggs, Daron Frederickson and Ken Cariker of Affiliated Tax Consultants, and Chris Dicharry of Kean Miller, all…

In August of last year, a Colorado Federal District Court decided there is no private right of action under the privacy provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”). Strangely, this case was not brought by an individual claiming the health care provider, a hospital, had violated the individual’s HIPAA rights.…

On February 3, 2005, the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) responded to two issues raised in petitions for reconsideration filed in response to EPA’s rule to implement the 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). See, 70 Fed. Reg. 5593. The federal agency also proposed to revise two aspects of the implementation rule first…

A recent decision of the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, Clara Patrick versus Tom Ridge, Secretary, Department of Homeland Security, No. 04-10194 (December 2004) shows how a lack Of “sufficient clarity” in articulating a reason for an employment decision can sometimes negatively impact an employer.

The employee in this case advanced charges of age discrimination and retaliation arising out of the employer’s refusal to promote her to a supervisory position for which she had applied. The district court had earlier dismissed the claims pursuant to a motion for summary judgment filed by the defendants. The Court of Appeals, however, reversed the dismissal and at the same time provided employers with a good reminder about the need to be able to articulate “specifics” in certain situations. The district court ruled (and the defendants did not challenge on appeal) that the employee succeeded
in making out a prima facie case for both age discrimination and retaliation.
Continue Reading How Specific Do Employers Need to Be?