Department of Labor Issues New Health & Welfare Fringe Benefits Rates for Contracts Covered by the Service Contract Act
Client Alert | 1 min read | 08.08.17
On July 25, 2017, the Department of Labor issued its annual memorandum increasing the health and welfare fringe benefits rate (H&W rate) for contracts covered by the Service Contract Act from $4.27 per hour to $4.41 per hour, with corresponding increases from $1.78 per hour to $1.91 per hour for Hawaii. In a new measure, the DOL set the H&W rate for contracts covered by Executive Order 13706, Establishing Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contractors, at $4.13 per hour ($ 1.63 per hour in Hawaii) to account for the additional paid sick leave benefits covered contractors must provide under E.O. 13706. These new H&W rates must be included in all bids or other service contracts awarded after August 1, 2017, but the rates do not automatically apply to existing contracts until contracting agencies modify the contracts with an updated wage determination.
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Client Alert | 6 min read | 11.26.25
From ‘Second’ to ‘First:’ Federal Circuit Tackles Obvious Claim Errors
Patent claims must be clear and definite, as they set the boundaries of the patentee’s rights. Occasionally, however, claim language contains errors, such as typographical mistakes or incorrect numbering. Courts possess very limited authority to correct such errors. The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has emphasized that judicial correction is appropriate only in rare circumstances, where (1) the error is evident from the face of the patent, and (2) the proposed correction is the sole reasonable interpretation in view of the claim language, specification, and prosecution history. See Group One, Ltd. v. Hallmark Cards, Inc., 407 F.3d 1297, 1303 (Fed. Cir. 2005) and Novo Indus., L.P. v. Micro Molds Corp., 350 F.3d 1348, 1357 (Fed. Cir. 2003).
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Brussels Court Clarifies the EU’s SPC Manufacturing Waiver Regulation Rules
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