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Trade Winds: Federal Government Announces Next Commercial Offshore Wind Leasing Auction

Client Alert | 1 min read | 12.18.13

On December 17, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced a 60-day public comment period  for a proposed auction process designed to open nearly 80,000 acres offshore Maryland for commercial wind energy leasing. The announcement, which follows recent auctions of 112,000 acres offshore Virginia and 164,000 acres offshore Rhode Island and Massachusetts, is the latest in a series of actions by the federal government designed to increase wind and other renewable energy production and to facilitate the development of new clean technology industries generally (previously discussed here, here, here, and here).

Insights

Client Alert | 4 min read | 03.05.26

DOL’s Proposed Independent Contractor Rule Reverts to Prioritize Two Core Factors – Likely Limiting Misclassification Claims by Contractors

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has proposed another revision to independent contractor regulations, one that would provide for more leeway in classifying workers as contractors. DOL’s proposed rule, published on February 26, 2026, would rescind the Biden DOL’s March 2024 independent contractor regulation and reinstate a framework substantially tracking the prior Trump rule of January 2021. The proposed rule would also apply the narrower analysis to worker classifications under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA). The comment period closes in late April 2026; until then, the 2024 rule remains in effect for purposes of private litigation....