Bankruptcy & Creditor Rights

With a newly elected Republican President, it has been widely expected that the administrative agencies responsible for enforcing federal employment laws would begin to take a more “business friendly” approach. That sentiment was confirmed with the U.S. Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) announcement that it has withdrawn its written administrator interpretations addressing joint employment and the misclassification of employees as independent contractors.

On May 31, 2017, Mike Huff’s article “How long does the government have to reply to your request for information?” was posted on Grand Rapids Business Journal Law Blog.

In the June/July 2017 edition of West Michigan Woman, Neil Jansen is quoted in the article “Where There’s a Will. . .”

Thank to all those that attended our Michigan Townships Association Reception on Tuesday, April 11 at Troppo in Lansing.

In a previous edition of this publication, we highlighted the Michigan Court of Appeals 2016 Opinion in the case of Cramer v. Oakley, where the Court held that a public body’s duty to “grant” and “fulfill” a FOIA request were distinct concepts. Under that Opinion, municipalities were only required to respond to a FOIA request within the statutorily prescribed five (5) business days, but could “fulfill” the request (i.e., actually provide the records) at a later date as long as there was no inordinate delay. This is no longer the law! On April 5, 2017, the Supreme Court vacated the decision rendered by the Court of Appeals in Cramer v Oakley. The repercussions of the Supreme Court’s Order are that municipalities can no longer rely on the concept that granting and fulfilling a FOIA request are distinct or separate from one another.

Family law is not typically at the top of the list of issues concerning municipalities. Rarely—if ever—are divorce, custody, or child support mentioned when considering a text amendment to a zoning ordinance! Nevertheless, certain matters within the arena of family law might crop up within your municipality from time to time, particularly concerning current or former municipal employees who participate in a retirement or pension plan and may be going through a divorce.