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Far removed from the days of Moses and the reeds,[1] most adoptions today are open adoptions.[2] The particularities of open adoption agreements vary according to their individual terms but frequently include post-adoption visitation between the birth parent(s) and child.[3] Because Kentucky law is silent regarding the enforceability of open adoption agreements, these agreements are in effect unenforceable.[4] It is time for Kentucky’s laws to reflect what is known and practiced by other states[5] — that closed adoption no longer fulfills its intended purposes, and open adoption agreements often serve the best interests of the child, adoptive parents, and birth parents.
Environmental, Social, and Governance (“ESG”) principles were forged in the 2004 UN Global Compact Report titled “Who Cares Wins: Connecting Financial Markets to a Changing World.”[1] This report served as a promotional piece for the incorporation of ESG criteria into the investment process and identified various strategies for investors, fiduciaries, and market regulators. Within the report, a key assertion is:
“Both investors and asset managers should develop and communicate proxy voting strategies on ESG issues as this will support analysts and managers in producing relevant research and services.”[2]
During and in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic, social media and the internet were a vital part of the daily lives of Americans. It is where we went to learn more about what was going on around us, and connect with others in unprecedented times. The increase in use also lead to an increase in misinformation, and of the federal government’s actions to stop its spread. In this blog, KLJ Vol. 112 Staff Editor Abigail Vicars discusses Biden v. Missouri, and its implications as case law on this topic continues to develop.
Pursuant to the Supreme Court’s ruling in National Collegiate Athletic Association v. Alston, NCAA student athletes now have the ability to profit off of their name, image, and likeness without losing their collegiate eligibility. However, the restrictions on accepting prize money earned in professional competitions remain in place. In this blog, KLJ Vol. 112 Staff Editor Tate Craft argues that the Court’s holding in Alston may also destabilized the NCAA’s amateurism rules, allowing student athletes to accept performance payouts earned in professional competitions.
Imagine that you are in the business of commercial real estate. You own a number of office buildings that you lease to businesses. This is normally profitable, but declining property values, the rise of remote work, and economic uncertainty have cut into your profits.[1] Worse, imagine now that a state regulator brings a consumer protection lawsuit against one of your largest tenants.[2] The state regulator hauls your tenant in front of a judge. The lawyers for the state make a motion for court to place the tenant’s business in a receivership,[3] arguing that the appointment of a receiver is the only way to protect the tenant’s assets which could later be used to pay consumer damages and state penalties. Alternatively, the court could — on its own motion — appoint a receiver if the “facts justify the appointment and to preserve and protect property in litigation.”[4]
On January 9, 2024, the same day the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) published the Final Rule for Employee or Independent Contractor Classification under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”),[1] the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division announced their recovery of over $127,000 in wages from Lucero Aerospace Staffing Solutions, LLC for misclassifying workers as independent contractors.[2] The aviation maintenance workers were paid “straight-time rates for all hours” and were not paid the “half-time rate required” for overtime.[3] Investigators further reported that the Alabama staffing agency also violated the FLSA by failing to pay at least one worker minimum wage.[4]