PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Can Employers Impose a Health Insurance Surcharge on Plan Participants Not Vaccinated for COVID-19?
AGG Talks: Solving Employers’ Problems - Health Plan Premium Surcharges for the Unvaccinated: Are They Legal and How Do They Work?
As this year’s legislative session is wrapping up, two states, Virginia and Oklahoma, enacted legislation to reform their laws related to surcharges. May 2, 2025, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed Senate Bill 1212 to amend...more
On May 2, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin signed Senate Bill 1212 (SB 1212) into law, introducing new requirements and prohibitions under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act. Specifically, SB 1212 targets the disclosure of...more
In the wake of the Trump administration’s newly-imposed tariffs, many retailers are facing significant unanticipated cost increases across their supply chains, from raw materials, to manufacturing, to transporting goods...more
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) could see fewer trademark applications filed in numerous Classes with lengthy descriptions of goods and services as a result of an increase in trademark fees and new surcharges...more
The USPTO has announced significant changes to its trademark fee schedule, introducing new surcharges and increasing existing fees. These changes will take effect on January 18, 2025, for most filings and on February 18,...more
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) has announced increases and adjustments of certain trademark official fees, effective January 18, 2025. These changes follow a year-long comprehensive review process and...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has finalized its long-anticipated Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees (Final Rule), targeting hidden mandatory fees and ensuring transparent pricing disclosures to consumers. Unlike the Notice...more
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has announced changes and increases to certain trademark application filing fees and other charges. The new fees will take effect on January 18, 2025....more
Effective January 18, 2025, the USPTO will increase government fees for certain trademark and service mark related filings and requests. Fee changes relating to the Madrid Protocol designations at the USPTO and for renewals...more
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has finalized its fee schedule for 2025. The updated fee schedule is effective on January 19, 2025. It includes increases to most standard office fees....more
On June 29, 2024, Governor Newsom signed into law an amendment to California Code 1770, clarifying the scope of SB 478. Under SB 478 and previously published guidance from the attorney general, California restaurants were...more
Since July 1, when California’s “Honest Pricing Law” or “Hidden Fees Statute” became effective, the plaintiffs’ bar has filed more than a dozen complaints alleging violations of the statute....more
Over the weekend, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 1524 into law, an emergency provision clarifying that Senate Bill 478, the “hidden fees” law that went into effect this week, will not apply to restaurants, bar, food...more
On April 17, 2024, Virginia enacted HB 1519 taking a significant step towards amending the Virginia Consumer Protection Act (VCPA) to prohibit creditors from charging fees for accepting electronic payments in connection with...more
On May 20, Minnesota Gov. Tim Waltz signed the state’s so-called junk fee bill into law. The law, similar to a proposed Federal Trade Commission rule and laws in other states, requires businesses to include all mandatory fees...more
Yesterday, Senator Bill Dodd, D-Napa, introduced Senate Bill 1524 which would keep restaurant fees legal so long as they present additional fees “clearly and conspicuously.” This bill would amend Senate Bill 478, detailed...more
One of the questions that remains uncertain among looming federal and state “junk fee” and “drip pricing” bans in 2024 concerns the impact these rules will have on credit card surcharges. Surcharges are added to sale...more
California’s Department of Justice recently confirmed that California’s new law requiring businesses to disclose “junk fees” as part of the advertised price extends to California restaurants, delivering another challenge to a...more
Wednesday saw the release of CA Attorney General Bob Bonta’s long-awaited FAQs on the California “junk fee” ban, now rebranded as the “Honest Pricing Law” or “Hidden Fees Statute.” The FAQs largely reiterate the very...more
California’s new junk fee law is set to come into effect July 1. As a refresher, the law prohibits “advertising, displaying, or offering a price for a good or service that does not include all mandatory fees or charges.”...more
Recently, New York AB 2672 (the "Act") was enacted, and went into effect on February 11. The Act requires merchants that impose a credit surcharge fee to clearly and conspicuously post prices inclusive of a surcharge fee....more
Over the last ten years, nearly 300 class actions have been filed against retailers across the country, alleging that they deceived customers by advertising illusory sales or unsubstantiated reference prices. Our team is...more
In August, District of Columbia Attorney General (AG) Brian Schwalb issued a Supplemental Business Advisory (advisory) to provide guidance and examples to restaurants for complying with their legal obligation under the...more
The UK Prime Minister has announced a big hike in visa fees and the compulsory charges migrants pay to access the UK’s health system. Chief Secretary of the Treasury John Glen then provided more details on the price...more
Effective April 15, 2023, Visa has implemented a reduction in the permissible merchant surcharge to the lower of: (a) the merchant discount rate (MDR) for the applicable credit card or (b) 3%. The MDR is the fee charged to...more