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BIDEN REINSTATES COVID-19 TRAVEL BAN AND ADDS SOUTH AFRICA Effective January 26, 2021, President Biden reinstated a COVID-19 related restriction on travel from Brazil, Ireland, the UK and the Schengen Area. The Trump Administration had scheduled this ban to be lifted on January 26, 2021. Effe...

Minami Tamaki is investigating Midwestern Pet Foods, Inc. after numerous reports that dogs have become ill or died from eating the company's Sportmix brand pet foods. The Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) has reported that at least 70 dogs have died after consuming Sportmix products. The FDA h...

DOL Issued Final Rule Will Dramatically Increase Prevailing Wages On January 14, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a final rule entitled, “Strengthening Wage Protections for the Temporary and Permanent Employment of Certain Aliens in the United States,” that will change the ...

It is that time of year!  That is, it is time to get started on H-1B petitions for the FY2022 H-1B quota—new H-1B cases to be filed starting in April 2021.  As this process involves strict deadlines, please review the below carefully.  Please provide the names and email addresses of your ini...

On January 8, 2021, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will publish a final rule that will modify the H-1B Fiscal Year Cap Selection “Lottery” process. Instead of a random, computerized H-1B cap lottery, the new process will prioritize selection of foreign nationals whose offered wage is i...

Minami Tamaki LLP Associate Claire Y. Choo on January 1, 2021, began her one-year term as President of the San Mateo County Trial Lawyers Association (“SMCTLA”). Claire is the first attorney from Minami Tamaki LLP to serve as SMCTLA President. Founded in 1967, SMCTLA is the leading professional o...

Listen to the podcast here and read the transcript on slate.com. Don Tamaki joined U.S. District Court Judge Edward M. Chen as guests on Dahlia Lithwick's “Amicus” podcast to explore what lessons we can learn from history when the Justice Department has been complicit in a cover-up. The incarcera...

As we usher in 2021, here are some new California employment laws that may impact the legal landscape as employers and workers continue facing challenges related to the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19).  Enhanced Enforcement and Reporting for COVID-19 (AB 685): The new law, effective January 1, ...

Minami Tamaki LLP Associate Lisa P. Mak was elected Vice President/President-Elect of the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area (“AABA”), one of the largest Asian American bar associations in the nation and one of the largest minority bar associations in California. Lisa's electi...

Minami Tamaki LLP today announced that Partner Minette A. Kwok will retire from the firm and that Managing Partner Donald K. Tamaki will transition into a Senior Counsel position, both effective on January 1, 2021. Minette has led Minami Tamaki LLP's immigration law practice for more than two dec...

On December 1, 2020, the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California struck down two Trump administration rules designed to restrict the H-1B Visa: Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) “H-1B Specialty Occupation” rule and the Department of Labor's (DOL) “Prevailing Wage” rule. ...

On November 19, 2020, the California Department of Industrial Relations' (DIR) Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board adopted emergency temporary standards to protect workers from hazards related to the coronavirus (COVID-19).  Under the new regulations, employers must have a written COVI...

Minami Tamaki LLP's Immigration and Nationality Law practice is nationally ranked again on the new 2021 U.S. News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” list just released today. The firm's immigration practice received a National Tier 3 ranking for the second time, and a Metro Tier 1 ranking for the si...

“The Soul of America,” a new HBO documentary includes brief interviews with Minami Tamaki LLP Partner Donald Tamaki and Senior Counsel Dale Minami. The film examines our current fraught political reality by exploring historical challenges of the past. The women's suffrage movement, the incarcerat...

Attorneys from Minami Tamaki LLP's Immigration and Nationality Law Practice presented at the 2020 American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Virtual Annual Conference on Immigration Law, held July 20-23, 2020. AILA is the national association of more than 15,000 attorneys and law professors ...

Minami Tamaki LLP represented a 50-year-old IT worker whose car was rear-ended by a Dr. Pepper salesman who was on his way home after making his last delivery for the day. After answering paramedics' questions at the scene, our client suddenly fell unconscious and required mechanical assistance t...

Our clients' son, a 26-year-old autistic man, was on a field trip to a museum while in the care of his adult day program. He suffered a physical and emotional outburst during the trip, which resulted in him being held face down on the floor by museum staff, who were untrained in methods of proper...

After six months of shutdowns and restrictions due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, San Francisco allowed restaurants to reopen for indoor dining at 25% capacity up to 100 people on September 30, 2020.  Restaurants reopening for indoor dining must not only follow public health guid...

New DOL and DHS Rules to Impact Certain Immigration Petitions and Applications The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) will publish two rules on October 8, 2020 that will impact certain immigration-related applications and petitions including H-1B, H-1B1, ...

On September 25, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 1864, which establishes the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation.  The Department is modeled after the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) and is designed to protect Californians from unfair, deceptive, and...

On September 17, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law two worker protection bills, AB 685 and SB 1159.  AB 685 creates new requirements for employers to notify local and state public health officials of COVID-19 cases in the workplace.  SB 1159 expands access to workers' compensation ...

Minami Tamaki LLP attorneys Lisa P. Mak and Claire Y. Choo authored an article, “The Right Fit,” sharing advice on mediator selection for plaintiffs' attorneys in the August 2020 issue of Plaintiff Magazine. From the article introduction: “With the high costs and risks of litigation, mediation ca...

Minami Tamaki LLP is representing former National Football League (“NFL”) players regarding the class action settlement in the matter In Re: National Football League Players' Concussion Injury Litigation, MDL No. 2323.  The settlement resolved allegations that the NFL was responsible for brain in...

USCIS CANCELS PLANS TO FURLOUGH TWO-THIRDS OF ITS EMPLOYEES USCIS announced on August 25, 2020 that it has halted plans to furlough 70% of its employees, reported the US News & World Report. The furloughs were initially set to begin on August 3, 2020, but USCIS postponed the furloughs until Augus...