Top 10 Headlines from North America As part of California's annual budget ordeal, rather than enacting new taxes, the legislature enacted (and the Governor signed) various income shifting and tax acceleration provisions. On December 23, 2008, President Bush signed the Worker, Retiree,and Employer Recovery Act of 2008 (H.R. 7327) (the "WRERAct"), which provides that owners and beneficiaries ofIRAs and other defined contribution plans who are required to takerequired minimum distributions ("RMDs") from their plans in tax year 2009, will generally be able to leave their money in their plans (hopefully to grow) without suffering anypenalty for failure to withdraw. The normal rules still apply for 2008. As we all know, Michael Jackson died this past summer. Although the stories of his unusual lifestyle and abuses have flooded the media, it appears that his estate plan was rather conventional. The Obama administration continues to tout the performance of the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009," signed into law February 17, 2009 and commonly called the "Stimulus Bill" (Public Law 111-5). The November Visa Bulletin—issued by the U.S. Department of State—continues a positive trend started in October, which made visas available for individuals with older priority dates in the Employment-Based Third Preference (EB-3) category following five months of visa unavailability and priority date retrogression. As part of its financial regulatory reform program, the Obama Administration, through the Treasury, submitted to Congress proposed legislation that would establish a new consumer regulatory agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (the “CFPA”), which would consolidate and expand the existing regulatory regime for consumer financial products. Proposals to require the registration of investment advisers to private funds continue to work their way through Congress. In anticipation of higher-than-average absenteeism due to seasonal and H1N1 flu outbreaks, employers should implement specific best practices that protect employees, minimize business disruptions and avoid employment claims. On August 19, 2009 the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement issued an Opinion Letter stating that an employer having significant economic difficulties will not violate the "salary basis" of its exempt employees by temporarily reducing the work schedules of those exempt employees from five days to four days per week, with a corresponding reduction of 20 percent to their weekly salary. Letters of intent or memoranda of understanding are frequently used in private equity transactions to evidence the preliminary understanding of a potential transaction before the parties commit significant time and resources to the transaction. | 
