News & Insights

Thank you to the School Transportation Association of Massachusetts (STAM) for inviting Matthew Jandrisavitz, Esq. to speak this past week at the 2025 STAM Winter Conference. We love getting the chance to speak with school bus contractors from Massachusetts. Matt also presented "Legal Updates for School Bus Contractors" for attendees. 

School bus contractors are no stranger to the requirements to pay overtime. Between the nationwide driver shortage requiring drivers to pick up additional trips, and other employees putting in extra hours to support the business, overtime can be a substantial component of your school bus operation. Contractors should be aware that, in some instances, school bus contractors may be exempt from paying overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (the “FLSA”). But, there are many considerations tha...

2024 brought many significant changes and events that affect the school bus industry. From the extension of the Under the Hood Exemption, to changes and challenges in new laws affecting employers, there was no shortage of news in the past year. Continuing reading for a recap of the year’s most significant events that may have an impact on you and your business.

On December 3, 2024, a nationwide injunction was issued in the matter of Texas Top Cop Shop, Inc. v. Garland, No. 4:24-cv-478 (E.D. Tex. Dec. 3, 2024) preventing enforcement of the reporting requirements of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). On December 6, 2024, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (known as “FinCEN”) suspended reporting while the injunction remains in effect.

On December 2, 2024, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) published an extension of the Under the Hood Exemption (the “Exemption”) in the Federal Register. As school transportation contractors know, FMCSA initially granted the NSTA Request for the Under the Hood Exemption in October 2022, after a series of prior waivers, for an Exemption period of two years beginning on November 27, 2022 and ending November 27, 2024. The Exemption period has now been extended by FMCSA for an...

In January 2021, the United States Congress passed the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (the “NDAA”), which includes a chapter establishing beneficial ownership reporting requirements for certain companies nationwide. This chapter is known as the Corporate Transparency Act (the “Act’), which goes into effect in the new year. As the effective date is fast approaching, you may have recently heard rumblings of this Act...

As you may have heard, a proposal has been made by the Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) to reschedule marijuana from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act to Schedule III on the basis that marijuana has a currently accepted medical use and does not have the same level of abuse potential or level of physical or psychological dependence as other Schedule I drugs, consistent with the Department of Health and Human Services views on marijuana. The DEA filed a No...