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Public Policy
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May 15, 2024
'Uber Files' Scandal Can't Prop Up Investor Suit, Judge Says
Uber Technologies has beaten back a proposed class action alleging that a trove of leaked internal records harmed shareholders by revealing corporate misconduct, with a California federal judge saying plaintiffs failed to prove that any of Uber's statements about the leak were false.
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May 15, 2024
Georgia Justices Weigh State Immunity In Trooper's Wage Suit
Georgia's Department of Public Safety urged the state's highest court on Wednesday to undo a Georgia Court of Appeals decision that revived a state trooper's suit alleging that the department failed to pay him owed overtime for time spent in training, arguing that the state never waived its sovereign immunity privilege.
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May 15, 2024
Flexibility In Info Security Policy May Add Compliance Burden
New federal guidance for contractors handling sensitive, but unclassified information could introduce confusion and compliance burdens if agencies implement security controls without consulting contractors.
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May 15, 2024
Fla. Suit Alleging Race Bias In New Voting Districts Proceeds
A Florida federal court has ruled that a lawsuit by five Tampa-area citizens accusing state officials of using race to redraw two new voting districts in their region can proceed, saying the residents do not claim vote dilution and are not required to allege a discriminatory effect.
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May 15, 2024
Prosecutors Fight Full Court Review Of 'Double Odor' Pot Test
North Carolina prosecutors said no review is necessary on a state appellate court's opinion which found that the smell of marijuana combined with the "strong odor of a cologne" as a "cover scent" is enough to give police officers probable cause to search a vehicle, highlighting the hostile tone in the appellant's bid.
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May 15, 2024
Texas Judge Won't Halt County's Electioneering Restrictions
Newly-crafted electioneering rules in Palo Pinto County, Texas, can stay in place as conservative activists pursue an interlocutory appeal of an order denying their motion to block the rules' implementation, a Texas federal judge has ruled.
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May 15, 2024
Noncompete Rule Challenge Gets More Backing
A slew of business groups have thrown their support behind a challenge of the Federal Trade Commission's sweeping ban on noncompete clauses for employees, saying the rule relies on "cherrypicked" data to back a policy preferred by the FTC's majority.
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May 15, 2024
House Reauthorizes NTIA, But Agency Takes Heat From GOP
The U.S. House voted late Wednesday to reauthorize the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, hours after Republicans on a key oversight committee blasted the agency for its handling of the government's $42.5 billion broadband deployment effort.
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May 15, 2024
6th Circ. Frees Ex-Ohio Pol Pending Bribery Appeal
A former member of the Cincinnati City Council convicted of bribery and attempted extortion in connection with a sports betting redevelopment project spearheaded by a former Cincinnati Bengals player can stay out of prison while an appeal plays out, the Sixth Circuit said Wednesday.
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May 15, 2024
McGirt Ruling Should Be In 'Full Force' In Tulsa, U.S. Says
The federal government wants to intervene in a challenge by the Muscogee (Creek) Nation to the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, that seeks to block city officials from asserting criminal jurisdiction over tribe members on tribal lands, arguing the municipality is violating federal law reiterated in a 2020 high court ruling.
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May 15, 2024
Don't Make Network Outage Reporting Mandatory, FCC Told
Telecommunications industry groups are telling the Federal Communications Commission that rules requiring mandatory broadband outage reporting would burden small and rural providers and potentially distract from outage response.
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May 15, 2024
Arrested Ga. Lawmakers Say 'Disruption Statute' Is Overbroad
Attorneys for U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, state Rep. Park Cannon and several Georgia residents who were arrested for protesting in the rotunda of the Georgia State Capitol in 2018 and 2021 told the Georgia Supreme Court on Wednesday that the law used to justify their arrests is unconstitutionally overbroad.
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May 15, 2024
Mass. Senate Aide Alleges Retaliation After Bias Complaint
A constituent services aide to a Massachusetts state senator is alleging that the lawmaker and his former chief of staff stonewalled his requests for accommodation after a leg injury left him unable to climb stairs, then iced him out after he filed a complaint with the state's anti-discrimination agency.
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May 15, 2024
Anti-Trans Groups Fail To Block Wash. Youth Shelter Law
A federal judge on Wednesday threw out a lawsuit filed by two anti-transgender groups challenging a Washington state law intended to ensure shelter for teens seeking gender-affirming care or reproductive health services, ruling that speculating on possible injury was not enough to clear a standing hurdle.
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May 15, 2024
Feds, Pesticide Cos. Seek More Time To Find Mediator
The Federal Trade Commission and agricultural chemical companies Syngenta and Corteva are seeking extra time to select a mediator as they litigate claims that the manufacturers leverage loyalty programs to suppress competition from cheaper generic pesticides.
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May 15, 2024
House Panel Weighs Baltimore Bridge Rebuilding Costs
Rebuilding Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge may cost up to $1.9 billion and take at least four years, as accident investigators continue to examine how a cargo ship slammed into the bridge in March and knocked it down, officials told a House panel Wednesday.
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May 15, 2024
Lawmakers Move To Kill DOL's ERISA Fiduciary Regs
A group of 16 mostly Republican senators introduced a resolution Wednesday to overturn the U.S. Department of Labor's new rule broadening who qualifies as a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, saying the regulations threaten Americans' ability to save for retirement.
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May 15, 2024
FTC Chair Khan Defends Request For 25% Budget Increase
Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina M. Khan defended a 25% budget increase request during a House appropriations hearing Wednesday, calling it "healthy" that aggressive Biden administration merger enforcement has made antitrust considerations top of mind for companies mulling transactions.
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May 15, 2024
Amid Controversy, Gov. Names Tribal Police Chief As Liaison
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has appointed the former Pine Ridge Reservation chief of police as her administration's new tribal liaison, saying that after he "bravely testified" before a U.S. Senate committee about the cartel presence on tribal lands, he found himself without a job.
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May 15, 2024
House Dems Launch Task Force To Address High Court 'Crisis'
A group of House Democrats on Wednesday launched a task force seeking to bring more transparency and accountability to the U.S. Supreme Court.
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May 15, 2024
Ga. Says Plaintiffs Firing Blanks At Controversial Voting Law
In a slew of filings Monday, the state of Georgia renewed its urging that a federal judge grant the state a win in one of the most wide-ranging challenges to its 2021 election voting overhaul bill, arguing that the plaintiffs can't marshal "any competent evidence" to support their suit.
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May 15, 2024
House Panel Advances Tax-Exempt Org Oversight Bills
The House Ways and Means Committee approved a package of bills Wednesday that would increase scrutiny of foreign donations to tax-exempt organizations, including legislation that would require those organizations to publicly report the donations.
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May 15, 2024
Wage Damages Update Isn't Retroactive, NJ Justices Say
The New Jersey Supreme Court on Wednesday held an amendment to the state's wage laws adding liquidated damages and extending the statute of limitations should only be applied to conduct that occurred after its effective date, backing the dismissal of some claims brought by laborers alleging unpaid pre- and post-shift work.
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May 15, 2024
Rio Grande Is A 'Creek,' Texas Tells 5th Circ. In Barrier Rehearing
The state of Texas told the full Fifth Circuit on Wednesday that the Rio Grande is "little more than a creek with an excellent publicist" as it pushed the court to vacate an order that would require it to remove a floating barrier intended to keep migrants out of the country.
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May 15, 2024
Michigan Can't Shake Lawsuit Over Prison's Scabies Outbreak
The director of the Michigan Department of Corrections and other high-ranking officials must face claims that they allowed an outbreak of scabies in a women's prison to go untreated for years, a federal judge has ruled.
Expert Analysis
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Opinion
CFPB Could, And Should, Revise Open Banking Rulemaking
In light of continued global developments in open banking, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau should evaluate whether it actually should use its proposed rule on Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act to amplify personal financial data rights in the U.S., says Brian Fritzsche at the Consumer Bankers Association.
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How Cos. Can Protect IP In Light Of FTC Noncompete Rule
While several groups are challenging the Federal Trade Commission’s recently approved rule banning noncompetition agreements, employers should begin planning other ways to protect their valuable trade secrets, confidential information and other intellectual property, says Thomas Duston at Marshall Gerstein.
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Understanding The IRC's Excessive Refund Claim Penalty
Taxpayers considering protective refund claims pending resolution of major questions in tax cases like Moore v. U.S., which is pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, should understand how doing so may also leave them vulnerable to an excessive refund claim penalty under Internal Revenue Code Section 6676, say attorneys at McDermott.
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Why RWI Insurers Should Consider Excluding PFAS
As regulation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances escalates, carriers providing representations and warranties insurance should reconsider providing PFAS coverage on a case-by-case basis, say Dave Bartoletti and Ina Avalon at Taft Stettinius.
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Don't Use The Same Template For Every Client Alert
As the old marketing adage goes, consistency is key, but law firm style guides need consistency that contemplates variety when it comes to client alert formats, allowing attorneys to tailor alerts to best fit the audience and subject matter, says Jessica Kaplan at Legally Penned.
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Don't Fall On That Hill: Keys To Testifying Before Congress
Because congressional testimony often comes with political, reputational and financial risks in addition to legal pitfalls, witnesses and their attorneys should take a multifaceted approach to preparation, walking a fine line between legal and business considerations, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
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Takeaways From FDIC's Spring Supervisory Highlights
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s spring 2024 consumer compliance supervisory report found that relatively few institutions had significant consumer compliance issues last year, but the common thread among those that did were inadequacies or failures in disclosures to consumers, says Matthew Hanaghan at Nutter.
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Online Portal Helps Fortify Feds' Unfair Health Practices Fight
The Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Justice Department and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently launched an online portal where the public can report potentially unfair healthcare practices, effectively maximizing enforcers' abilities to police anti-competitive actions that can drive up healthcare costs and chill innovation, say attorneys at Seyfarth.
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What To Expect From The DOL's Final Overtime Rule
The U.S. Department of Labor's final overtime rule dramatically increases the salary threshold for white collar workers to be exempt from overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act, so employers should prioritize identifying the potentially affected positions and strategically consider next steps, say Leslie Selig Byrd and Deryck Van Alstyne at Bracewell.
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Data Shows H-2B Wages May Be Skewed High By Sample Size
Occupational Wage and Employment Statistics wage data from April illustrates that smaller sample sizes from less populated areas may be skewing prevailing wages for H-2B visas artificially high, potentially harming businesses that rely on the visa program, says Stephen Bronars at Edgeworth Economics.
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10b-5 Litigation Questions Follow Justices' Macquarie Ruling
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Macquarie v. Moab that pure omissions are not actionable under U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Rule 10b–5(b), creating a slightly higher bar for plaintiffs and setting the stage for further litigation over several issues, say Steve Quinlivan and Sean Colligan at Stinson.
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Series
Walking With My Dog Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Thanks to my dog Birdie, I've learned that carving out an activity different from the practice of law — like daily outdoor walks that allow you to interact with new people — can contribute to professional success by boosting creativity and mental acuity, as well as expanding your social network, says Sarah Petrie at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.
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Key Issues Raised By Colorado's Brain Data Privacy Bill
Colorado recently became the first state to provide consumer privacy protections for data generated from a person's brain waves, and despite the bill’s ambiguity and open questions introduced, the new law has helped turn the spotlight on neurodata, says Sara Pullen Guercio at Alston & Bird.
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Employer Considerations Before Title IX Rule Goes Into Effect
While the U.S. Department of Education's final rule on Title IX is currently published as an unofficial version, institutions and counsel should take immediate action to ensure they are prepared for the new requirements, including protections for LGBTQ+ and pregnant students and employees, before it takes effect in August, say Jeffrey Weimer and Cori Smith at Reed Smith.
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Expect Tougher Bank Exams 1 Year After Spring 2023 Failures
With federal banking agencies still implementing harsher examinations with swifter escalations a year after the spring 2023 bank failures, banks can gain insight into changing expectations by monitoring how the Federal Reserve Board, Office of the Comptroller of Currency and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. are coordinating and updating their exam policies, say attorneys at Debevoise.