Public Policy

  • October 24, 2024

    CFPB Cautions Over 'Unchecked Surveillance' Of Workers

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Thursday it is taking action to protect consumers from "unchecked surveillance" in the labor force, issuing guidance that warns companies to get consent from workers when using algorithmic hiring scores or other outside profiling data for employment purposes.

  • October 24, 2024

    Survivors Say They Were Excluded From Tulsa Committee

    The two remaining survivors of one of the deadliest incidents of mass race violence in the country's history say the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, has excluded them from a commission geared toward recommending how reparations can be made for the 1921 destruction of a once-thriving Black community in Indian Country.

  • October 24, 2024

    Va. Judge Won't Block Feds' Nonprofit Disclosure Law

    A Virginia federal judge on Oct. 24 refused to stop the U.S. Department of the Treasury from enforcing a law that requires nonprofits such as community associations to disclose personal identifying information about their beneficial owners and applicants to a Treasury agency that focuses on stopping financial crimes.

  • October 24, 2024

    Wash. High Court Lets Anti-Tax Ballot Measure Show Impact

    Elections officials are permitted to place financial disclosure information next to a Washington state ballot measure that would repeal the state's tax on capital gains, the Washington Supreme Court ruled Thursday, upholding a trial court.

  • October 24, 2024

    DOJ, DOT Launch Inquiry Into Air Travel Competition

    The U.S. departments of Justice and Transportation said Thursday that they're launching a joint inquiry into the state of competition in air travel, the latest in a run of Biden administration competition- and consumer-driven initiatives.

  • October 24, 2024

    EPA Agrees To Review Nitrogen Oxides Standard By 2028

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday that it would revisit its national ambient air quality standards for nitrogen oxides by 2028 under a proposed consent decree reached with conservation groups.

  • October 24, 2024

    FCC's Data Cap Study Tees Up Unjustified Ban, Think Tank Says

    As the Federal Communications Commission launches an inquiry into how data cap practices affect the public, a free market think tank is stepping into the fray to say it's worried any regulation limiting data caps would be "misguided."

  • October 24, 2024

    SBA Proposes 'Rule Of Two' For Multiaward Contract Orders

    The U.S. Small Business Administration on Thursday proposed that federal agencies give preference to small businesses on orders under multiple-award contracts, a move it estimated could boost small business contracting by up to $6 billion each year. 

  • October 24, 2024

    FCC Won't Hold Off Prison Phone Rate Caps During Suits

    The Federal Communications Commission has turned down three bids for the agency to shelve new prison phone service rate caps during legal appeals of the FCC's rule, saying such lawsuits are unlikely to prevail.

  • October 24, 2024

    Broadcasters Doubt Legality Of FCC Blackout Reporting Regs

    TV broadcasters questioned a Federal Communications Commission plan to require cable and satellite companies to report programming "blackouts" caused by carriage disputes to a central database, saying the agency appears to lack legal authority to impose such a requirement.

  • October 24, 2024

    Sen. Presses US Trade Rep To Take Up Fentanyl Probe

    A Democratic senator from Wisconsin asked the U.S. trade representative on Wednesday to take up a petition urging it to investigate the People's Republic of China's alleged vast illicit fentanyl exports to the United States that have resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths.

  • October 24, 2024

    Program Led To Surge In Officers, Arrests For Tribes, FBI Says

    A surge in FBI personnel in a program designed to address violent crimes in tribal communities allowed agents to focus on more than 300 cases in the last two years, the agency said, including investigations into missing and murdered Indigenous people that victims' advocates have called for for years.

  • October 24, 2024

    DOJ Reaches $102M Deal In Baltimore Bridge Collapse Suit

    The owner and the manager of the cargo ship that slammed into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge in March has agreed to pay $102 million to settle the U.S. Department of Justice's civil lawsuit alleging gross negligence on their part killed six people and destroyed a vital transportation corridor.

  • October 24, 2024

    'Will Of The People' Upheld With Ohio Abortion Ban Quashed

    An Ohio state court judge on Thursday permanently blocked the state's "heartbeat law" that prohibited abortion around six weeks of pregnancy, citing a 2023 ballot measure that enshrined the right to an abortion in the state constitution.

  • October 24, 2024

    NYC Council Passes Bill Requiring Hotel Licenses

    The New York City Council passed a bill Wednesday that requires hotel operators to be licensed with the government in order to do business in the city.

  • October 24, 2024

    PBMs Want Separate FTC Hearings Over Insulin Prices

    Caremark Rx LLC, Express Scripts Inc. and OptumRx Inc. are calling for separate proceedings in the Federal Trade Commission's case accusing the pharmacy benefit managers of artificially inflating insulin prices through unfair rebate schemes.

  • October 24, 2024

    La. Biz Development Office Extends Industrial Tax Break Regs

    An emergency rule in Louisiana extended the effectiveness of regulations implementing a recently issued gubernatorial executive order that made several adjustments to the state's industrial tax exemption program.

  • October 24, 2024

    Colo. Justices Hesitant To Extend Personhood To Elephants

    Colorado Supreme Court justices appeared unlikely Thursday to grant habeas corpus rights to elephants in a zoo, repeatedly asking an animal rights group seeking to send the elephants to a sanctuary where the court should draw the line on personhood.

  • October 24, 2024

    ACLU Sues Feds For Info On Immigrant Detention

    The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation has filed a lawsuit against federal agencies overseeing immigrant detention in California federal court, seeking records that it says would shed light on how immigrant detention could be expanded.

  • October 24, 2024

    Ga. Elections Official To Appeal Certification 'Discretion' Loss

    A Fulton County, Georgia, elections official who recently lost a lawsuit in which she tried to assert her purported "discretion" to certify vote results said Wednesday she plans to appeal the decision to the state's Court of Appeals.

  • October 24, 2024

    Texas Says ATF 'Flouts' Its Function With Loophole Rule

    A Texas-led group of states has asked an Amarillo federal judge for a pretrial win in its lawsuit challenging a Biden administration rule that would close what's known as the "gun show loophole," writing that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives "flout[ed] its limited function" by attempting to rewrite federal gun laws.

  • October 24, 2024

    3 Insurance Execs Beat Ex-Employer's Trade Secrets Suit

    A North Carolina federal judge has ruled Sherbrooke Corporate Ltd. failed to properly allege three former executives it accused of stealing confidential, proprietary software to start their own company actually used that software or kept how it worked a secret.

  • October 24, 2024

    Dems From Storm-Impacted States Call For Probes Of Misinfo

    Democratic lawmakers from states recently impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton asked the leadership of three House committees on Wednesday to investigate and hold hearings on the "troubling surge" in the spread of misinformation, scams and conspiracy theories about the storms on social media.

  • October 24, 2024

    TikTok Won't Get 3rd Circ. Rehearing Of Section 230 Ruling

    The Third Circuit on Wednesday turned down TikTok's request for an en banc rehearing of a panel decision that the social media company's "For You Page" algorithm isn't entitled to immunity under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act in a case over a 10-year-old's death.

  • October 24, 2024

    Dems Urge HHS To Better Protect Wheelchair Users From PE

    A pair of Democratic senators is pressing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to do more to protect the approximately 5.5 million wheelchair users in the country from private equity "abuses."

Expert Analysis

  • 7 Takeaways For Companies After Justices' Bribery Ruling

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court’s Snyder v. U.S. decision this summer, holding that a federal law does not criminalize after-the-fact gratuities made to public officials, raises some key considerations for companies that engage with state, local and tribal governments, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • Why Now Is The Time For Law Firms To Hire Lateral Partners

    Author Photo

    Partner and associate mobility data from the second quarter of this year suggest that there's never been a better time in recent years for law firms to hire lateral candidates, particularly experienced partners — though this necessitates an understanding of potential red flags, say Julie Henson and Greg Hamman at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Courts Will Still Defer To Feds On Nat'l Security

    Author Photo

    Agencies with trade responsibilities may be less affected by Chevron’s demise because of the special deference courts have shown when hearing international trade cases involving national security, foreign policy or the president’s constitutional authority to direct such matters, say attorneys at Venable.

  • Reassessing Lease Provisions To Account For ESG Initiatives

    Author Photo

    As companies seek to build ESG considerations into their businesses, it's crucial to understand how such initiatives can quickly become significant enough to compel reassessment of lease agreement provisions, and how best to modify leases accordingly, say Julian Freeman and Gabe Pitassi at Cox Castle.

  • Considering Possible PR Risks Of Certain Legal Tactics

    Author Photo

    Disney and American Airlines recently abandoned certain litigation tactics in two lawsuits after fierce public backlash, illustrating why corporate counsel should consider the reputational implications of any legal strategy and partner with their communications teams to preempt public relations concerns, says Chris Gidez at G7 Reputation Advisory.

  • Defamation Law Changes May Be Brewing At Supreme Court

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court's significant rightward shift has produced dramatic changes in many areas of the law, and the long-standing "actual malice" standard protecting speech about public figures could be the next precedent to fall, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

  • Integrating ESG Into Risk Management Programs

    Author Photo

    Amid increasing regulations and reporting requirements for corporate sustainability in the European Union and the U.S., companies might consider how to incorporate environmental, social and governance factors into more formalized risk management, say directors at Alvarez & Marsal.

  • Exploring Practical Employer Alternatives To Noncompetes

    Author Photo

    With the Federal Trade Commission likely to appeal a federal court’s recent rejection of its noncompete ban, and more states limiting the enforceability of these agreements, employers should consider back-to-basics methods for protecting their business interests and safeguarding sensitive information, says Brendan Horgan at FordHarrison.

  • How Increased Sanctions Scrutiny Is Affecting Debt Markets

    Author Photo

    U.S. sanctions and export control regulators have recently taken several steps that broaden financial sector oversight, and banks, lenders and borrowers must adapt their syndication and risk assessment processes in different ways or risk incurring substantial penalties, say Cristina Brayton-Lewis and Kerrick Seay at White & Case.

  • What The SEC Liquidity Risk Management Amendments Entail

    Author Photo

    Fund managers should be cognizant of the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission's recent changes to certain reporting requirements and guidance related to open-end fund liquidity risk management programs, and update their filing systems if need be, says Rachael Schwartz at Sullivan & Worcester.

  • It's No Longer Enough For Firms To Be Trusted Advisers

    Author Photo

    Amid fierce competition for business, the transactional “trusted adviser” paradigm from which most firms operate is no longer sufficient — they should instead aim to become trusted partners with their most valuable clients, says Stuart Maister at Strategic Narrative.

  • Vertex Suit Highlights Issues For Pharma Fertility Support

    Author Photo

    Vertex Pharmaceuticals' recent lawsuit challenging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' interpretation of the Anti-Kickback Statute is influenced by a number of reproductive rights and health equity issues that the Office of Inspector General should address more concretely, including in vitro fertilization and fertility preservation programs, says Mary Kohler at Kohler Health Law.

  • Expect More Restaurant Ch. 11s As COVID Debt Comes Due

    Author Photo

    The wave of restaurant bankruptcies is likely to continue in the coming months as companies face the looming repayment of COVID-19 pandemic-era government loans, an uncertain economy and increased interest rates, says Isaac Marcushamer at DGIM Law.

  • Calif. Bill, NTIA Report Illustrate Open-Model AI Safety Debate

    Author Photo

    The National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s balanced recommendations for preventing misuse of open artificial intelligence models, contrasted with a more aggressive California bill, demonstrate an evolving regulatory debate about balancing democratic access to this powerful new technology against potential risks to the public, say Stuart Meyer and Fredrick Tsang at Fenwick.

  • Commerce Proposal Could Ease Trade Remedy Administration

    Author Photo

    Recently proposed international trade enforcement regulations could help the U.S. Department of Commerce more easily administer antidumping and countervailing duty remedies, in turn maximizing relief to American companies adversely affected by unfair trade, says Natan Tubman at Buchanan Ingersoll.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Public Policy archive.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!