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Public Policy
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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 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.
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May 15, 2024
Data On Harm Intrigues Pa. Justices In Hospital Closure Spat
While tasked with considering how much deference appellate panels must give trial courts in matters involving preliminary injunctions, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Wednesday was equally curious about whether one such injunction needed to be supported by data showing that a hospital's closure would irrevocably hurt a Delaware County community.
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May 15, 2024
Split High Court Allows La. To Use Revised Election Map
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that Louisiana can use its revised congressional map during the 2024 election cycle, pausing a federal judicial panel's ruling that lawmakers likely violated the U.S. Constitution when they redrew the state's map to address voter dilution claims and created a second majority-Black voting district.
Expert Analysis
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Global Bribery Probes Are Complicating FCPA Compliance
The recent rise in collaboration between the U.S. Department of Justice and foreign authorities in bribery enforcement can not only affect companies' legal exposure as resolution approaches vary by country, but also the decision of when and whether to disclose Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations to the DOJ, say Samantha Badlam and Catherine Conroy at Ropes & Gray.
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Airlines Must Prepare For State AG Investigations
A recent agreement between the U.S. Department of Transportation and 18 states and territories will allow attorneys general to investigate consumer complaints against commercial passenger airlines — so carriers must be ready for heightened scrutiny and possibly inconsistent enforcement, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Series
Teaching Yoga Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Being a yoga instructor has helped me develop my confidence and authenticity, as well as stress management and people skills — all of which have crossed over into my career as an attorney, says Laura Gongaware at Clyde & Co.
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A Vision For Economic Clerkships In The Legal System
As courts handle increasingly complex damages analyses involving vast amounts of data, an economic clerkship program — integrating early-career economists into the judicial system — could improve legal outcomes and provide essential training to clerks, say Mona Birjandi at Data for Decisions and Matt Farber at Secretariat.
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Opinion
State-Regulated Cannabis Can Thrive Without Section 280E
Marijauna's reclassification as a Schedule III-controlled substance comes at a critical juncture, as removing marijuana from being subjected to Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code is the only path forward for the state-regulated cannabis industry to survive and thrive, say Andrew Kline at Perkins Coie and Sammy Markland at FTI Consulting.
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Asset Manager Exemption Shifts May Prove Too Burdensome
The U.S. Department of Labor’s recent change to a prohibited transaction exemption used by retirement plan asset managers introduces a host of new costs, burdens and risks to investment firms, from registration requirements to new transition periods, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.
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Pay-To-Play Deal Shows Need For Strong Compliance Policies
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, through its recent settlement with Wayzata, has indicated that it will continue stringent enforcement of the pay-to-play rule, so investment advisers should ensure strong compliance policies are in place to promptly address potential violations as the November elections approach, say attorneys at WilmerHale.
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Key Takeaways From FDA Final Rule On Lab-Developed Tests
Michele Buenafe and Dennis Gucciardo at Morgan Lewis discuss potential consequences of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recently finalized rule regulating lab-developed tests as medical devices, and explain the rule's phaseout policy for enforcement discretion.
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A Look At New IRS Rules For Domestically Controlled REITs
The Internal Revenue Services' finalized Treasury Regulations addressing whether real estate investment trusts qualify as domestically controlled adopt the basic structure of previous proposals, but certain new and modified rules may mitigate the regulations' impact, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.
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7 Effects Of DOL Retirement Asset Manager Exemption Rule
The recent U.S. Department of Labor amendment to the retirement asset manager exemption delivers several key practical impacts, including the need for managers, as opposed to funds, to register with the DOL, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
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Kansas Workers' Comp. Updates Can Benefit Labor, Business
While the most significant shake-up from the April amendment to the Kansas Workers Compensation Act will likely be the increase in potential lifetime payouts for workers totally disabled on the job, other changes that streamline the hearing process will benefit both employees and companies, says Weston Mills at Gilson Daub.
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4 Sectors Will Likely Bear Initial Brunt Of FTC 'Junk Fees' Rule
If the Federal Trade Commission adopts its comprehensive proposed rule to ban unfair or deceptive fees across the U.S. economy, many businesses — including those in the lodging, event ticketing, dining and transportation sectors — will need to reexamine the way they market and price their products and services, say attorneys at Skadden.
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What Lies Behind Diverging US And UK Insolvency Trends
Contrasting U.K. and U.S. insolvency trends highlight the importance of policy interventions in shaping consumer financial outcomes and economic recovery, and while the U.K.'s approach seems to have mitigated issues, the U.S. faces challenges exacerbated by economic conditions and policy transitions, says Thomas Curran at Thomas H. Curran Associates.
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Liquidity Risk Management Tops NCUA Exam Priorities
As credit unions map their regulatory initiatives and audit plans, they should look to the National Credit Union Administration’s annual supervisory priorities, which include five important examination areas, including liquidity management and interest rate risk, say Juan Arciniegas and Judy Chen at Chapman and Cutler.
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Protecting IP May Be Tricky Without Noncompetes
Contrary to the Federal Trade Commission's view, trade secret law cannot replace noncompetes' protection of proprietary information because intellectual property includes far more than just trade secrets, so businesses need to closely examine their IP protection options, say Aimee Fagan and Ching-Lee Fukuda at Sidley.