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Public Policy
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May 31, 2024
Conn. Justices Order Arrested Univ. Employee Reinstated
Connecticut's highest court on Friday ordered Central Connecticut State University to reinstate an employee who was fired after engaging the police in a nearly three-hour armed standoff, finding an arbitrator's decision to give him his job back did not violate "an explicit, well-defined and dominant public policy."
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May 31, 2024
Texas Appeals Court Revives Suit Over Drilling Near Homes
A Texas appeals court has partially revived a lawsuit brought by an environmental group against a city that approved a gas drilling zone near residential homes, finding Thursday that the trial court has jurisdiction over alleged violations of a state law regulating government meetings.
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May 31, 2024
Intelsat Worries Over Reg Fee Spike For FCC Space Bureau
Satellite network provider Intelsat is calling on the Federal Communications Commission to slow down with fee increases for its new Space Bureau, telling the commission in a series of meetings that rate changes proposed in March would bring about massive hikes for the industry.
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May 31, 2024
Monthly Merger Review Snapshot
The U.S. Department of Justice sued to unwind the 14-year-old merger between Live Nation and Ticketmaster, while the Federal Trade Commission advanced pending challenges of a grocery megamerger and deals in the healthcare and designer fashion space. Here are some of the major merger review developments from May.
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May 31, 2024
Ex-GOP Candidate Sues Air Force Over Records Disclosure
A former Republican U.S. House candidate alleged in a new lawsuit in D.C. federal court that the U.S. Department of the Air Force illegally disclosed her confidential military records to a Democratic-linked research firm in the run-up to election day, contending the disclosure violated the federal Privacy Act.
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May 31, 2024
Judge Wonders If Wash. Social Media Ban Blocks Free Speech
A Washington appellate judge on Friday questioned the constitutionality of a state law barring injured workers from posting video of their state workers' compensation medical exams on social media, saying it could be cutting off someone's only way of communicating with the outside world.
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May 31, 2024
Ore. Watchdog Says Open Discipline Makes 'Stronger' Attys
An Oregon attorney watchdog group said Friday that the state's radical transparency in attorney disciplinary proceedings makes for "stronger lawyers," arguing largely open access to records and trials has combated misconceptions that regulators are there to protect lawyers.
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May 31, 2024
3rd Circ. Preview: Labor Battles Heat Up In June
Several cases are heating up the Third Circuit argument calendar in June, including a home care company's attempt to duck a $7 million payout to thousands of workers who claimed the company violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by not compensating them for travel time.
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May 31, 2024
15 States Sue To Block Biden's ACA Trans Discrimination Rule
The Biden administration was hit with a lawsuit on Friday over its rule clarifying the application of the Affordable Care Act's nondiscrimination protections to gender identity, with a group of 15 states claiming the guidance is an effort "to enshrine sweeping gender-identity mandates without congressional consent."
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May 31, 2024
Group Sued Over Immigrants' Benefits Too Late, Panel Holds
A Michigan state appeals court has nixed a nonprofit's challenge to the court's ruling that working while unauthorized is a crime and that immigrant workers are not entitled to benefits once their unauthorized status is discovered, saying the group brought the lawsuit in an untimely manner.
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May 31, 2024
Trade Court Orders Commerce Redo Of Brazilian Honey Duties
The U.S. Court of International Trade ordered the U.S. Department of Commerce to reconsider substituting certain facts for information the department said a Brazilian honey producer withheld, saying the producer did provide the requested information.
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May 31, 2024
DOJ Slams Apple's Planned Bid To Dismiss Antitrust Suit
The U.S. Justice Department has hit back against Apple's proposed bid to exit the department's antitrust suit claiming that the company is monopolizing the smartphone market, arguing that the technology giant ignores "well-pleaded facts" and misinterprets the law.
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May 31, 2024
How Trump's Hush Money Sentencing Could Get 'Dicey'
Now convicted of nearly three dozen felonies, former President Donald Trump must move through the machinery of the New York state court system's sentencing process, which involves sitting down for an interview with a probation officer and a chance to directly address a judge he's called biased and "corrupt."
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May 31, 2024
Colo. Establishes Middle-Income Housing Tax Credits
Colorado is creating a pilot program to provide a tax credit for developers of housing aimed at middle-income residents under a bill signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis.
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May 31, 2024
DOJ's Ad Tech Case May Go To Judge, Not Jury, After All
A Justice Department lawyer told a Virginia federal judge Friday the government is "perfectly happy" to have a bench trial accusing Google of monopolizing key digital advertising technology after the judge signaled the search giant may have short-circuited the government's original and unusual bid for a jury trial.
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May 31, 2024
Michigan Justices Say Treadmill Claims Not Filed Too Late
The Michigan Supreme Court on Friday revived a woman's claims against a delivery company she says negligently installed her treadmill, saying the state court claims related back to her timely filed claims in a previously dismissed federal court case with the same allegations.
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May 31, 2024
Pa. Media Co. Must Face Ex-Editor's Age, Disability Bias Suit
A local media company can't dodge a former editor's lawsuit claiming she was fired and replaced with younger workers for requesting to work from home because of arthritis, a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled, finding her allegations were detailed enough to move forward.
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May 31, 2024
SD School District Will Resolve Native American Disparity Claims
A South Dakota school district has agreed to resolve a 14-year-old U.S. Department of Education compliance review that found evidence that Native American students were being disciplined more frequently and harshly than others and faced discrimination in the selection for advanced placement and honors courses.
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May 31, 2024
Mountain Of Messages Dominates Week 2 In Menendez Trial
The wife of U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez asked her "handsome senator" husband for a favor that allegedly furthered a bribery scheme, coached him on what to say to Egyptian officials, and let an attorney use her phone to make a deal with him, jurors learned during the second week of trial in the government's corruption case.
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May 31, 2024
Trump's New York Prosecutors Called To House Hearing
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, chair of the House Judiciary Committee and its Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, demanded on Friday that Manhattan prosecutors appear for a hearing on June 13 on the prosecution of former President Donald Trump, who was convicted on Thursday of 34 felonies.
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May 31, 2024
Colo. Justices Agree To Weigh In On Blackstone Lease Row
Colorado's high court agreed Wednesday to answer two key questions in a putative class action against Blackstone subsidiaries, after a federal judge said tenants' claims alleging the companies' lease agreements violate state law present novel legal issues with little case law to provide guidance.
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May 31, 2024
A Potential Tipping Point For Transgender Athlete Litigation
After heated policy debates in statehouses and academic institutions, the discourse over participation of transgender athletes in college and amateur sports has spilled into the nation's courts, with a flurry of recent suits and rulings suggesting the judiciary will have its hands full for years to come.
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May 31, 2024
Lindell No-Shows Amid Solvency Concerns In Sanctions Fight
Attorneys for My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell were nowhere to be found Friday as a D.C. federal judge mulled how much they should pay in sanctions for counterclaims in election company Dominion's ongoing libel suit, saying he'd likely set an amount in the coming weeks.
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May 31, 2024
Wash. Prison Law Not Biased Against GEO, 9th Circ. Told
Washington state has urged the Ninth Circuit to lift a lower court's injunction blocking a law aimed at improving private prison standards, saying the law does not discriminatorily target private prison operator GEO Group Inc.
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May 31, 2024
As Broadband Subsidy Ends, Biden Pushes For Renewal
The White House pressured Congress on Friday to allocate new funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program as the subsidy officially shut down, cutting off a broadband discount to millions of low-income households.
Expert Analysis
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How Cos. Can Comply With New PFAS Superfund Rule
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's new rule designating two per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances as "hazardous substances" under the Superfund law will likely trigger additional enforcement and litigation at sites across the country — so companies should evaluate any associated reporting obligations and liability risks, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.
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How EB-5 Regional Centers Can Prepare For USCIS Audits
In response to the recently announced U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services guidelines that require EB-5 regional center audits every five years to verify their compliance with immigration and securities laws, regional centers should take steps to facilitate a seamless audit process, say Jennifer Hermansky and Miriam Thompson at Greenberg Traurig.
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Social Media Free Speech Issues Are Trending At High Court
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision examining what constitutes state action on social media can be viewed in conjunction with oral arguments in two other cases to indicate that the court sees a need for more clarity regarding how social media usage implicates the First Amendment, say attorneys at Kean Miller.
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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.