Compliance

Expert Analysis

• Pro-Employer NLRB Rulings May Prompt Handbook Reviews

  

  Three new National Labor Relations Board rulings that overturn Obama-era pro-worker precedents may indicate that now is a good time for employers to strengthen their workplace policies on nonbusiness email use, investigation confidentiality and union dues, say Charles Caulkins and Garrett Kamen at Fisher Phillips.

• FTC-DOJ Vertical Merger Guide Aims To Boost Transparency

  

  New draft guidelines from the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission clarify how the agencies will approach vertical merger inquiries and signal that parties will be held accountable for proving pro-competitive benefits, say former FTC acting commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen and Christine Ryu-Naya of Baker Botts.

• Navigating Criminal Antitrust Inability-To-Pay Claims With DOJ

  

  Due to the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division's silence following recent guidance from the Criminal Division on inability-to-pay claims, counsel defending these claims should evaluate the Antitrust Division's historical approach in crediting cooperation, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

• Nissan Ex-CEO Illustrates Do's And Don'ts Of Image Repair

  

  Lawyers can draw a number of useful lessons about reputation management from the efforts of former Nissan executive Carlos Ghosn — who recently escaped house arrest in Tokyo — to restore his sullied reputation, says Elizabeth Ortega at ECO Strategic Communications.

• What To Know Before Enforcing A Nicotine-Free Workplace

  

  U-Haul’s recent policy banning the hire of nicotine users provides an opportunity for employers to consider the potential legal ramifications of such a move and other options for encouraging a healthier workforce, say attorneys at McDermott.

• HIPAA Compliance Lessons From 2019 Enforcement Trends

  

  Although 2019 was a comparatively quiet year for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act enforcement, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights is still prioritizing the HIPAA security rule and right of access claims, and is not afraid to impose civil money penalties or take action against smaller providers, says Dena Castricone of DNC Law.

• Reining In Runaway Loss Calculations For Procurement Fraud

  

  In criminal prosecutions of procurement fraud cases involving set-aside contracts, prosecutors frequently argue that the victim’s loss is the total face value of the wrongfully awarded contracts, but this reasoning cannot survive basic scrutiny, say David Chaiken and Tiffany Bracewell at Troutman Sanders.

• Takeaways From Exxon’s Winning OFAC Penalty Challenge

  

  A recent Texas federal court decision overturning a $2 million Office of Foreign Assets Control fine against Exxon provides insight into OFAC's enforcement of complex sanctions and when its practices may not provide proper notice to companies subject to U.S. sanctions, say Aaron Hutman and Zachary Rozen at Pillsbury.

• How OFCCP's Systemic Discrimination Audit Proposal Is Flawed

  

  The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs' recently proposed new rule, laying out statistical thresholds for finding systemic discrimination, would implement a problematic method of statistical analysis and notice provisions that may provide government contractors inadequate time to respond, say Chris Wilkinson and Necia Hobbes at Orrick.

• DOJ's Trade Security Reporting Policy Boosts Transparency

  

  Recent guidance from the U.S. Department of Justice's National Security Division on the voluntary self-disclosure part of its sanctions and export controls enforcement program continues the DOJ’s movement toward increased transparency, but leaves unanswered questions about how the policy will be applied in practice, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

• Courts' Deference To DOL Joint Employer Rule Is Up In The Air

  

  Employers should use the U.S. Department of Labor’s narrowed standard for determining joint employer status under the Fair Labor Standards Act as a guidepost until federal courts weigh in on whether and to what extent they will defer to the new rule, say Alexander Passantino and Kevin Young at Seyfarth.

• Iran Airspace Bans May Lead To EU Passenger Claims

  

  After the recent killing of Qasem Soleimani and the downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, the commercial aviation sector must consider how resulting restrictions on air travel may affect passenger compensation claims under European Union rules, says James Jordan of Holman Fenwick.

• Key Trends In Energy Antitrust Enforcement And Litigation

  

  Antitrust agencies and private litigants continued to focus on the energy industry in 2019, and new antitrust policy initiatives announced by the U.S. Department of Justice last year will offer energy companies opportunities to avoid prosecution in certain cases, say attorneys at Vinson & Elkins.

• Don't Let Moonlighting Undermine Employment Visa Status

  

  Employees with nonimmigrant visas should be educated about the parameters of lawful U.S. employment because they may not know that earning extra income through a side gig could render them ineligible for permanent residence down the road, say Douglas Halpert and Jessica Cadavid at Hammond Law Group.

• Climate Law Brings Challenges For NYC Co-Ops And Condos

  

  New York City's Climate Mobilization Act leaves several unanswered questions for co-ops and condos, such as what will happen to buildings with rent-regulated units, how buildings will pay for compliance costs, and how building owners will divide CMA responsibilities with tenants, says William McCracken of Ganfer Shore.