Expert Analysis

• Employer Considerations After FTC's Noncompete Warning

  

  In light of Federal Trade Commission leadership's recent message that the agency remains committed to challenging noncompetes that operate as restraints of trade, employers should take several practical steps in order to reduce regulatory risk, including auditing existing agreements and narrowing restrictions, says Christopher Pickett at UB Greensfelder.

• How Banks Can React To Risks In FinCEN Whistleblower Rule

  

  Financial institutions should reassess and, if necessary, strengthen existing policies, procedures and other frameworks related to whistleblowers and internal reporting in light of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's recent proposal to formalize a whistleblower award program, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

• 2 Discovery Rulings Break With Heppner On AI Privilege Issue

  

  While a New York federal court’s recent ruling in U.S. v. Heppner suggests that some litigants’ communications with AI tools are discoverable, two other recent federal court decisions demonstrate that such interactions generally qualify for work-product protection under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, says Joshua Dunn at Brown Rudnick.

• Adapting To The Shift Toward Ex Parte Patent Challenges

  

  As recent U.S. Patent and Trademark Office developments shift the patent challenge landscape, challengers will need to reconsider long-held assumptions about forum selection for validity challenges, and patent owners should prepare to defend against more ex parte filings, say attorneys at Marshall Gerstein.

• Series

  Isshin-Ryu Karate Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  My involvement in martial arts, specifically Isshin-ryu, which has principles rooted in the eight codes of karate, has been one of the most foundational in the development of my personality, and particularly my approach to challenges — including in my practice of law, says Kaitlyn Stone at Barnes & Thornburg.

• What Cos. Should Look For As Minn. Plans PFAS Product Ban

  

  As regulators finalize rulemaking for Minnesota's sweeping restrictions on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in consumer and commercial products, manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers should pay attention — especially to how the pathway for essential use exemptions ends up being defined, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

• Employer Tips As Calif. Law Rewrites Retention Pay Rules

  

  California's recent enactment of A.B. 692 disrupts how employers structure sign-on bonuses, retention payments and other incentives tied to continued employment, but employers that adjust their compensation strategies can attract and retain talent while managing their compliance risks, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

• Opinion

  CBP's $166B Tariff Refund Portal Needs 4 Safeguards

  

  Before launching its automated web portal to process tariff-refund disbursements on April 20, U.S. Customs and Border Protection should apply the expensive lessons learned from the pandemic-era employee retention credit, says Peter Gariepy at RubinBrown.

• CFTC Chair's Speech Hints At Innovation-Friendly Policies

  

  Remarks made by Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Michael Selig at the Futures Industry Association's conference last month provided the most comprehensive articulation of his regulatory agenda and signaled a shift in the CFTC's regulatory posture, including a rare focus on agency coordination and support for digital asset innovation, say attorneys at Willkie.

• How CFPB Opinion Changes Earned Wage Access Definition

  

  The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recent conclusion that earned wage access is not "credit" for purposes of Regulation Z of the Truth in Lending Act improves on prior guidance on these products in several meaningful ways, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

• What To Know About NY's Employment Credit Check Ban

  

  An amendment to the New York state Fair Credit Reporting Act prohibiting applicants' or employees' consumer credit history from being used in employment-related decisions statewide will take effect in a few days, so employers should update policies, train teams and audit positions for narrow exemptions, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

• Microplastics On Water Contaminant List Could Spur Claims

  

  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's proposal to include microplastics in its draft sixth Contaminant Candidate List under the Safe Drinking Water Act could influence consumer fraud claims and enforcement by state attorneys general, as well as claims against manufacturers from entities facing regulatory compliance costs, says Arie Feltman-Frank at Jenner & Block.

• 'Made In America' EO May Not Survive Section 230

  

  President Donald Trump's recent executive order to combat fraudulent "Made in America" claims in advertising directs the Federal Trade Commission to deem online marketplaces' failure to verify third-party origin claims as unlawful, but such a rule would likely run into Section 230's publisher immunity doctrine, say attorneys at Blank Rome.

• Fraud Enforcement, Sentencing Face Unusual Convergence

  

  The Trump administration’s newly created task force to eliminate fraud and the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s recent proposals to scale back certain elements of the federal sentencing framework seem to point in opposite directions, creating a collision of policy priorities that may reshape how fraud cases are charged, negotiated and sentenced for years to come, says David Tarras at Tarras Defense.

• Gender-Expansive Calif. Equal Pay Laws Widen Employer Risk

  

  California's recent amendments to strengthen its Equal Pay Act and Pay Transparency Act aim to shrink the wage gap, not only for women, but also for nonbinary and transgender employees, creating new compliance obligations for employers and increasing their potential exposure, say attorneys at the Jhaveri-Weeks Firm.