Public Policy

  • November 06, 2024

    Maritime Commission Seeks To Ax Refusal To Deal Challenge

    The Federal Maritime Commission is asking the D.C. Circuit to toss an ocean carrier industry challenge to federal rules for carrier practices, arguing that the World Shipping Council hasn't shown it has standing to contest the regulations.

  • November 06, 2024

    GOP Will Get A Crack At The Judiciary, But First, Lame Duck

    With a little more than two months left in the Biden administration following Republicans' capture of the White House and Senate on Tuesday, a spokesperson for Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Durbin intends to confirm "every possible nominee" before time runs out on this Congress.

  • November 06, 2024

    Tempur Sealy, Mattress Firm Ask Court To Pause FTC Case

    Tempur Sealy and Mattress Firm asked a Texas federal court to prevent the Federal Trade Commission's in-house merger case from moving ahead until after there is a decision on their constitutional challenge of the agency's process.

  • November 06, 2024

    Browns Won't Stop Ohio From Joining Stadium Dispute

    The Cleveland Browns told an Ohio federal court that it has no problem with the state joining the City of Cleveland in facing down the NFL team's suit, which claims that a state law unconstitutionally impedes the team's plan to move to a new stadium.

  • November 06, 2024

    Judge Says Asylum Delays Are Reasonable Given Backlogs

    A Miami federal judge said Tuesday that a backlog of asylum applications is a fair reason for a four-year delay in processing the application of a Russian national who sued over the hold-up.

  • November 06, 2024

    Ex-Exec Says Do-Nothing ComEd Jobs A Favor To Madigan

    A former Commonwealth Edison executive testified Wednesday that several subcontractors the utility kept on the payroll for years did little to no work and were hired as a favor for former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, bolstered by a series of recordings he captured while cooperating with the government.

  • November 06, 2024

    Mass. Tobacco Law's Penalty Provision Hits State's Top Court

    Massachusetts' highest court on Wednesday attempted to reconcile a state law mandating a $1,000 fine for selling flavored tobacco products with a separate statute requiring local officials to file a criminal complaint if they seek to enforce penalties of that amount.

  • November 06, 2024

    Coinbase, CFTC Reach Discovery Agreement For SEC Case

    Coinbase said it has reached an agreement with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission on certain search terms that it believes satisfies its discovery needs in its ongoing securities enforcement case, resolving an earlier motion to compel the futures regulator to provide certain communications with crypto firms.

  • November 06, 2024

    City Can't Appeal Ex-Worker's PTSD Case, Conn. Justices Told

    The city of Stamford, Connecticut, cannot appeal a hearing referee's decision allowing a military veteran to tack a post-traumatic stress syndrome accommodation claim onto a workplace disability discrimination case because it was not a final order, the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities told the state's highest court on Wednesday.

  • November 06, 2024

    Feds Look To Halt Vitamin Co. Payouts Amid $1.4M Tax Fight

    A couple who bought a vitamin supplement company shouldn't continue to get payments from the business amid a suit claiming they're liable for a previous owner's $1.4 million tax lien, the U.S. Department of Justice told a Connecticut federal court Wednesday.

  • November 06, 2024

    Business Groups Urge Calif. Justices To Nix HIV Drug Ruling

    Business groups led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are asking the California Supreme Court to throw out a suit alleging Gilead Sciences Inc. deprived customers of a safer form of its HIV drug for profits, saying the current ruling creates an untenable duty and liability even when there's no harmful defect in a product.

  • November 06, 2024

    NC Agencies Say Forest Service Workers' OT Is Straight Time

    A North Carolina trial court correctly held that the overtime rate under state law for North Carolina Forest Service professional employees is a straight-time rate, two state agencies told the state's appeals court, arguing that a higher rate is not warranted.

  • November 06, 2024

    NJ Authorizes Sharing Property Tax Info To Calculate Credits

    New Jersey authorized the sharing of taxpayers' unredacted property tax information to calculate tax credits as part of a property tax relief program under a bill signed by Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy.

  • November 06, 2024

    What A Second Trump Term Could Mean For FDA And CPSC

    The historic reelection of former President Donald Trump could lead to shake-ups at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, while questions remain about what policies he will enact.

  • November 06, 2024

    Ga. Justices Signal Newly Chartered City Likely To Survive

    The Supreme Court of Georgia appeared unlikely Wednesday to declare a newly created metro Atlanta city illegitimate, casting doubt on the notion that the simultaneous creation of a special tax district alongside the city violated the state's constitution.

  • November 06, 2024

    Alaska Voters On Brink Of Nixing Captive Audience Meetings

    Alaska voters are poised to approve a ballot measure restricting employers from holding so-called captive audience meetings in the state, which would make it the latest state to join a movement limiting the common anti-union tactic and the first to adopt the policy by ballot measure.

  • November 06, 2024

    Clerk Targeted During Trump Civil Trial Is Elected Judge

    A law clerk under New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron who faced death threats after being singled out by now President-elect Donald Trump during his civil fraud trial last year has been elected as a judge.

  • November 06, 2024

    Ariz. Judge Blocks Lithium Exploration Drilling Project

    An Arizona federal judge blocked a third phase of a Sandy Valley lithium exploration project Tuesday, ruling that the Bureau of Land Management likely fell short of its duties to weigh potential impacts to a hot spring known as Ha'Kamwe' that is sacred to the Hualapai Indian Tribe.

  • November 06, 2024

    Mining Developer Wants In On Nevada Lithium Project Row

    The owner and developer behind the Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Mine asked a Nevada federal judge to let it intervene in a challenge brought by environmental and tribal groups seeking to upend the U.S. Department of the Interior's authorization of the mine project.

  • November 06, 2024

    Mass. Voters Back Gig Driver Unions, Setting Up Possible Suit

    Massachusetts voters on Tuesday handed Uber and Lyft drivers a novel route to unionization, likely setting up a legal challenge to the measure that experts predict will face an uphill climb.

  • November 06, 2024

    Calif. DA Recalled In Latest Blow To Progressive Prosecutors

    San Francisco Bay Area residents have voted to recall Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price less than two years after she took office, following a multimillion-dollar campaign backed by conservative-tied nonprofits that criticized Price's prosecution policies for being overly liberal.

  • November 06, 2024

    Missouri Voters Sign Off On Push To Legalize Sports Betting

    Sports betting will soon launch in Missouri after Show-Me State voters narrowly approved a legalization ballot measure Tuesday, becoming the 39th state to allow some form of sports wagering following years of stalled legislation and forceful lobbying from local professional teams.

  • November 05, 2024

    What Trump's Return Means For Bank Regulation: 5 Questions

    With former President Donald Trump now projected to return to the White House, financial services attorneys are predicting the banking industry will see a sharp rightward turn at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and a much softer touch elsewhere in the federal regulatory arena.

  • November 05, 2024

    Trump Win Puts Emissions Regs On Chopping Block

    Projected president-elect Donald Trump is expected to roll back Biden administration rules and initiatives meant to slash transportation-sector emissions and encourage the adoption of electric vehicles likely focusing on what experts say would be more "traditional" infrastructure investment in highways, roads and bridges.

  • November 05, 2024

    Trump's Win Expected To Pare Back Gensler's SEC Agenda

    The reelection of President Donald Trump will bring with it many big changes to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including a new chair who could set a more crypto- and business-friendly policy that would translate into a downtick in rulemaking and enforcement cases in comparison to outgoing President Joe Biden.

Expert Analysis

  • Amazon Holiday Pay Case Underscores Overtime Challenges

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    The recent Hamilton v. Amazon.com Services LLC decision in the Colorado Supreme Court underscores why employers must always consult applicable state law and regulations — in addition to federal law — when determining how to properly pay employees who work more than 40 hours in a workweek, says James Looby at Vedder Price.

  • Understanding New ACH Network Anti-Fraud Rules

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    Many of the National Automated Clearing House Association’s recent amendments to ACH network risk management rules went into effect this month, so financial institutions and corporations must review and update their internal policies as needed, says Aisha Hall at Taft.

  • The OIG Report: Bad Timing For FEC To Be Underresourced

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    With less than two weeks to the election, the Federal Election Commission’s job has never been more urgent, but a report from its Office of the Inspector General earlier this year found that the agency is facing a resource squeeze that will only get worse without corrective action, says Diana Shaw at Wiley.

  • What To Know About New Employment Laws In Fla.

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    Florida employers should familiarize themselves with recent state laws, and also federal legislation, on retirement benefits, teen labor and heat exposure, with special attention to prohibitions against minors performing dangerous tasks, as outlined in the Fair Labor Standards Act, say Katie Molloy and Cayla Page at Greenberg Traurig.

  • The Key To Solving High Drug Costs Is Understanding Causes

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    One-sided views on who or what contributes to the high cost of pharmaceuticals render possible solutions much harder to discover and implement, and a better approach would be to examine history and learn why costs have increased and what legislation has and hasn't helped, says Nancy Linck at NJ Linck Consulting.

  • Election Unlikely To Overhaul Antitrust Enforcers' Labor Focus

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    Although the outcome of the presidential election may alter the course of antitrust enforcement in certain areas of the economy, scrutiny of labor markets by the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice is likely to remain largely unaffected — with one notable exception, say Jared Nagley and Joy Siu at Sheppard Mullin.

  • How Immigration Attys Should Prep For A 2nd Trump Term

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    In light of the possibility of a drastic policy shift under a second Trump administration, immigration lawyers must review what Trump did during his first term, assess who would be most affected if those policies return and develop legal strategies to safeguard their clients' interests, says Adam Moses at Harris Beach.

  • Anticipating Jarkesy's Effect On Bank Agency Enforcement

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    Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy, federal courts may eventually issue decisions on banking law principles and processes that could fundamentally alter the agencies' enforcement action framework, and the relationship between banks and examiners, says Brendan Clegg at Luse Gorman.

  • CFTC Anti-Fraud Blitz Is A Warning To Carbon Credit Sellers

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    With its recent enforcement actions against a carbon offset project developer and its senior executives for reporting false information about the energy savings of the company's projects, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is staking out its position as a primary regulator in the voluntary carbon credit market, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Unpacking State AG Approaches To Digital Asset Enforcement

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    Attorneys at Cozen O'Connor survey recent digital asset enforcement by attorneys general nationwide driven by concerns over regulatory gaps where technological developments and market changes have outpaced legislation.

  • Opinion

    Legal Institutions Must Warn Against Phony Election Suits

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    With two weeks until the election, bar associations and courts have an urgent responsibility to warn lawyers about the consequences of filing unsubstantiated lawsuits claiming election fraud, says Elise Bean at the Carl Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy.

  • Peeling Back The Layers Of SEC's Equity Trading Reforms

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently adopted amendments lowering the tick sizes for stock trading and reducing access fee caps will benefit investors and necessitate broad systems changes — if they can first survive judicial challenges, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • 5th Circ. DOL Tip Decision May Trigger Final 80/20 Rule Fight

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    A recent Fifth Circuit decision concerning a Labor Department rule that limits how often tipped employees can be assigned non-tip-producing duties could be challenged in either historically rule-friendly circuits or the Supreme Court, but either way it could shape the future of tipped work, says Kevin Johnson at Johnson Jackson.

  • How Cos. Can Build A Strong In-House Pro Bono Program

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    During this year’s pro bono celebration week, companies should consider some key pointers to grow and maintain a vibrant in-house program for attorneys to provide free legal services for the public good, says Mary Benton at Alston & Bird.

  • Series

    Home Canning Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Making my own pickles and jams requires seeing a process through from start to finish, as does representing clients from the start of a dispute at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board through any appeals to the Federal Circuit, says attorney Kevin McNish.

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