Show Me the Money: Attorneys General Urge CFPB on Complaints About Money-Sharing Platforms, Apps

• On December 20, 2021, a bipartisan group of 33 AGs, led by Idaho AG Lawrence Wasden and Oregon AG Ellen Rosenblum, sent a letter to the Director of the CFPB in response to the CFPB’s Request for Comments on its Inquiry into Big Tech Payment Platforms. In the letter, the AGs urged the CFPB to strengthen consumer protections for money-sharing platforms and apps.
• The AGs’ letter lauds innovation in the real-time payment industry, noting that it can provide significant benefits to consumers, but also warns that immediate money transfers have higher potential for user error and fraud.
• The letter goes on to stress the need for the real-time payment industry to employ sufficient consumer safeguards to effectively manage complaints, disputes, and errors, and highlights a rise in consumer complaints alleging the unavailability of customer service, inability to access or transfer funds, and unauthorized and fraudulent money transfers by third parties.

Longest-Serving North Dakota Attorney General Announces Retirement

• North Dakota AG Wayne Stenehjem (R) announced that he will not run for reelection in 2022. AG Stenehjem was first elected in 2000 and won his most recent reelection in 2018 with over 67% of the vote. Republican Drew Wrigley, former U.S. Attorney for North Dakota and former Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota, announced that he will be running to fill AG Stenehjem’s seat.
• Republican Guthrie County Attorney Brenna Bird announced that she will challenge AG Tom Miller (D) in this year’s election for Iowa Attorney General. In 2010, she ran unsuccessfully against AG Miller, who has now served as AG for ten terms.
• To “meet” the state AGs across the nation and read more AG election news and insights, visit The State AG Report.

Diversity or Discrimination? Amicus Brief Argues Against Nasdaq’s Board Diversity Rule

• A group of 17 Republican AGs, led by Arizona AG Mark Brnovich, filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Alliance for Fair Board Recruitment v. SEC, No. 21-60626, in support of a challenge to the SEC’s approval of a Nasdaq board diversity rule.
• The challenged Nasdaq rule creates a comply-or-explain mandate for board diversity for companies listed on its U.S. exchange, whereby companies must either have, or explain why they did not have, at least two self-identified diverse members of their board of directors. It also requires listed companies to publicly disclose statistics for the diversity of their boards.
• The brief argues that the SEC’s approval of the Nasdaq rule attempts to regulate corporate governance, an area that is traditionally left for the states. The brief also argues that the Nasdaq rule is unconstitutional and violates several state laws because it discriminates in employment on the basis of race or sex by requiring corporations to classify directors based on these factors.

Off the Rails: Democratic AGs Press for Suspension of Rule Allowing LNG Transport by Train

• A group of 15 Democratic AGs, led by Maryland AG Brian Frosh and New York AG Letitia James, filed comments in support of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s proposal to suspend a Trump administration rule allowing the shipment of liquefied natural gas in rail tank cars.
• The comments assert that the LNG by Rail Rule, which amended the Hazardous Materials Regulations to allow for the bulk transport of LNG in rail tank cars with enhanced outer tank requirements, put communities at risk because it allowed trains carrying up to 30,000 gallons of potentially explosive cargo to travel through densely populated areas.
• The comments argue that the rule should be suspended because it was based on purportedly flawed and incomplete safety assessments, did not adequately consider the potential upstream and downstream environmental effects of allowing LNG transport by rail, and was promulgated without adequate consideration of its impact on disadvantaged communities.

Senate Urged to Protect Rights of Pregnant Workers

• On December 23, 2021, a group of 15 Democratic AGs, led by New York AG Letitia James, sent a letter to the U.S. Senate leadership urging the Senate to strengthen protections for pregnant individuals by passing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.
• The letter argues that the PWFA is necessary to secure the rights of pregnant individuals for reasonable accommodations at work, such as sitting instead of standing, avoiding heavy lifting, and taking more regular breaks, because neither the Pregnancy Discrimination Act nor the Americans with Disabilities Act fully protects these rights. The letter further argues that, without the protections of PWFA, pregnant workers can be forced out of their jobs or forced to take unwanted leave.
• The letter also notes that the PWFA would curb discriminatory employment practices that disproportionately affect low-wage workers who are more frequently people of color and who are more likely to be denied reasonable accommodations during pregnancy.

Failure to Report Acquisition of Shares to FTC Leads to $1.4 Million Penalty

• The FTC reached a settlement with investment fund operator Biglari Holdings Inc. to resolved allegations that it failed to report an acquisition of shares in restaurant chain operator Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. to the FTC in violation of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act.
• According to the complaint, which was filed simultaneously with the final judgment, Biglari allegedly failed to report two acquisitions of Cracker Barrel shares even though these acquisitions, combined with the shares of Cracker Barrel that Biglari already owned, exceeded the HSR filing threshold that triggers the requirement for an HSR filing and a waiting period before the completion of the acquisition. The complaint further alleged that Biglari should have been aware of this requirement because it had been previously fined $850,000 for HSR violations over earlier purchases of Cracker Barrel shares.
• Under the terms of the proposed final judgment, Biglari will pay a civil money penalty of $1.4 million. The proposed settlement is subject to a 60-day public comment period, after which the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia may approve the proposed settlement upon finding that it is in the public interest.