On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted 3-2 to approve the Final Rule that (1) prohibits employers from entering into non-compete agreements with workers and (2) requires employers to rescind nearly all existing… more

On April 11, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury), as Chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), which is the first substantive update to… more

On April 23, 2024, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued final rules which expand what it means to provide fiduciary “investment advice” under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”) and Section 4975… more

On April 11, 2024, Lt. Governor Patrick issued interim charges for Senate committees to study in preparation for the 89th Legislative Session. Interim charges are directives to committees to study specific policy issues and make… more

With the end of the first quarter of 2024, we highlight five developments, changes, or challenges that health systems, hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, physician practices, health insurers, and other health care providers, companies… more

IP is again being celebrated this year on April 26, with the World Intellectual Property Organization paying homage to the intersection of IP and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and “[b]uilding our common future with… more

On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) conducted a special Open Commission Meeting to vote on a Final Rule (the “Rule”) banning most non-compete clauses as an “unfair method of competition.” By a vote of 3-2, the Rule… more

The following is Part 2 of a 3-Part series reporting on the 26 presentations at the DirectEmployers (“DE”) Annual Meeting & Conference (DEAMcon24) of Members and the public. DE published the first installment on Monday, April 15, and… more

On April 10, 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published the fiscal year (FY) 2025 Medicare Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems (IPPS) Proposed Rule, an annual rulemaking that broadly addresses payment… more

Normally, the path most traveled is thought to be the better road as it represents the path that leads to achieving goals and success while the less traveled path leads to stressful processes and unknowns. But for firms trying to… more

On Friday, April 19, 2024, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced its final rule designating perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) as hazardous substances under the… more

On April 18, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), Justice Department (“DOJ”), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) launched an online reporting portal, HealthyCompetition.gov, for the public to report… more

A big sigh of relief for franchisors: the FTC’s new rule prohibiting non-compete covenants will not apply to the franchisor-franchisee relationship. As expected by many, yesterday the FTC adopted sweeping new prohibitions against… more

With the voluntary carbon offset market being unregulated in the United States, California Assembly Bill No. 1305 (AB 1305) was enacted to confirm the authenticity of claimed emissions offsets, emphasizing the need to ensure the… more

After more than a year of considering tens of thousands of public comments, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has voted 3-to-2 to adopt a Final Rule (the “Rule”) that would effectively ban almost all employee non-compete agreements… more

Many private collectors think that they don’t need an additional fine art insurance policy because they assume that their homeowner’s insurance policy will cover damage to their fine art. This is a critical error, however, as most… more

Non-Compete Clauses Banned By The FTC - In January 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking for a comprehensive ban on employee non-compete clauses. The FTC received over 26,000 comments from… more

Following a 2022 ProPublica article reporting on the use of a third-party software to inflate rents in “a new kind of cartel,” a new wave of antitrust enforcement and class actions targets companies using pricing algorithms, including… more

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted to issue a final rule that would prevent most employers from enforcing noncompete agreements against workers, with only limited exceptions for existing noncompetes with senior executives and… more

On April 19, 2024, the United States Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (“DOE”) issued its long-awaited and lengthy Final Title IX regulations (the “2024 Final Rule”). The 2024 Final Rule requires that all educational… more

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently doubled down on its January 26, 2023 position that existing regulatory pathways for foods and dietary supplements are not appropriate to manage the risks of cannabidiol (CBD) and a… more

On January 29, 2024, Charles E. Littlejohn was sentenced to five years in prison for committing one of the largest heists in the history of the federal government. Littlejohn did not steal gold or cash, but rather, confidential data… more

The Institute of Recycling Industries (“ISRI”) announced in an April 18th news release that it is now the Recycled Materials Association (“ReMA”). The new name was announced at the Association’s ISRI 2024 Conference and Exhibition… more

The SEC’s enforcement action sends a clear message that the Commission intends to enforce “off-channel communication” violations against private fund advisers that are not affiliated with a broker-dealer… more

Welcome to Compliance Notes from Nossaman’s Government Relations & Regulation Group – a periodic digest of the headlines, statutory and regulatory changes and court cases involving campaign finance, lobbying compliance, election law… more

In recent months, market participants have become increasingly optimistic about the probability of a “soft landing” in the US economy, whereby tight monetary policy is shown to have tamed inflation whilst avoiding triggering a… more

On April 23, 2024, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted 3-2 to ban the use of nearly all noncompete agreements in America’s for-profit businesses (with only a few narrow exceptions). The party-line vote comes after 26,000… more

The focus in Web3 law the past few weeks has been on jurisdictional issues when litigating matters involving borderless digital asset transactions. This is expected to be an ongoing issue, as courts work through these challenges in… more

On April 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor issued its Final Rule making major changes in the minimum salary requirements for overtime exempt salaried employees. Specifically, the rule raised the minimum salary threshold from its… more

Lost amidst the hoopla of invalidated non-competes and overtime rules, the U.S. Department of Labor issued its long-awaited final fiduciary rule (the “Final Rule”) yesterday. The Final Rule is more limited in scope than the proposed… more

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Tuesday, April 23, issued its final rule that prevents most employers from enforcing noncompetes against workers. The 3-2 vote by commissioners comes nearly a year and a half after the rule was… more

Less than one day after the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued its Final Rule that would enact a nationwide ban on most non-competition agreements, at least two lawsuits have been filed against the FTC which seek to invalidate the… more

On April 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued its final rule on “Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales and Computer Employees”, which extends overtime… more

In its recent judgment in Tristan Oil Ltd v The Scheme Creditors (BVIHCM 2023/0120) the BVI Commercial Court (the Hon. Justice Paul Webster (Ag.)) has considered the question of when a party not bound by a scheme of arrangement has… more

After a year of uncertainty, the FTC has issued a Final Rule banning employment non-competes nationwide. The Commission has determined that non-competes themselves constitute an unfair method of competition in violation of Section 5 of… more

Despite the recent downward trend in DOJ healthcare industry settlements, the first quarter of 2024 saw many noteworthy False Claims Act (FCA) and civil healthcare fraud settlements related to alleged kickbacks, medically unnecessary… more

On April 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued its “Defining and Delimiting Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees” Final Rule (the “Final Rule”). Significant… more

On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) approved, by a 3-2 vote, a final rule that would void and ban nearly all employee non-compete agreements in the United States. The rule will take effect 120 days after it is… more

On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) voted 3-2 to issue a proposed final rule (“Final Rule”), which, absent a successful legal challenge, will ban most noncompete agreements in the United States. Despite more than… more

On April 23, 2024, the United States Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued a Final Rule (the “Final Rule”) that would prohibit the use of non-compete clauses with most American workers..… more

On April 15, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued its long-awaited final rule and interpretive guidance implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). As noted in AFS’s previous alerts (here and here)… more

In the realm of litigation, the management of electronically stored information (ESI) is a pivotal component that can significantly influence the trajectory and outcome of a case. The recent ruling in Doe LS 340 v. Uber Technologies… more

On April 23, 2024, by a 3-2 straight party-line vote, the Federal Trade Commission issued a Final Rule banning virtually all non-compete agreements. The new rule does contain limited exceptions for existing non-compete agreements for… more

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) unveiled final regulations and guidance on the new federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). The final regulations and guidance contain detailed guidance to help employers… more

Recently there has been an increase in offers and notices from companies not associated with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office (PTO)..… more

The New Jersey Appellate Division and the Third Circuit issued two different opinions in regard to the notice requirements pursuant to the New Jersey Tort Claims Act (TCA). Both highlight the complexity of TCA litigation and courts’… more

On April 17, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court held that an employee need not show “significant” harm when pursuing a discrimination claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when the claim is based on a mandatory job transfer… more

Delaware Supreme Court rejects attempt to limit MFW to controller buyout transactions. Supreme Court instead holds that all of MFW’s requirements for shifting the standard of review from entire fairness to business judgment rule… more

USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA-AMS) recently published a Request for Information soliciting stakeholder input on the electronic or digital link disclosure option for bioengineered (BE) foods under the National… more

Fine art insurance policies offer coverage for highly valued works of art. In the world of insurance, anything that has value beyond its function and intrinsic properties can be considered “Fine Art.”… more

On Tuesday, 23 April 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) hosted a Special Open Commission Meeting, in which the Commissioners voted 3-2 to publish and issue a Final Rule that: bans for-profit employers from entering… more

Federal Agency Charged That Delivery Company Assigned Black Drivers to More Dangerous and Arduous Work - CHICAGO – Delivery company DHL will pay $8.7 million and be subject to the oversight of a court-appointed monitor to settle a… more

As Bradley previously reported, the FTC at the beginning of last year issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to effectively ban employee noncompete provisions as an unfair method of competition in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act… more

Ever since strongman Hugo Chavez assumed power in Venezuela in 1999 and began moving the country toward an authoritarian, socialist model, the collapse of the economy has been offset by income generated from the presence of huge oil… more

On April 18, 2024, the New York Court of Appeals (New York’s highest appellate court) issued a decision in Lelchook v. Société Générale de Banque au Liban SAL, --- N.E.3d ---, 2024 WL 1661460 (Apr. 18, 2024) in which it held that an… more

On April 15, 2024, Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, spoke at a compliance and enforcement conference regarding the challenges and potential missteps associated with the increased use of artificial… more

As provided in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), eligible taxpayers may make a yearly election to transfer all (or any portion) of an eligible credit to an unrelated taxpayer under Section 6418 of the Internal Revenue Code, provided… more

The Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on March 28, 2024, weighed in for the third time in recent months in support of plaintiffs in class action lawsuits challenging the defendants' use of software to assist in… more