This month’s Friday Five explores decisions from around the country discussing differences between LTD and LWOP policies, the breadth of discretion available to claims administrators and the always important topic of timely action by… more

The U.S. Department of the Treasury and IRS released Notice 2024-37 on April 30, 2024, regarding the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Tax Credit found at Section 40B of the Internal Revenue Code as an income tax credit and also… more

The testimony given at a deposition vs. testimony during a trial have a lot in common. They’re both sworn under oath, under penalty of perjury, and part of official court records.  There’s a longer list, however, of how they… more

Forshee v. Moulton, 2024 Tex. App. LEXIS 2520 (Houston [14th Dist.] April 11, 2024) - Brief Summary - The Texas Court of Appeals held that when a plaintiff's claim against her former attorney properly is grounded in professional… more

We conclude our focus on culture this week by returning to some of our long-time compliance roots for improving culture, such as the listening tour. In 2022, returning Starbucks Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Howard Schultz began… more

Last week the FCA issued three announcements concerning its approach to the digital future of financial services in the UK. Amongst these was the FCA’s AI Update, their response to the government’s recent AI consultation outcome that… more

The vexing issue of whether insurance carriers, third-party administrators and self-insured employers will be required to pay for a broad array of non-prescription items (for example, over-the-counter medications, dietary supplements… more

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has published its 2024 annual funding statement which is targeted at DB schemes undergoing valuations with effective dates between 22 September 2023 and 21 September 2024. It is also relevant to DB schemes… more

Storms and hurricanes, isolated but powerful tornados, earthquakes, fires, and floods—the question is not whether, but where and when policyholders will confront the next natural disaster. Climate change is clearly having an impact on… more

In the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (“CFPB’s”) most recent Supervisory Highlights, published on April 24th, the agency identified a wide variety of fees that were improperly charged to mortgage borrowers. As compared to other… more

The privacy advocacy group noyb, founded by privacy activist Max Schrems, has raised concerns over how ChatGPT handles questions about real-life individuals. The group alleges that ChatGPT has been generating inaccurate personal data… more

On March 1, 2024, the Second Circuit affirmed the judgment of the Southern District of New York in Brian La Belle v. Barclays Capital Inc, No. 23-448 (2d Cir. 2024)… more

New statutory guidance has been published about controversial “fire and rehire” practices, where an employer dismisses a worker to then rehire them on different terms — a tactic typically used to compel an employee to accept… more

As previously blogged about, on March 7, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission announced a final rule extending telemarketing fraud protections to businesses and updating the Telemarketing Sales Rule’s recordkeeping requirements… more

This November, California voters may have the opportunity to replace the controversial Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”) by voting on a proposed bill that would double penalties for willful labor-law violators, but… more

The household vehicle exclusion has once again been proven to be viable and enforceable—under the right circumstances. Major was using her mother’s vehicle when she was struck by another vehicle operated by Cruz. Major thereafter filed… more

Chemical transport, tank cleaning and transportation depot operators breathed a sigh of relief in March 2024 when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) dropped provisions from a proposed rule when it issued its final Safer… more

Earlier this week, we learned that the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will likely reclassify marijuana under federal law from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) based upon the… more

The March decision in Williams v. Binance from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit marks the latest chapter in the judiciary's struggle to apply the U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 decision in Morrison v. National Australia Bank… more

In the intricate world of legal proceedings, the duty to preserve evidence plays a pivotal role, particularly when it involves video evidence that can unequivocally substantiate claims or defenses. The recent decision in Nagy v… more

In response to the growing threat by pro-Russia hacktivists, on May 1, 2023, CISA and other national agency partners issued an Alert to operators of industrial control systems and small-scale operational technology systems in North… more

The new EU Artificial Intelligence Act (“AI Act”) is a risk-based framework, ranging from outright prohibitions on certain types of systems to light regulation of others. The AI Act sets out to define AI systems, their levels of risk… more

We are pleased to introduce the inaugural issue of the Real Estate Round Up, a monthly update on current trends, with the first month focusing on Environment and Energy insights. This month’s edition features key topics such as ..… more

When it comes to consumer class action litigation, what type of evidence is required to show that labeling nutrition bars as "all natural" violates false advertising and consumer protection laws? According to the plaintiffs in a class… more

On 24 April 2024 the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) issued a final rule to update regulations for renewable energy development on the US Outer Continental Shelf… more

The Learned Concierge - Welcome to your monthly legal insights on the trends impacting the Retail, Hospitality, and Food & Beverage Industries… more

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced that it has levied almost $200 million in fines against “the nation’s largest wireless carriers for illegally sharing access to customers’ location information without consent… more

Purchase agreements customarily contain provisions for resolving certain disputes by referring them to a third-party neutral decision-maker outside of litigation. For example, disputes over purchase price adjustments are often referred… more

Introduction - The General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) is the EU regulation which is directly applicable in all member states of the EU, including the Czech Republic, as of 25 May 2018. The new Czech Act… more

The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently issued its Final Rule to modify HIPAA “to support reproductive health care privacy.” The Final Rule is in response to Executive Order… more

Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana. In what’s probably the biggest news in cannabis since Canada legalized, the Drug Enforcement Administration has decided to move… more

On April 25, the Treasury Department (Treasury) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued final regulations (Final Regulations) on tax credit transfers pursuant to Section 6418 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended… more

As noted in our post in February 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a final rule updating the H-1B cap registration process and creating a beneficiary-centric selection process. The rule took effect this… more

On May 1, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced new policies that will allow borrowers to challenge property appraisals they believe to be inaccurate or biased… more

The Australian Federal Parliament recently introduced new requirements for public companies to disclose information about their subsidiaries in their annual report by legislating the Treasury Laws Amendment (Making Multinationals Pay… more

Last week on April 23, 2024, the FTC adopted a final rule that would effectively ban non-compete agreements in the context of employment relationships when the rule becomes effective on September 4, 2024, absent a stay or injunctive… more

On May 2, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) issued a precedential opinion in SnapRays, d/b/a SnapPower v. Lighting Defense Group, discussing personal jurisdiction and – for the first time – Amazon’s… more

Over the last several years, we have seen an increase in focus on the rights of pregnant and parenting people on campus in higher education—from a string of recent Office for Civil Rights (OCR) resolutions, to new federal employment… more

In an unpublished decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently affirmed the decision of a California district court finding that the furnisher conducted a reasonable investigation under the Fair Credit Reporting… more

Join Stark & Stark’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee on May 21 for a special AAPI Month event featuring the Honorable Judge Honorable Judge Rukhsanah L. Singh, the first female of South Asian descent to serve as a federal judge… more

Marking the first effort to establish an artificial intelligence (“AI”) governance structure for the federal government, the AI Memorandum contains requirements and recommendations for federal agencies’ AI use that private-sector… more

A seller of goods may gain priority over other creditors, and enhanced prospects for payment, by taking and perfecting a purchase money security interest (PMSI) in the goods sold to a customer. This article will explain what a PMSI is… more

On April 23, the FTC issued its much-anticipated Final Rule banning worker non-competes. The Final Rule targets the Biden administration’s goal of reducing barriers to employee mobility… more

André Maruch is a lawyer on the Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions team at KLA Advogados, the ILN's Brazilian member firm. In this episode, he and Lindsay chat about the current market trends in Brazil and the impact of the US and… more

Way back in 2017, one of our earliest posts discussed the legal and financial risks to both the issuer and the finder if an issuer pays a finder’s fee in connection with a sale of securities in the United States, and the person… more

On April 29, 2024, Accord BioPharma, Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved HERCESSI (trastuzumab-strf).  HERCESSI is a biosimilar to HERCEPTIN (trastuzumab) and is indicated for adjuvant treatment of… more

On April 29, 2024, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued new enforcement guidance on harassment in the workplace. The guidance is the result of approximately seven years of effort and replaces previous guidance… more

Recent studies have shown that firefighters who worked with aqueous film-forming foam, or AFFF, face an increased risk of developing kidney cancer, testicular cancer, pancreatic cancer, or other types of cancer due to the toxic… more

As we previously reported, the California Legislature amended several statutes regulating employer workplace safety policies, including existing injury and illness prevention plans, to also include a new, separate requirement for a… more

Employers may need to raise exempt employee salaries or reclassify them as non-exempt if the new salary thresholds go into effect. On April 23, 2024, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a new rule (the DOL Rule) that will… more

On April 17th, the SEC issued a Risk Alert titled “Initial Observations Regarding Advisers Act Marketing Rule Compliance.” Perusing the list of failures, a sense of familiarity arose, given that one of our clients had been involved in… more

The "Same Actor Inference" is a legal principle that recognizes the logical gap when an employee alleges that they were terminated based on membership in a protected classification, by a manager who recently hired them with full… more

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) agreed this week to cooperate and coordinate consumer protection efforts in enforcing the FCC’s reinstated “net neutrality” rules. The agencies stated… more

When an owner requires a contractor to post a payment and performance bond, the contractor, invariably, provides a bond in the form of AIA Document A312-2010. The payment portion of the bond is primarily for the benefit of the… more

Regulatory scrutiny has intensified across industries following updates from the Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding the preservation of data from collaboration tools and… more

Now it’s adopted: the EU Directive on a right to repair. This is a game changer. It affects manufacturers and sellers alike, and provides new opportunities for repair service providers. Supply chains become repair chains: first… more

On April 30, 2024, the FTC issued a press release and warning letters to ten pharmaceutical companies notifying them that the FTC had “availed [themselves] of the FDA’s regulatory process and submitted patent listing dispute… more

President Biden recently signed into law the Protecting Americans’ Data from Foreign Adversaries Act as a part of H.R. 815, an emergency appropriations bill that primarily provides assistance to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan. The act will… more