On today’s episode of AD Nauseam, Amy and Daniel talk about the FTC’s new imposter rule and why everyone should be paying attention. Questions & Comments: amudge@bakerlaw.com and dkaufman@bakerlaw.com… more

Welcome to the only roundtable podcast in compliance as we celebrate our second century of shows. In this episode, we have a quintet of shoutouts and rantors; Jonathan Marks, Matt Kelly, Jay Rosen, and Karen Woody, all hosted by Tom… more

In many states, the tide appears to be turning against short-term rentals. With restrictions on short-term rentals, such as Airbnb and Vrbo, on the rise, businesses operating short-term rental properties are running out of options… more

Welcome to the Daily Compliance News. Each day, Tom Fox, the Voice of Compliance, brings you compliance-related stories to start your day. Sit back, enjoy a cup of morning coffee and listen to the Daily Compliance News. All from the… more

The Biden administration has announced a package of policy measures to protect the US steel, aluminum, and shipbuilding industries from what they allege are unfair trade practices by China and calling the industries critical to… more

In Muldrow v. City of St. Louis, No. 22-193, 2024 WL 1642826 (U.S. Apr. 17, 2024), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that an employee alleging that an involuntary lateral job transfer constituted workplace discrimination in violation of… more

More Americans than ever are priced out of the housing market and President Biden has outlined steps his administration is taking to increase development of affordable housing. In the 2024 Economic Report of the President… more

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced its finalization of a rule substantially revising the financial assurance requirements applicable to offshore oil and gas operations. The final rule revises criteria for… more

Headlines that Matter for Companies and Executives in Regulated Industries- Canadian Man Sentenced for Operating $175 Million Psychic Mass-Mailing Fraud Scheme - On April 15, Patrice Runner, a Canadian and French citizen, was… more

On April 15, 2024, the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced the launch of its Pilot Program on Voluntary Self-Disclosures for Individuals. U.S. Dep’t of Justice, The Criminal Division’s Pilot Program… more

Aristotle said “well begun is half done.” About 2,300 years later, Mary Poppins shared the same advice with her young charges, Jane and Michael. The adage generally is understood to mean that a thoughtful and disciplined start puts a… more

For the past few years, we have encouraged plan sponsors to focus on matters of fiduciary governance for their health and welfare benefit plans (see our 2021 blog post). Yet many plan sponsors overlook the fact that the fiduciary… more

On March 22, 2024, a new federal rule published by the U.S. Department of the Interior (Department or DOI) went into effect, governing the Department’s review and oversight of certain tribal gaming arrangements… more

Welcome to the trendy revolution of urban farming. Three years ago, Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser unveiled a plan to transform vacant office buildings in downtown DC into residential properties with hopes of creating a 24/7… more

The importance of healthcare background checks cannot be overstated. When it comes to ensuring the safety and well-being of patients, there’s a lot to consider. Let’s delve into home healthcare background checks, uncovering the gaps… more

The chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and the chair of the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), released a discussion draft of the… more

I undertook a presentation at the April 17, Arkansas Environmental Federation Land Seminar titled: Solid and Hazardous Waste/Recycling Administrative/Judicial Development – 2023-2024 The presentation addressed a… more

The Conservation Law Foundation (“CLF”) sent an April 10th letter to Patriot Beverages, LLC and CPF, Inc. (collectively, “Pepsi Beverages”) styled: Notice of Violations and Intent to File Suit Under the Clean Water Act (“Notice”)… more

Utah, among other privacy laws it has enacted or modified recently, has also modified its breach notification law. This follows last year’s changes to the law, which among other things codified the state’s Cyber Center… more

The proposed amendments would address recent case law decisions in Activision, Moelis and Crispo that uprooted well-established market practice with respect to the enforceability of certain provisions of stockholder agreements and… more

On April 17, 2024, I had the honor of moderating an online panel entitled “Promoting Inventor Equity in Patenting”—part of the OHSU Innovates series hosted by the OHSU Technology Transfer office and OHSU Collaborations and… more

Bias: A tendency to favor or oppose, often based on personal beliefs/preferences. Are your interviews filled with bias? It could stop your company from getting the quality hires it needs if they are. Conducting bias-free interviews is… more

SEO is an essential part of any law firm’s digital marketing. The challenge with SEO is that it’s always changing. Between complicated algorithms and technical components, there is a lot that can go wrong when it comes to optimizing… more

On April 19, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it was designating two common per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response… more

Less than ten days after setting drinking water standards for six of the hundreds of chemicals known collectively as PFAS, EPA has now identified two of those PFAS that have been widely used for decades, PFOA and PFOS, as hazardous… more

The ediscovery job market is picking up in Q2 after a slower job market in March. This month’s Eye on ESI brought together ACEDS President Michael Quartararo and TRU Staffing Partners’ Founder and CEO Jared Coseglia for a lively… more

In Law Office of Drew J. Bauman v. Hanover Insurance Company, 2023 WL 2238552 (D.N.J. February 27, 2023), the plaintiffs maintained a professional liability insurance policy with the Hanover defendants from October 2017 to October… more

In May, it will have been a year since the U.S. Supreme Court decided Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts Inc. v. Goldsmith. In that case, the court held that Andy Warhol's silkscreens of the musician Prince based on a photograph… more

Although a construction manager’s scheduling and liaison responsibilities do not require specialized training, such tasks may be sufficiently related to the actor’s other roles to be excluded from coverage under a liability policy’s… more

On April 12, 2024, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion in Macquarie Infrastructure Corp. v. Moab Partners, L. P., vacating a judgment of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit that had reinstated claims under… more

On April 17, 2024, the United States Supreme Court delivered a win to employees holding that a lateral job transfer can be discriminatory under Title VII when the transfer brought some harm to the employee. The Supreme Court rejected… more

While many of us were struggling to keep recent New Year’s resolutions going, new laws went into effect on January 26, 2024 that altered the landscape of divorce in the District of Columbia… more

Porter v. Bd. of Appeal of Bos., No. 22-P-974, 2024 WL 187241 (Mass. App. Ct. Jan. 18, 2024). The case of Porter v. Bd. of Appeal of Boston is the latest case that involves an eternal question posed by developers: how does a… more

In addition to being developed in-house, intellectual property (“IP”) can obviously be acquired from third parties. IP acquisitions may be more germane now than in the recent past as developers race to create and monetize artificial… more

Aesthetic services and the medical spa industry have continued to grow over the past few years as clients continue to demand the availability of such cosmetic services. In response, many providers and investors in the health care… more

Does the outside accountant of a closely-held business and its individual owners owe a legal duty to disclose to one owner the suspected financial improprieties of another?… more

Every banker should know by now that the Department of Justice announced an “Anti-Redlining” crusade in October 2021. In his October 2021, press release, Attorney General Merrick Garland, proclaimed that redlining is “pervasive” today… more

Recent legal developments in Alabama demonstrate that fertility care stakeholders should prepare for additional state regulation of in vitro fertilization (“IVF”) and other assisted reproductive technology (“ART”) services in states… more

Griffin v. Melrose MA Plan. Bd., No. 23 MISC 000277 (KTS), 2024 WL 146450 (Mass. Land Ct. Jan. 12, 2024) - In Griffin v. Melrose MA Plan. Bd., pro se plaintiff David Griffin (“Griffin”) appealed a decision of the Melrose Board of… more

Suppose we compare how orchestra violinists are paid to how residential real estate agents are paid. In contrast to violinists, who must spend a fixed amount of time in rehearsals and concerts, real estate agents receive the same… more

The U.S. Department of Education (Department) on April 19, 2024, released its final regulations for Title IX, the law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs or activities that receive federal financial… more

Stablecoin, Wallet Products Launch; German Bank Launches Crypto Services - Circle, a global fintech firm and issuer of the USDC stablecoin, has announced new smart contract functionality to allow holders of BUIDL, a tokenized fund… more

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued General License 44A (GL 44A) on April 17, 2024, replacing and superseding General License 44 (GL 44). On Oct. 18, 2023, OFAC suspended certain… more

On March 27, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) adopted a final rule (the “Final Rule”) amending SEC Rule 203A-1(E) (the “Internet Adviser Exemption”) promulgated under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended… more

New Immigration Rules came into force in the UK on 4 April 2024 which affect employers who sponsor workers under the Skilled worker or Global Business Mobility: Senior or Specialist Worker routes… more

The DOL’s final amendment to the QPAM Exemption sets forth more rigorous compliance requirements and expands the circumstances of ineligibility, potentially affecting the operations and compliance procedures of investment managers that… more

Half of Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. This extensive growth, which represents a doubling of MA enrollment since 2010, has been driven in part by an extensive network of insurance agents and… more

The long and winding road of the Secretary of State for Business and Trade v. Mercer case has taken yet another U-turn. The Supreme Court’s judgment, published on April 17, has brought some clarity and potentially some finality to a… more

On March 1, 2024, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law a revised version of New York State's LLC Transparency Act, which is modeled on FinCEN's Beneficial Ownership Information Rule. Other states are considering similar… more

Welcome to our Q1 Trade Secrets and Restrictive Covenant Report. As you will note from reading the report, the first quarter of 2024 continues the trend of state legislatures exploring the possibility of new restrictive covenant laws… more

The U.S. Department of the Interior (Interior) released a final rule that will protect millions of acres of Alaskan wildness from the development of oil, gas and minerals. Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which manages… more

Recently, the Department of Justice (DOJ) Criminal Division launched a pilot program promising “mandatory NPAs to incentivize individuals (and their counsel) to provide original and actionable information.” This most recent program… more

On April 16, 2024, Kisco Senior Living, LLC (“Kisco”) filed a notice of data breach with the Attorney General of Montana after discovering that a June 2023 network disruption led to a data breach of patient information. In this notice… more

On April 15, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed the Commerce Policy Omnibus bill, which includes key provisions of the Minnesota Debt Fairness Act. Minnesota AG Keith Ellison supports this bill and celebrated its passage… more

On April 16, 2024, the Massachusetts Attorney General (AG) published an Attorney General Advisory on the Application of the Commonwealth’s Consumer Protection, Civil Rights, and Data Privacy Laws to Artificial Intelligence. The… more

Employers are gathering more and more data on job applicants and employees. From using artificial intelligence (”AI”) and credit scores for pre-employment screenings, biometrics for clocking-in and out, and digital technologies… more

United States House of Representatives Members John Curtis (“Utah”) and Marie Gluesenkamp-Perez (“Washington”) introduced legislation titled: Water Systems PFAS Liability Protection Act (“Act”) The bill would exempt water… more

The United States Supreme Court recently clarified the law that applies to federal workplace discrimination claims based on an employee’s allegation that he or she was transferred to a job they didn’t want for a prohibited reason… more