On May 26, 2024, the Illinois Legislature passed Senate Bill 3649 – titled the “Worker Freedom of Speech Act.” The legislation prohibits virtually all Illinois employers from discharging or disciplining any employee, or from...more
The Eastern District of Tennessee recently ruled that there is no private right of action under the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA) for an alleged violation of a voluntary product safety standard. The ruling narrows the...more
In this month's edition of our Privacy & Cybersecurity Update, we examine California's new sweeping privacy law, two U.S. agencies' report on "botnet" threats and the European Parliament's call to suspend the Privacy Shield....more
Ever heard of “voluntary” safety standards? Voluntary or not, they’re a big deal. The technical term is “voluntary consensus safety standards” or “non-government consensus standards,” and they may guide the design of your...more
Over recent weeks, national media outlets have reported extensively on multiple claims from consumers that hoverboards—self-balancing scooters growing immensely in popularity, particularly over the holiday period—have caught...more
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) recently announced a proposed policy establishing credits for voluntary prelisting conservation actions for imperiled species. The policy is intended to establish an additional...more
The Center for Sustainable Shale Development, an organization dedicated to promoting collaboration between the oil and gas industry and environmental groups, has announced it is accepting applications for its new voluntary...more
We recently wrote about CPSC’s proposed amendment to its current limitations on CPSC staff’s participation in voluntary standards organizations. Under the proposed amendment, staff would be allowed to cast votes on voluntary...more
Last week, CPSC staff proposed an amendment to the agency’s current voluntary standards rule that would allow Commission employees to participate as voting members and to accept leadership positions in voluntary standard...more
Yesterday, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Technology and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs held a hearing titled, “The Cybersecurity Partnership Between the Private Sector and...more
A tempting response to the Cybersecurity Executive Order (the "Order"), announced by President Obama at his State of the Union address, is to ignore it. It is vague in key particulars, such as which companies are part of the...more
During his State of the Union address on February 12, 2013, President Barack Obama announced his signing of a long-anticipated Executive Order on cybersecurity. After months of discussions with technology companies the...more
On February 12, 2013, President Obama issued a long-anticipated Executive Order concerning cybersecurity entitled Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity. The Executive Order marks a major milestone in the Federal...more
Order will create a voluntary Cybersecurity Framework for designated critical infrastructure within a year. On February 12, President Barack Obama signed an executive order directing the Department of Homeland Security...more