In this episode of Trekking Through Compliance, we consider the episode The Tholian Web, which aired on November 15, 1968, Star Date 5693.4. Compliance Takeaways: 1. How do you manage talent in your function? 2. What is smart… more

The Compliance Kitchen will look at the recent action by the State Department as it designates the former Honduran first family and issues a travel ban for significant corruption. Next, the Commerce Department’s BIS adds to the Entity… more

How to Survive a GDPR Data Breach in the USA Eventually, every company will deal with cybersecurity issues that include hacking that exploits security controls and technical, physical, or human-based elements. Such an emergency… more

Tom Fox’s guest this week is Lauren Sparks. Lauren is the founder, Chairperson, and President of Agility Bank, a woman-owned and led commercial community bank. Lauren has more than 35 years of experience as a banking executive and has… more

[co-authors: Daniela Cuellar and Maria Camila Opsina] Chile is now considering new taxes for its mining industry, which could dramatically impact the supply of minerals that are critical for the world’s industrialization and energy… more

[co-authors: Miriam Wrobel and Vy Manthripragada] In recent years, the integration of an ever-increasing amount of intermittent renewables coupled with severe weather has challenged the operation of energy markets across the United… more

On July 28, 2021, President Biden issued a Memorandum on Improving Cybersecurity for Critical Infrastructure Control Systems. The Memo recognizes that the protection of the nation’s critical infrastructure lies not only with… more

[co-author: Adam Rouse] America is the wealthiest country in the world, yet it ranks 13th in overall quality of its infrastructure, according to the United States Government.1 If current proposed measures are passed, considerable… more

Calls for changes to antitrust law, and how antitrust laws should be applied to the conduct of large technology companies, have been heating up in recent years. Now, the push for wide-scale changes to antitrust law has reached a… more

New York courts are trending towards a strict no-tolerance approach in disposing of cases for willful discovery violations. Under CPLR 3126(3), a party may seek to strike its opponent’s pleading for a willful failure to comply with… more

Under current Medicare program rules, Medicare does not recognize “freestanding emergency departments” or other non-hospital providers of emergency department services. Medicare will only pay for these services at facilities that meet… more

Three months after the Supreme Court’s landmark Facebook ruling, a growing number of trial courts have grappled with interpreting and applying the High Court’s directive. One of the more interesting decisions came out of the Eastern… more

The Louisiana legislature has passed new laws requiring employers to provide accommodations for certain pregnant employees and limiting an employer’s use of an applicant’s criminal history in hiring decisions.  Both laws become… more

Two titans of the American automotive industry are locking horns over branding for automated driving technologies, underscoring the importance of brand clearance before marketing and selling a new product or technology. GM and its… more

On July 16, 2021 the IRS issued Revenue Procedure 2021-30, which modifies and supersedes Revenue Procedure 2019-19, expanding the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (“EPCRS”). EPCRS is a program for correcting documentation… more

Under longstanding California law, an action brought on behalf of someone who sustains a bodily injury can recover, among other things, pain and suffering damages, but an action brought for a decedent’s (i.e, someone who dies from an… more

On July 15, 2021, American Gene Technologies (AGT), a Maryland biotech company, announced that the safety data in its Phase 1 trial of AGT103-T revealed no adverse effect.  Based on the data, the FDA’s Data and Safety Monitoring Board… more

On May 5, 2021, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the New York Health and Essential Rights Act (“NY HERO Act”) into law. The NY HERO Act requires extensive workplace health and safety protections and… more

Another district court just ordered the defendant in a data breach class action to turn over the forensic report it believed was entirely protected from disclosure by the attorney-client privilege and work product doctrine. See In re… more

With COVID-19 cases once again rising due to the spread of the more contagious Delta variant, the Centers for Disease Control (“CDC”) and the Biden Administration have issued new guidance and requirements on masking and… more

On July 29, 2021, the Department of the Treasury published updates to its Paycheck Protection Program FAQs. The updates come in response to the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) decision to discontinue the use of its Loan Necessity… more

On July 20, 2021, SIFMA hosted a panel discussing key legal and regulatory issues for private client firms at SIFMA’s 2021 C&L Virtual Forum. Several key subjects were discussed by the panel, including: (1) FINRA’s 2021 priorities and… more

There has been a fresh call by consumers demanding that retailers embrace their diversity, inclusion, and equality practices. This retail uprising has encouraged various industries to reinvent their ad-campaigning strategies… more

The United States Environmental Protection Agency and Corps of Engineers (collectively “Corps”) issued a July 30th news release announcing plans for: . . . upcoming community engagements to inform their efforts to revise the definition… more

As anticipated, on July 29, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) released a final rule rescinding the “joint employer” standard that became effective in March 2020. The “joint employer” rule addresses instances where there are two different… more

AgTech companies promoting sustainability and positive social impacts may benefit from improving impact investors’ ability to assess and compare entities on these issues. On March 4, 2021, the US Securities and Exchange Commission… more

In November 2020 the UK Government announced a new, much broader regime for the regulation of foreign investment for the protection of national security in the United Kingdom (the UK) under the National Security and Investment Act (the… more

Australia’s premier international dispute resolution institution, the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (ACICA), released its 2021 Edition of its Arbitration Rules (2021 Rules) earlier this year. The 2021 Rules… more

Charlotte is considering passing an ordinance that would extend nondiscrimination protections to employees of businesses with 14 or less employees. On July 26, 2021, Charlotte’s City Attorney sent a memo to the Mayor and City… more

On July 13th, group health plans and health insurance issuers subject to the Federal No Surprises Act (the “Act”) received the first phase of interim final rules promulgated under the Act (the “Rules”) and issued by the Office of… more

Many F-1 OPT foreign nationals have been approved for H-1B status effective October 1st in this year’s H-1B lottery Employers and F-1 workers should be careful during the transition from F-1 to H-1B status to ensure they maintain legal… more

Case Name: Silvergate Pharms. Inc. v. Bionpharma Inc., No. 18-1962-LPS, 19-1067-LPS, 2021 WL 1751148 (D. Del. Apr. 29, 2021) (Stark, J.) - Drug Product and Patent(s)-in-Suit: Epaned® (enalapril maleate); U.S. Patents Nos. 10,039,745… more

In last month's issue of Insights we discussed a new licensing regime in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts specific to student loan servicers. As of the publication date of that article the rules such servicers must follow when… more

Kovel Agreement - The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has broad statutory authority to investigate and audit taxpayers. In many cases, the IRS attempts to fulfill this statutory authority through seeking communications made between… more

On July 29, 2021, Governor Roy Cooper issued Executive Order No. 224 (the "Order"), which implements additional safety measures for workers at Cabinet agencies in the state and strongly encourages private businesses and organizations… more

At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, on March 16, 2020, at the Attorney General’s request, Governor Greg Abbott utilized Section 418.016 of the Government Code to suspend certain requirements of the Texas Open Meetings Act (TOMA) in… more

Last month we alerted our clients to the expected impact of the Implementation Rules for the Law for Promoting Private Education (“Education Sector Implementation Rules”), which signaled a continued focus by the authorities in Mainland… more

On July 27, 2021, the CDC revised its advisory guidance - providing that even the fully vaccinated should wear a mask indoors in public if in an area of “substantial or high transmission.” The CDC has provided a map indicating which… more

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and Sterling Operators, Inc., (“Sterling”) entered into a July 16th Consent Agreement and Final Order (“CAFO”) addressing alleged violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act… more

As promised by the U.S. Department of Education, the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) issued a new 67-page Q&A document regarding Title IX on July 20, 2021. The document describes OCR’s interpretation of the responsibilities educational… more

Employment law in Colorado has undergone a sea change in the past year, from mandatory sick leave, to new promotional-opportunity posting requirements, to stricter whistleblower laws, and so on. But one bill from the last legislative… more

WHAT: Continued concern about the spread of the Delta variant of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) spurred action by President Biden and District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser that will likely affect the operations of federal government… more

Confirmation of Payee Phase 2: PSR letter to Specific Direction 10 banks and UK Finance The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has published a letter it has sent to the UK's six biggest banking groups (directed under the PSR's Specific… more

On July 27, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its guidance for fully vaccinated individuals to prevent further spread of COVID-19 and the Delta variant. Pursuant to the new guidance, the CDC… more

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) conducted an initial random selection for the fiscal year (FY) 2022 H-1B cap in March 2021, including for beneficiaries eligible for the advanced degree exemption. USCIS used historical… more

The 2021 regular session of the Texas Legislature produced two employee-friendly bills that found their way to the Governor's desk and were signed into law. Both laws will go into effect on September 1, 2021… more

Following much anticipation, the Alternative Reference Rate Committee (ARRC) has announced its official recommendation of the CME Group’s forward-looking Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) term rates (SOFR Term Rates). Market… more

David F. Johnson presented “Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims Against Trustees/Managers of Closely-Held Businesses” with Kenneth J. Fair of Wright Close & Barger, LLP, on July 22, 2021, for Strafford Webinars to a national audience. This… more

The Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment - Division of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) and Mercy Health System of NWA (“Mercy”) entered into a July 7th Consent Administrative Order (“CAO”) addressing an alleged violation of an… more

To date, New Jersey courts, both state and federal, handling COVID-19 business interruption insurance cases have ruled on at least 32 dispositive motions. Thirty of those motions were resolved favorably to insurers. Yet, policyholders… more

On July 1, 2021, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), along with other federal agencies, released an interim final rule implementing certain provisions of the No Surprises Act. The No Surprises Act aims to protect health… more

In the 30 plus years of investing, investing in cryptocurrency has been a wild ride. Mostly ups, but lots of downs. What makes sense as a small portion of investments that I’m willing to lose makes no sense as a 401(k) investment… more

As Receiver for failed bank Washington Mutual (WAMU), the FDIC has been recently sending demands for indemnification of losses to residential mortgage companies. The losses for which the FDIC is seeking indemnification stem from a June… more

NCUA Seeks Comment on DeFi, Crypto Firms Launch Products, Gain Licenses - The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), a federal agency that charters and regulates federal credit unions, recently published a notice of request for… more

The United States Energy Information Administration (“EIA”) announced in a July 28th article that: - Renewables Became the Second-Most Prevalent U.S. Electricity Source in 2020 (“Article”)..… more

On July 27, 2021, Governor Kate Brown signed into law a bill that will make it more difficult for health care entities in Oregon to consummate mergers and similar transactions. HB 2362, which has been dubbed by its sponsors as the… more

The federal government is seeking to increase cybersecurity in critical infrastructure industries through the implementation of a voluntary Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity Initiative (Initiative), while the US House of… more

USCIS conducted a second lottery for the fiscal year (FY) 2022 H-1B cap on July 28, 2021 and has notified employers that additional registrations have been selected. Employers with selected registrations from the second lottery may… more