#WorkforceWednesday: NLRB Wants Shuttered Starbucks Stores Reopened, Big Tech Retreats from DEI Programs, and Employers Scrap College Requirements - Employment Law This Week®
Nota Bene Podcast Episode 134: U.S. Q3 Check In: Infrastructure Bill Updates and Big Tech Antitrust with Elizabeth Frazee and Chani Wiggins
Nota Bene Episode 116: Challenging the U.S. Big Tech Antitrust Debate Assumptions: A Deep Dive with Thomas Dillickrath and Bill Margeson
What to Expect from the Biden Administration
Nota Bene Episode 104: European Q4 Check In: Brexit, Digital Platform Regulation, and National Security Regulation with Oliver Heinisch
Nota Bene Episode 68: The Current Antitrust Enforcement Climate in the United States with Capitol Forum Senior Editor Nate Soderstrom
Nota Bene Episode 46: America’s Existential Antitrust Crisis with Thomas Dillickrath
JANUARY – MARCH 2025: KEY THEMES AND TAKEAWAYS - UNITED STATES - FTC Loses Vertical Challenge to Tempur Sealy/Mattress Firm On July 2, 2024, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed suit in federal court seeking to block...more
In the months before the 2024 presidential election, we reported on the stated antitrust agendas of candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. Now a few months into the second Trump administration, we review recent...more
On Thursday, April 10, the U.S. Senate voted to confirm Mark Meador as a Commissioner of the FTC. Previously, it was expected that Meador’s confirmation would lead to significant changes at the FTC, as his presence on the...more
Among other significant rulemakings that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalized in the waning days of the Biden Administration were 1) an overdraft fees final rule that applies to banks and credit unions...more
With the new Trump Administration, antitrust enforcers at the US Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are transferring leadership to the incoming appointees. FTC leadership...more
Key Points - Strong antitrust enforcement is expected to continue, but without the use of the novel and untested legal theories that defined the Biden administration approach. - Regulators are likely to continue to focus...more
The heightened focus on antitrust and competition issues that has defined dealmaking globally over the past few years looks set for readjustment since President Trump re-entered the White House. Under the Biden...more
In the closing days of the Biden administration, antitrust law enforcers issued cautions to employers about conduct that could draw criminal charges against them. One is the use of restrictive non-disclosure agreements that...more
The Trump Administration’s antitrust enforcement priorities are beginning to take shape. On January 20, 2025, President Trump designated former Federal Trade Commission (FTC) commissioner Andrew Ferguson as the agency’s next...more
With the nomination of Commissioner Andrew Ferguson as chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) and Gail Slater to helm the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division, the second Trump...more
Many businesses and organizations are in the unique position of having already observed four years of antitrust enforcement under President-elect Donald J. Trump. That, plus the well-publicized records of his announced...more
“Republicans generally agree on their substantial legislative priorities as they prepare to take the governing reins in the new year. The challenge of governing in Washington though is that process often trumps substance.” —...more
On Tuesday, December 10, Donald Trump announced two picks for placements on the Federal Trade Commission: Commissioner Andrew Ferguson for Chair and Mark Meador for Commissioner. While Meador’s appointment requires Senate...more
On Wednesday, December 4, Donald Trump announced his pick to run the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division: Gail Slater. Slater is a seasoned antitrust attorney with extensive government experience....more
On January 20, 2025, President-elect Donald J. Trump’s administration will come into power. The McDermott antitrust and competition team has analyzed the first Trump term, compared it to the Biden administration’s actions,...more
“CEOs tended to take a wait and see approach at the start of the first Trump administration. But it would be a mistake not to engage early and often with Trump 2.0.” — Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies...more
The election of Donald Trump as president, combined with forthcoming Republican control of Congress, likely means significant change in how the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) is structured and approaches...more
In his return to the White House, President-elect Trump inherits an aggressive antitrust enforcement regime from the Biden administration – an enforcement regime that was born and developed in many respects during Trump’s...more
Visa is “abandoning its $5.3 billion planned acquisition of Plaid Inc.,” a fintech startup that the DOJ had called an upstart “but important competitive threat to Visa” in its antitrust lawsuit challenging the deal....more
While this was a big week for the United States Supreme Court with the confirmation of Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Justice Clarence Thomas’ written statement following the Court’s October 12, 2020, decision in...more
Federal regulators—including the Federal Reserve and the OCC—have fined Citigroup $400 million over “longstanding” failures in the areas of risk management, data governance, and internal controls. In addition to the fine, the...more
Last Friday’s US Jobs Report saw unemployment fall to 8.4%, but the end of federal aid programs and a solid-but-not-gangbusters 1.4 million jobs gained in August leads many to fear a much worse employment picture ahead....more
U.S. stocks continue to tumble, sinking by “8.1% at the open, triggering a 15-minute trading halt;” “Brent crude sank below $30 a barrel;” treasuries surged despite major moves from the Federal Reserve; and market sentiment...more
A survey of the country’s most powerful CEOs by the Business Roundtable shows an interesting shift in how they view their top priority—no longer does advancing the interests of shareholders take the top spot. Instead, the...more
Amazon announced this week that it will spend $700 million to retrain a third of its US workforce to adapt to the increasing amount of robotic and automation technology in its warehouses. The 6-year effort will eventually...more