Alerts

Folgers Coffee Co., and its parent company, J.M. Smucker, were sued in federal court for allegedly inflating the number of servings contained in certain canisters of Folgers’ ground coffee.

The latest trends and developments in the class action world.

Last week, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (the EEOC) proposed two final rules: One under the Americans with Disabilities Act (the ADA), and the other under the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). 

Our initial alert highlighted various hospitality and service industry businesses suing their insurers to recover for losses arising out of closure and stay-at-home (Civil Authority) orders.

In this issue of the Arent Fox Class Action Quarterly Update, we will be focusing on one recent California Supreme Court decision and two court of appeal decisions impacting the fashion and retail industries.

The latest trends and developments in the class action world

The Supreme Court ruled on several cases involving class actions in the last few months. A case awaiting certiorari could dramatically change the jurisdictional requirements for plaintiffs in class actions across the country.

On January 11, 2021, Mayor Muriel Bowser signed into law the Ban on Noncompete Agreements Amendment Act of 2020, passed by the Council of the District of Columbia in December 2020.

Effective January 1, 2021, every private employer in Florida must either use E-verify, a federal web-based program, to verify the identity and work authorization for each new hire.

Earlier this week, the federal government reopened the Paycheck Protection Program – and emphasized a renewed focus on preventing fraud and abuse.

The new guidance includes helpful information about additional ‘eligible costs’ for which PPP funds may be used.

The recently-passed Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the “CAA”) augments the CARES Act by expanding the existing Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) and adding additional stimulus programs in an attempt to lay some traction to the most troubled sectors of the US economy.

It may come as some surprise that embedded within the over 5,500-pages of the recent COVID-19 relief and government funding bill (the Consolidated Appropriations Act) are several (not-insubstantial) changes to copyright and trademark law and procedure.

Headlines that Matter for Companies and Executives in Regulated Industries

Arent Fox International Trade Group Partner Marwa Hassoun and Government Contracts Group Counsel Travis Mullaney chat about Section 889 of the National Defense Authorization Act.

On January 6, the US Department of Labor announced a final rule, aimed at clarifying the distinction, under the FLSA, between employees and independent contractors.

In March 2020, photographer Michael Barret Boesen filed suit against the owner of sports news website, LongIslandTennisMagazine.com claiming that the website infringed on his copyrights by embedding an Instagram post featuring his photograph of tennis player Caroline Wozniacki.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a Final Rule in the Federal Register on December 2, 2020, overhauling the regulations governing the federal Physician Self-Referral Law (Stark Law).

AFC Gamma’s SEC filing illustrates the importance of proper risk assessment and adequate risk factor disclosures to investors in the rapidly-shifting regulatory landscape of cannabis production, sales, and lending.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently analyzed whether and to what extent a relator can survive the False Claims Act’s public disclosure bar when the relator alleges continuation of a fraud scheme.

On January 6, 2021, the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) location requirements go into effect for fixed multi-line telephone systems (MLTS) and interconnected VoIP services, which now include outbound-only VoIP services for purposes of emergency calling.

When imports are suspected of violating US trade law or when they threaten US economic interests, trade litigation (read: trade investigation cases) kicks in. This section focuses on third-country transshipment concerns in the article “Using Third Country Components? Buyer Beware.”

Looking towards 2021 and a new Administration, Arent Fox’s International Trade & Investment group has prepared a series of primers on six key areas that can impact your business.

2020 was an unprecedented year for business owners. It brought a pandemic, a deep recession, a civil rights movement, and civil unrest in cities across America.

US tariffs are applied at the time of import and so the elevated role played by US Customs and Border Protection should not be underestimated.