Alerts

Headlines that Matter for Companies and Executives in Regulated Industries

On July 24, 2019, the Chicago City Council voted to pass the Fair Workweek Ordinance that will require covered employers to, among other things, provide employees with at least 10 days’ advance notice of their work schedules and provide additional compensation to employees.

On July 22, 2019, the Supreme Court of California decided Wilson v. CNN, thereby answering an important, open question of law: Does Anti-SLAPP protection apply to retaliation and discrimination cases? The answer is yes.

Operators of a negative option scam recently settled FTC charges for offering “risk-free” trials and then charging full price for the trial product and enrolling consumers in a continuous subscription without obtaining consent. The defendants are required to pay over $9 million in consumer refunds.

New York State has banned discrimination against hairstyles or textures associated with race.

When a bulk container of vitamins tore and began to leak, it set into motion an unforeseen chain of events — beginning with the injury of Martin Cassidy and ending with an increased risk of strict liability for distributors of allegedly defective products.

Earlier this month, members of Arent Fox’s Export Controls & Economic Sanctions team published analysis in WorldECR that identified problems with the application of secondary sanctions.

The FTC recently brought action against two companies for including non-disparagement provisions that bar or impose financial penalties on consumers for writing negative reviews in their form contracts, without a meaningful opportunity for consumers to negotiate such terms.

On July 11, 2019, I presented at the American Bankers Association webinar, entitled, “Mortgage Disclosure Cures and Corrections — Mitigating Liability.” Below is a summary of the points presented in the webinar and additional analysis.

Data protection authorities in the UK and France have released updated guidance for website operators that use cookies on their websites.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo just signed into law an ambitious statewide climate change agenda – the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA).

Food and beverage businesses seeking to gain a foothold in a new place should be aware of two court decisions issued earlier this summer.

While the US data privacy landscape is rapidly changing, there appears to be some helpful news for the automotive industry. Notably, the auto industry may receive the benefit of being exempt from the impact of two of the more rigorous state privacy laws that have entered the legal landscape.

Headlines that matter for privacy and data security.

The US District Court for the District of Columbia invalidated a final rule pursuant to which pharmaceutical manufacturers would have to disclose the list price of certain drugs on direct-to-consumer ads.

Headlines that Matter for Companies and Executives in Regulated Industries

The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee recently voted to advance bipartisan legislation, called the Lower Health Care Costs Act (the Act), aimed at, among other things, curbing surprise medical bills. 

On July 9, 2019, the US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (OIG) released two reports addressing hospice deficiencies and the risks, potential harm, and actual harm those deficiencies posed to hospice beneficiarie. 

On May 28, 2019, the Maryland Governor permitted (without signature) the Noncompete and Conflict of Interest Clauses Act (the Act) to become law.

On June 18, 2019, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) hosted a workshop to discuss and analyze the effects of Certificates of Public Advantage (COPAs) and Certificates of Need (CONs) on price and access to health care services, health care innovation, and quality of services.

In response to the significant increase in fraudulent filings, effective August 3, 2019, all foreign-domiciled applicants, registrants, or parties to trademark proceedings must be represented by a US-licensed attorney.

At a press conference at the G20 Summit in Japan on June 29, President Trump said he will not lift current Section 301 tariffs on China, but also would not add tariffs on any additional Chinese imports “for at least the time being” as part of an agreement to resume negotiations with China. 

The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recently confirmed that “anti-assignment” provisions — provisions prohibiting insureds from assigning their rights under a health plan to third parties, including medical providers — are enforceable as long as they are unambiguous.

The House Financial Services Committee’s new task force on fintech held its first hearing on Tuesday, June 25th, regarding the regulatory response to fintech’s rapid expansion and the impact it is having on consumers as well as the financial services industry overall.

On Monday, the Supreme Court held that the ban on “immoral or scandalous” trademarks was unconstitutional under the First Amendment. The Court found that, as with the recently struck down ban on “disparaging” marks, the ban on immoral or scandalous marks discriminates on the basis of viewpoint.