Public Policy

  • August 05, 2024

    Transportation Policies To Watch: Midyear 2024 Review

    Rail and aviation safety reforms following recent incidents, stricter vehicle emission standards guiding automakers' gradual pivot to electrification, and the integration of new automation and drone technology are some of the transportation industry's top regulatory priorities to watch in the second half of 2024.

  • August 05, 2024

    US Chamber Backs Rail Co. Challenge To Crew Size Rule

    The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is backing railroad companies' argument that the Federal Railroad Administration overstepped by implementing a rule that requires trains to be operated by at least two people, telling the Eleventh Circuit the rule was imposed without adequate justification or consideration of companies' interests.

  • August 05, 2024

    Dems Urge CFTC To Finalize Elections Trading Ban

    A group of Democratic lawmakers urged the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Monday to finalize and implement its proposed rule to ban trading on the outcome of elections.

  • August 05, 2024

    Pennsylvania Legislation To Watch In 2024: A Midyear Report

    The Pennsylvania Legislature is following other jurisdictions striving to make social media safer while preserving free speech, and putting stricter limits on "forever chemicals" that had been widely used in firefighting applications and products for resisting stains and stickiness. Here, Law360 looks at some of the Pennsylvania bills attorneys are watching in 2024.

  • August 05, 2024

    9th Circ. Denies Rehearing Bid In ESA Fish Protection Suit

    The Ninth Circuit denied conservation groups' request to rehear a ruling affirming the federal government's approval of water supply contracts for the Central Valley Project in California.

  • August 02, 2024

    5th Circ. Upholds Challenge To Surprise Medical Billing Rule

    The Fifth Circuit on Friday affirmed wins for plaintiffs challenging provisions of a federal surprise medical billing rule that relate to payment fights between out-of-network providers and health insurers, agreeing with a Texas federal judge that the rule places "a thumb on the scale" in insurers' favor.

  • August 02, 2024

    CFPB Takes Fintech Flak Over Credit Card-Like BNPL Policy

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is facing fresh industry pushback to its guidance that aims to extend more credit card-like protections to the fintech-dominated market for buy-now, pay-later loans, with key providers arguing it is trying to squeeze a square peg into a round hole.

  • August 02, 2024

    Fla.'s Trans Healthcare Ban Violates Title VII, Judge Says

    A Florida federal judge has ruled the state's Department of Management Services illegally excluded gender-affirming treatment for transgender employees under state-sponsored health benefits plans, finding the state's exclusion only applies to trans individuals and is facially discriminatory under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

  • August 02, 2024

    Uber Legal Chief Takes Leave To Aid Kamala Harris' Campaign

    Uber Technologies' Tony West, who has served as its chief legal officer since 2017, will take a leave of absence to volunteer for his sister-in-law Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaign, a representative of the ride-share company confirmed Friday.

  • August 02, 2024

    Connecticut City Gets Ex-Cop's Arbitration Win Vacated

    In a legally rare decision, a Connecticut state judge vacated an arbitration panel's determination that forced a city to reinstate a fired police lieutenant, ruling the arbiters were wrong to ignore an earlier court order banning the lieutenant from coming within 100 yards of the city's police chief.

  • August 02, 2024

    BigLaw Insurer Calls FirstEnergy Ruling Threat To Privilege

    The Attorneys' Liability Assurance Society and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce threw their support Friday behind FirstEnergy's call for the Sixth Circuit to block investors' access to internal investigative documents produced by two BigLaw firms after a $1 billion bribery scandal became public.

  • August 02, 2024

    OT Rule Exceeds DOL's Authority, Red States Argue

    A group of 14 red states joined Texas in calling for a federal court to strike down the U.S. Department of Labor's rule raising salary thresholds for a federal overtime exemption, claiming in a brief that the new rule would hit their states particularly hard.

  • August 02, 2024

    Dems Launch Bill To Expand Zelle, Venmo Fraud Protections

    U.S. Senate and House Democrats on Friday proposed revisions to the Electronic Fund Transfer Act aimed at bolstering protections for consumers who fall victim to scams perpetrated by means such as mobile wallets, payment apps and wire transfers.

  • August 02, 2024

    Unnamed Auditor Suing PCAOB Ordered To Disclose Identity

    A Washington, D.C., federal judge has ordered an anonymous auditor to disclose their identity in their constitutional challenge attacking the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board amid their disciplinary proceedings, ruling Friday disclosure won't reveal any sensitive information and won't have a chilling effect deterring future litigants from suing the board.

  • August 02, 2024

    Wheeling & Appealing: The Latest Must-Know Appellate Action

    In this inaugural edition of Wheeling & Appealing, Law360 recaps recent appellate opinions that made waves, quizzes readers about a new word for judicial grievances, and previews August arguments in circuit courts over controversial wage rules and a seven-figure attorney fee award after a digital age intellectual property trial.

  • August 02, 2024

    5th Circ. Remands FDA's E-Cigarette Product Denials

    The Fifth Circuit has once again said that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration acted unlawfully when the agency denied a number of requests from e-cigarette manufacturers seeking permission to sell their flavored vapes.

  • August 02, 2024

    Iowa, ND Move For Win In NEPA Rule Fight

    States led by Iowa and North Dakota are asking a federal judge to scrap a Council on Environmental Quality rule they say threatens to turn the National Environmental Policy Act into an "action-forcing" process to advance the Biden administration's climate and environmental justice goals.

  • August 02, 2024

    Supporters Of TikTok Ban Make Case To DC Circ.

    Federal lawmakers, state governments, former U.S. national security officials, human rights nonprofits and antimonopoly advocates all urged the D.C. Circuit to uphold Congress' TikTok sale-or-ban law Friday, the final day for amici briefs to be filed in the Chinese company's challenge.

  • August 02, 2024

    British Air Parent Drops Air Europa Deal Due To EU Scrutiny

    British Airways' parent company has abandoned its €400 million ($436 million) plan to buy the rest of Air Europa from Spanish tourism company Globalia amid pushback from European competition authorities, telling investors that the merger was "no longer probable."

  • August 02, 2024

    5th Circ. Tosses 1988 Case In Galveston Voting Rights Ruling

    Multiple minority groups cannot "combine forces" to bring vote dilution claims under a portion of the Voting Rights Act that prohibits race discrimination, the Fifth Circuit said, overruling a decades-old case in a blockbuster decision regarding Galveston County's voting districts.

  • August 02, 2024

    US Cannabis Policy Thwarts Research, Health Officials Say

    A recent report from federal health regulators confirms what cannabis reform advocates have long said, that placing marijuana in the most restrictive tier under the federal Controlled Substances Act has hindered researchers' ability to study the drug's potential benefits and risks.

  • August 02, 2024

    Ill. Gov. Pritzker Signs BIPA Reform Into Law

    Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed biometric privacy reform legislation into law on Friday, significantly reducing companies' potential liability for collecting or sharing individuals' fingerprint and other biometric data without informed consent.

  • August 02, 2024

    Panel Says Co. Forfeited $12.7M Claim Over Rail Project

    A Colorado Court of Appeals panel has found that a construction company overstated how much it was owed from a public project to build a new Denver rail line and can't seek any remedy for that $12.7 million claim, according to an opinion that applied provisions of a public works law for the first time.

  • August 02, 2024

    Public Interest Groups Back ISP Bulk Billing Opt-Out

    More than 30 public interest groups urged the Federal Communications Commission to allow consumers in multitenant environments to "escape" bulk billing for broadband service but quickly saw pushback from an industry group that calls the arrangements beneficial.

  • August 02, 2024

    DOJ, LA County Settle Disabled Voter Discrimination Suit

    The County of Los Angeles has settled the federal government's suit alleging it discriminated against people with disabilities who were trying to vote during recent elections and has agreed to work with an accessibility expert for three years to ensure its voting centers are accessible or can be made accessible.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    H-2 Visas Offer Humane, Economic Solution To Border Crisis

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    Congress should leverage the H-2 agricultural and temporary worker visa programs to match qualified migrants with employers facing shortages of workers — a nonpolitical solution to a highly divisive humanitarian issue, say Ashley Dees and Jeffrey Joseph at BAL.

  • PAGA Reforms Encourage Proactive Employer Compliance

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    Recently enacted reforms to California's Private Attorneys General Act should make litigation under the law less burdensome for employers, presenting a valuable opportunity to streamline compliance and reduce litigation risks by proactively addressing many of the issues that have historically attracted PAGA claims, say attorneys at Mintz.

  • Opinion

    Now More Than Ever, Lawyers Must Exhibit Professionalism

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    As society becomes increasingly fractured and workplace incivility is on the rise, attorneys must champion professionalism and lead by example, demonstrating how lawyers can respectfully disagree without being disagreeable, says Edward Casmere at Norton Rose.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Piercing FEMA Authority Is Not Insurmountable

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    While the Federal Emergency Management Agency's discretionary authority continues to provide significant protection from claims under the Administrative Procedure Act, Loper Bright is a blow to the argument that Congress gave FEMA unfettered discretion to administer its own programs, says Wendy Huff Ellard at Baker Donelson.

  • What Happens After Hawaii Kids' Historic Climate Deal

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    Implications of the Hawaii Department of Transportation's first-of-its-kind settlement with youth plaintiffs over constitutional climate claims may be limited, but it could incite similar claims, says J. Michael Showalter and Robert Middleton at ArentFox Schiff.

  • How Tech Trackers May Implicate HIPAA After Hospital Ruling

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    A recent Texas federal court order in American Hospital Association v. Becerra adds a legal protection on key data, clarifying when tracking technologies implicate the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, so organizations should ensure all technology used is known and accounted for, say John Howard and Myriah Jaworski at Clark Hill.

  • The Show Must Go On: Noncompete Uncertainty In Film, TV

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    The Federal Trade Commission has taken action to ban noncompetes while the entertainment industry is in the midst of a massive shift away from traditional media, so it is important for studio heads and content owners alike to understand the fate of the rule and their options going forward, say Christopher Chatham and Douglas Smith at Manatt.

  • A Refresher On Calculating Political Advertising Costs

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    With election season well underway, it is important for broadcasters, political candidates, time buyers and others concerned with how the cost of broadcast political advertising is determined to know what the Federal Communications Commission factors into lowest unit calculations, and how the commission has defined "commercial advertisers," says Gregg Skall at Telecommunications Law Professionals.

  • 'Outsourcing' Ruling, 5 Years On: A Warning, Not A Watershed

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    A New York federal court’s 2019 ruling in U.S. v. Connolly, holding that the government improperly outsourced an investigation to Deutsche Bank, has not undercut corporate cooperation incentives as feared — but companies should not completely ignore the lessons of the case, say Temidayo Aganga-Williams and Anna Nabutovsky at Selendy Gay.

  • Series

    Serving In The National Guard Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My ongoing military experience as a judge advocate general in the National Guard has shaped me as a person and a lawyer, teaching me the importance of embracing confidence, balance and teamwork in both my Army and civilian roles, says Danielle Aymond at Baker Donelson.

  • Big Business May Come To Rue The Post-Administrative State

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    Many have framed the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions overturning Chevron deference and extending the window to challenge regulations as big wins for big business, but sand in the gears of agency rulemaking may be a double-edged sword, creating prolonged uncertainty that impedes businesses’ ability to plan for the future, says Todd Baker at Columbia University.

  • Reading Between The Lines Of Justices' Moore Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent Moore v. U.S. decision, that the Internal Revenue Code Section 965 did not violate the 16th Amendment, was narrowly tailored to minimally disrupt existing tax regimes, but the justices' various opinions leave the door open to future tax challenges and provide clues for what the battles may look like, say Caroline Ngo and Le Chen at McDermott.

  • Series

    After Chevron: A Sea Change For Maritime Sector

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    The shipping industry has often looked to the courts for key agency decisions affecting maritime interests, but after the U.S. Supreme Court's Loper Bright ruling, stakeholders may revisit important industry questions and coordinate to bring appropriate challenges and shape rulemaking, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Opinion

    Post-Chevron, Good Riddance To The Sentencing Guidelines

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of the Chevron doctrine may signal the end of the U.S. sentencing guidelines, which is good news given that they have accomplished the opposite of Congress’ original intent to bring certainty, proportionality and uniformity to sentencing, say attorneys Mark Allenbaugh, Doug Passon and Alan Ellis.

  • Opinion

    Proposed Terminal Disclaimers Rule Harms Colleges, Startups

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    Universities and startups are ill-suited to follow the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s recently proposed rule on terminal disclaimers due to their necessity of filing patent applications early prior to contacting outside entities for funds and resources, say attorneys at Sterne Kessler.

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