Public Policy

  • August 02, 2024

    Aussie Panel Opposes Aligning Public Tax Reporting With EU

    The benefits of Australia's public country-by-country reporting bill would diminish if it were limited to jurisdictions covered by the European Union's regime, as businesses have requested, the Australian Senate's economics committee reported Friday.

  • August 02, 2024

    DC Circ. Says Precedent Allows H-1B Spousal Work Permits

    The D.C. Circuit on Friday upheld an Obama-era program authorizing some spouses of highly skilled foreign workers to get work permits, rejecting a challenge from an organization of former IT workers who say they are being displaced by temporary visa holders.

  • August 02, 2024

    Plumbing Co. Sales Reps Owed OT, 1st Circ. Affirms

    A group of more than 600 sales representatives at a Massachusetts-based plumbing and HVAC wholesaler are eligible for overtime pay, the First Circuit concluded on Thursday, affirming a lower court's finding on a Fair Labor Standards Act complaint brought by the government.

  • August 02, 2024

    3 Candidates In Running To Replace Washington AG

    Washington voters on Tuesday will narrow the candidates aspiring to become the state's next attorney general, choosing from among a former U.S. attorney, a state lawmaker who was a county prosecutor, as well as a mayor and attorney who is a gun rights advocate.

  • August 02, 2024

    Kilpatrick Adds Government Relations Adviser In DC

    Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP has hired a former Cox Communications government and public affairs senior specialist, who joined the firm as a government relations adviser, to advise clients on federal funding and navigating state and federal grant programs.

  • August 02, 2024

    FCC Beefs Up Compensation For Phone Caption Services

    The Federal Communications Commission has agreed to a five-year plan that raises compensation for internet-enabled phone caption providers, although Republican commissioners balked at details of the plan and one called on the FCC to move toward greater use of automation technologies.

  • August 02, 2024

    DOJ Sues TikTok For Sweeping Children's Privacy Breaches

    The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday hit TikTok and its parent company with a highly anticipated lawsuit accusing the short-form video app of engaging in "widespread" violations of children's privacy law by collecting a "wide variety" of personal information from kids under 13 without parental consent. 

  • August 01, 2024

    More 'Equitable' Banking? This Ex-Biden Official Has A Plan

    A former Biden U.S. Treasury Department official on Thursday outlined a progressive policy agenda that could provide a road map for bank regulators in the next administration, saying there's more that can and should be done to make the banking system stronger and fairer.

  • August 01, 2024

    Monsanto Wants Wash. Justices To Deny PCB Tort Petition

    Monsanto Co. has urged Washington state's highest court to deny three schoolteachers' request for review of a recent appellate court decision overturning their $185 million win in a chemical poisoning trial, saying the plaintiffs haven't met their burden to show the case warrants the justices' attention.

  • August 01, 2024

    Texas Biz Court Costs Unlikely To Be Prohibitive, Experts Say

    The Texas business court's fee schedule is unlikely to price potential litigants out, but many questions remain about the efficiency of the new venue's fee schedule, experts told Law360.

  • August 01, 2024

    Mich. Justices Uphold Tighter Manure Discharge Regs

    A split Michigan Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld state regulators' increased protective permit conditions for animal feeding operations and said challengers to those conditions must fully exhaust administrative appeals before they can bring the issue to court.

  • August 01, 2024

    DOJ Unveils Whistleblower Pilot, But Garners Atty Criticism

    The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday officially launched its pilot program to reward whistleblowers who alert prosecutors to significant corporate misconduct, although some whistleblower attorneys decried the program's award caps and what they described as its lack of enforceability.

  • August 01, 2024

    Calif. AG Says States Opposing 'Clean Fleets' Law Tout EVs

    California's Attorney General Rob Bonta looked to slam the brakes Wednesday on a legal challenge brought by 16 states against the Golden State's Advanced Clean Fleets regulation, saying the complaint must be dismissed for lack of standing because the states themselves are encouraging electric vehicle production.

  • August 01, 2024

    Conservation Groups Take Aim At ESA Regs

    Conservation groups are asking a California federal judge to throw out Endangered Species Act regulations put forward earlier this year, claiming federal agencies shortchanged their environmental review duties and moved ahead with changes that will harm the imperiled plants and animals the statute is supposed to protect.

  • August 01, 2024

    Feds Say Farmworkers Should Have Sued State Over Wages

    The U.S. Department of Labor has urged a Washington federal court to toss a farmworker union's challenge to policies governing the prevailing wage, saying the union's issues actually stem from how state officials interpreted federal rules governing the wage rate.

  • August 01, 2024

    Google Beats RNC's Claims It Censored Fundraising Emails

    A California federal judge on Wednesday tossed the Republican National Committee's lawsuit accusing Google of being politically motivated and violating the state's Unfair Competition Law by sending RNC fundraising emails to Gmail users' spam folders, finding the conduct may be unfair in a "colloquial" sense, but is not illegal.

  • August 01, 2024

    Apple Says DOJ Is Looking For 'Judicial Redesign' Of IPhone

    Apple Inc. urged a New Jersey federal judge Thursday to throw out the U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust lawsuit, calling claims of restricted app access meant to lock users into the iPhone as a government effort to control protocols the company contends are needed to ensure security and reliability.

  • August 01, 2024

    Bill To Vet Cos. Seeking Broadband Aid Advances In Senate

    A U.S. Senate panel has moved legislation that would put tighter controls on approval of companies that apply for federal aid to assist with broadband network deployment.

  • August 01, 2024

    House Workforce Chair Wants Mental Health Parity Regs Axed

    The Republican chairwoman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee told the U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday it should not finalize regulations that aim to encourage employer compliance with a law requiring equitable mental health and substance use disorder treatments coverage, stating the rule burdens businesses.

  • August 01, 2024

    Mich. Regulators Sue Co. For Bringing In Out-of-State THC

    A Michigan-based maker of edibles, vapes and other cannabinoid goods is in hot water with state regulators, which filed a complaint accusing the business of incorrectly reporting shipments of 130,000 grams of cannabis concentrate brought in from outside the state.

  • August 02, 2024

    Meet The 4 Washington Supreme Court Hopefuls

    A career civil litigator, Seattle-area municipal judge, Naval officer-turned-tax attorney and solo family law practitioner are all vying this month for an open seat on Washington state's high court.

  • August 01, 2024

    Justices Uphold Chancery Toss Of Church COVID Suit

    Two religious leaders in Delaware who sued over restrictions the state imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic waited too long to file the case and have no standing to proceed with their claims, Delaware's Supreme Court ruled Thursday, upholding dismissals by both the Superior and Chancery courts.

  • August 01, 2024

    Pirate Broadcaster Hit With Max Fine For Ignoring FCC

    If the FCC could have fined the pirate radio station that it says has been operating out of the Bronx for years a penny more, it would have, but the agency ended up levying the maximum fine of just over $2.3 million against the operator of the station.

  • August 01, 2024

    6th Circ. Puts Net Neutrality Rule On Ice During Appeals

    The Sixth Circuit on Thursday granted industry groups' bid to put a hold on the Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality rules while appellate court challenges play out, saying there is a strong chance that internet service providers will eventually prevail.

  • August 01, 2024

    EU Approves $18B Grain Deal With Asset Sales

    European enforcers on Thursday approved grain and seed supplier Bunge Ltd.'s plan to buy global grain trader Viterra Ltd. in an $18 billion deal, conditioned on the sale of Viterra's oilseed businesses in Hungary and Poland.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    After Chevron: Rethinking Agency Deference In IP Cases

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent overturning of Chevron deference could make it simpler to challenge the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s proposed rule on terminal disclaimers and U.S. International Trade Commission interpretations, says William Milliken at Sterne Kessler.

  • Tricky Venue Issues Persist In Fortenberry Prosecution Redo

    Author Photo

    Former Rep. Jeff Fortenberry was recently indicted for a second time after the Ninth Circuit tossed his previous conviction for improper venue, but the case, now pending in the District of Columbia, continues to illustrate the complexities of proper venue in "false statement scheme" prosecutions, says Kevin Coleman at Covington.

  • Series

    Solving Puzzles Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Tackling daily puzzles — like Wordle, KenKen and Connections — has bolstered my intellectual property litigation practice by helping me to exercise different mental skills, acknowledge minor but important details, and build and reinforce good habits, says Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer.

  • 1st Gender Care Ban Provides Context For High Court Case

    Author Photo

    The history of Arkansas' ban on gender-affirming medical care — the first such legislation in the U.S. — provides important insight into the far-reaching ramifications that the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in U.S. v. Skrmetti next term will have on transgender healthcare, says Tyler Saenz at Baker Donelson.

  • CFPB's New Registration Rule Will Intensify Nonbank Scrutiny

    Author Photo

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recently finalized nonbank registration rule aimed at cracking down on repeat offenders poses significant compliance challenges and enforcement risks for nonbank financial firms, and may be particularly onerous for smaller firms, say Ketan Bhirud and Emily Yu at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Series

    After Chevron: FCC And Industry Must Prepare For Change

    Author Photo

    The Chevron doctrine was especially significant in the communications sector because of the indeterminacy of federal communications statutes, so the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of the doctrine could have big implications for those regulated by the Federal Communications Commission, bringing both opportunities and risks for companies, say Thomas Johnson and Michael Showalter at Wiley.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Uniform Tax Law Interpretation Not Guaranteed

    Author Photo

    The loss of Chevron deference will significantly alter the relationship between the IRS, courts and Congress when it comes to tax law, potentially precipitating more transparent rulemaking, but also provoking greater uncertainty due to variability in judicial interpretation, say Michelle Levin and Carneil Wilson at Dentons.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Environmental Law May Face Hurdles

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling overturning Chevron deference could prove to be as influential as the original 1984 decision, with far-reaching implications for U.S. environmental laws, including rendering recently promulgated regulations more vulnerable to challenges, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice

    Author Photo

    The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.

  • Why High Court Social Media Ruling Will Be Hotly Debated

    Author Photo

    In deciding the NetChoice cases that challenged Florida and Texas content moderation laws, what the U.S. Supreme Court justices said about social media platforms — and the First Amendment — will have implications and raise questions for nearly all online operators, say Jacob Canter and Joanna Rosen Forster at Crowell & Moring.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Good News For Gov't Contractors In Litigation

    Author Photo

    The net result of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision overturning Chevron deference is that individuals, contractors and companies bringing procurement-related cases against the government will have new pathways toward success, say Joseph Berger and Andrés Vera at Thompson Hine.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Scale Tips Favor Away From HHS Agencies

    Author Photo

    The loss of Chevron deference may indirectly aid parties in challenging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' interpretations of regulations and could immediately influence several pending cases challenging HHS on technical questions and agency authority, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Series

    After Chevron: FDA Regulations In The Crosshairs

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of the Chevron doctrine is likely to unleash an array of challenges against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, focusing on areas of potential overreach such as the FDA's authority under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Realtor Settlement May Create New Antitrust Pitfalls

    Author Photo

    Following a recent antitrust settlement between the National Association of Realtors and home sellers, practices are set to change and the increased competition may benefit both brokers and homebuyers, but the loss of the customary method of buyer broker compensation could lead to new antitrust concerns, says Colin Ahler at Snell & Wilmer.

  • Navigating The New Rise Of Greenwashing Litigation

    Author Photo

    As greenwashing lawsuits continue to gain momentum with a shift in focus to carbon-neutrality claims, businesses must exercise caution and ensure transparency in their environmental marketing practices, taking cues from recent legal challenges in the airline industry, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Public Policy archive.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!