Illinois has the strictest biometric privacy law in the country with the Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”). The BIPA requires employers who collect employees’ biometric data to follow a number of protocols. These protocols include (1) maintaining a written policy about the collection and storage of employee biometric data, (2) providing employees with written notice of that policy, and (3) obtaining informed consent from employees to collect biometric data ...
Over the weekend, the EU announced its 10th sanctions package against Russia as a response to the invasion of Ukraine. The timing of the 10th sanctions package coincides with the anniversary for Russian invasion of Ukraine. The measures implemented in the new sanctions package include, inter alia: Additional sanction listings of 121 individuals and entities ...
February 27, 2023 By: Leah Lively and Jack Darrington All employers should be aware of the recent decision by the United States Supreme in Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc. v. Hewitt dealing with exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The Hewitt court held that a well-compensated employee paid a daily rate, rather than a fixed weekly or monthly salary, was not exempt from the FLSA and its rules regarding overtime pay ...
Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Avadel CNS Pharmaceuticals, LLC, Appeal No. 2023-1186 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 24, 2023) In this week’s Case of the Week, the Federal Circuit affirmed a permanent injunction requiring appellant Jazz Pharmaceuticals to de-list its U.S. Patent No. 8,731,963 from the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalents Evaluation publication, colloquially known as the “Orange Book ...
While a recent Pennsylvania ruling issued In February 2023 has been hailed as a victory for the underfunded school districts in the state, it could be a long road ahead before meaningful change makes its way to the students, teachers, and schools who need it the most ...
Introduction Recent years have seen the UAE making regular updates to its laws in order to guarantee a legal regime that is forward-looking, and consistent with international standards and principles. The leaders of the UAE have been particularly cognizant of the need to have a robust criminal law regime to encourage legitimacy in business, and dissuade any unscrupulous activities that could reflect negatively on the UAE as a determined and fast-developing economy ...
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) plans to prioritize its efforts to correct discrimination and harassment in the construction industry following a review of data that revealed the construction sector to be one of the most challenging areas in terms of discrimination and harassment cases ...
On December 29, 2022, the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act (“MoCRA”) was signed into law.[1] MoCRA is the first federal cosmetics law since 1938 and will impose a number of new requirements on cosmetic products and the facilities where they are manufactured. Specifically, MoCRA requires the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to implement enhanced oversight and regulation of cosmetic manufacturing facilities and products by December 29, 2023 ...
On February 21, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) overruled two Trump-era decisions, restoring earlier precedent concerning the legality of confidentiality and non-disparagement provisions in severance agreements ...
Lite-Netics, LLC v. Nu Tsai Capital LLC, Appeal No. 2023-1146 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 17, 2023) In an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska, the Federal Circuit addressed whether the district court properly granted a preliminary injunction restricting Lite-Netics, LLC’s patent-related speech ...
The Massachusetts Superior Court recently punished litigants for failing to preserve emails and text messages even though litigation did not appear likely when those materials were lost or destroyed. In JFF Cecilia LLC, et al. v. Weiner Ventures, LLC, et al., the trial and appellate courts clarified the rules applicable to spoliation and provided a reminder of the harsh consequences of losing or destroying evidence ...
February 16, 2023 By: Kathryn B. Fox and Charles Whitman Once again, California employers can require workers to sign arbitration agreements as a condition of employment. Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Viking River Cruises v. Moriana and in a reversal of its own prior decision, a divided three-judge Ninth Circuit panel found that AB 51 is preempted by federal law. Chamber of Commerce of the U.S., et al. v. Bonta, et al., No. 20-15291 (9th Cir. Feb. 15, 2023) ...
The number of knife offences is going down but are still higher than at the start of the pandemic. Will the new Sentencing Guidelines for sales of knives to those younger than 18 (which come into effect on 1 April 2023) reduce the number further? Certainly, that would appear to be the intention of the Guidelines which significantly increase the potential consequences for retailers who break the law ...
Bradley’s Government Enforcement and Investigations Practice Group is pleased to present the False Claims Act: 2022 Year in Review, our annual review of significant False Claims Act (FCA) cases, developments and trends. In 2022, the government continued to utilize the False Claims Act as its primary tool to combat fraud. Though the government’s recoveries at $2 ...
CyWee Grp. Ltd. v. Google LLC, Appeal No. 20-1565 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 8, 2023) In its only precedential patent case this week, the Federal Circuit addressed last gasp efforts by CyWee to salvage its IPR losses to Google. The arguments, residual Appointments Clause arguments following Supreme Court and Federal Circuit opinions in Arthrex, Inc. v. Smith & Nephew, were rejected by the Court, which affirmed. In June 2018, Google filed petitions for IPR. The Board instituted the IPRs ...
Introduction In recent times, the Court has been asked to hear cases where a General Partner ("GP") has failed to discharge its duties in relation to the affairs of an ELP. Without the co-operation of the GP, Limited Partners are often left bereft of information relating to assets of the ELP. They cannot properly realize their investments under the ELP and, even if they can, there is a spectre of doubt over whether the distributions represent their full entitlement in the assets of the ELP ...
The Supreme Court has this week (8 February 2023) handed down a judgment considering whether landlords have management discretion to vary service charge percentages in residential leases. S.27A(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (the Act) gives the First-tier Tribunal (FtT) the ability on application to make various decisions about service charges in residential dwellings, including whether it is payable or not ...
February 9, 2023 By: Michael Flynn According to a Chicago federal district court, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act’s loan discrimination provisions to not extend to alleged discrimination against prospective applicants. Relying on the express language of the ECOA statute, this ruling rejected a decades-old Regulation B rule that stated that ECOA did apply to conduct toward prospective applicants ...
Introduction Mdeon, the legally recognised Belgian ethical platform for healthcare professionals and the pharmaceutical industry, announced several new ethics rules applying from 1 January 2023. The present blog post discusses their practical importance for the broader healthcare community, and particularly (i) several new ethic rules in light of the ascendant trend of virtual and hybrid scientific events, and (ii) new maximum hospitality amounts that can be offered to healthcare professionals ...
The MFSA commenced a consultation process on its proposed amendments to the Insurance Distribution Rules (hereinafter referred to as the “IDR”). The consultation process began on the 26th of January 2023 and closes on the 8th of March 2023 ...
In re: Google LLC, Appeal No. 2023-101 (Fed. Cir. 2023) In the Federal Circuit’s only precedential patent opinion this week, the Court granted mandamus reversing yet another decision by Western District of Texas Judge Alan D. Albright refusing to transfer a patent case out of his court, which (like several of Judge Albright’s prior decisions) denied transfer to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ...
In a recent Freedom of Information (FOI) release, HMRC announced that it has nine live corporate criminal offence investigations, with a further 26 live opportunities currently under review. The investigations span 11 different business sectors, including software providers, labour provision, accountancy and legal services and transport. No charging decisions have yet been made ...
A landmark judgment was handed down yesterday (1 February 2023) by the Supreme Court in Fearn and others (Appellants) v Board of Trustees of the Tate Gallery (Respondent) [2023] UKSC 4. In its judgment, the Supreme Court has allowed the appeal by the residents of Neo Bankside, meaning that the Tate is liable to them in nuisance. Background The case centred around glass-walled flats high above the South Bank in London ...
