Alerts

The latest trends and developments in the class action world

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 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.

During this political season, there’s no doubt that candidates and political groups have been urging their supporters – and complete strangers – to get to the polls by sending an unprecedented amount of text messages.

Enrolling in such a CMS-sponsored innovation model now has an added benefit: a new Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) safe harbor.

The vast majority of class action litigation in the logistics industry over the past quarter, and indeed the last few years, has been focused on the issue of worker misclassification.

Class actions brought under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) continue to trend upward in favor of plaintiffs.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

Since trade policy almost always involves the application of tariffs, we begin with “China Tariffs – What to Expect from the Biden Administration,” an issue top of mind for many executives who have business interests in China and the United States.

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.

Our final section returns to trade policy with three narrower but equally important articles – the first in regard to US renewal of GSP benefits and the tension between the Biden administration’s promise to protect US workers while achieving climate goals.

This is Washington and so we start and end with US trade policy. Our team is tracking the Biden Transition, starting with the introduction of Katherine Tai, nominee for the next US Trade Representative.