In January 2024, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) launched its REACH initiative designed to “enhance outreach to vulnerable workers and underserved communities.” The initiative was implemented by Commissioner Kalpana Kotagal for the purpose of ensuring EEOC’s outreach and education efforts reach workers who are less likely to seek the agency’s assistance. Through the…
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On January 17, 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) heard oral arguments in the case of Relentless, Inc. v. Department of Commerce. The case involves a challenge by plaintiff Relentless to a rule issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service (“NMFS”) requiring the herring fishing industry to bear the cost of overcatch…
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FINRA has published its 2024 Regulatory Oversight Report (“Report”), which provides member firms with information from FINRA’s recent regulatory operations to strengthen their complaince departments. FINRA highlighted six key sections of the Report in its news release pertaining to the same: (1) Crypto Asset Developments; (2) Advertised Volume; (3) Cybersecurity; (4) Anti-Money Laundering (“AML”), Fraud…
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On Wednesday, January 10, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) approved the first U.S.-listed exchange traded funds (ETFs) to track bitcoin. The SEC approved 11 applications, including from BlackRock (BLK.N), Ark Investments/21Shares (ABTC.S), Fidelity, Invesco (IVZ.N) and VanEck. The approvals come a day after an unauthorized person published a fake post on the SEC’s…
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On January 11,2024, the EPA issued the final version of a new significant new use rule (SNUR) applying to 329 PFAS chemicals designated as inactive on the Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) Chemical Substance Inventory (the “Inventory”). A number of PFAS chemicals are already subject to SNURs. This rule omits those to avoid redundancy. The…
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In 701 Palafox, LLC v. Scuba Shack, Inc., the Florida Court of Appeals reversed the trial court’s granting of a motion to amend to add punitive damages, holding that the moving party failed to make the required evidentiary showing to support a claim of gross negligence to seek punitive damages. 367 So. 3d 624 (Fla….
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On January 9, 2024, the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) released its final rule that revises the DOL’s determination of whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The final rule goes into effect on March 11, 2024. The new rule replaces the Trump Administration’s Independent…
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Expert testimony is an essential element of any claim of professional engineering malpractice. However, Munro v. Dep’t of Transportation, 890 S.E.2d 349 (Ga. App. 2023) demonstrates that a Georgia Rule of Evidence regarding expert testimony in professional malpractice cases can make proving design malpractice very difficult in some circumstances. On November 10, 2017, twenty-four-year-old Ashley…
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In Rivas v. Purvis Holdings, LLC, the owner/general contractor of a 28-story building project was sued by an employee of a masonry contractor in an attempt to recover damages for injuries suffered at the construction site. 2023 WL 8440738. The trial court denied the plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment on the cause of action alleging…
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Most, if not all, labor and employment statutes require an employee to show some kind of adverse action on behalf of the employer to prevail, especially when seeking monetary compensation. While what constitutes an adverse action can often get murky, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has clarified that an “adverse employment action” includes, but is…
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