One day after President Donald Trump's inauguration, on January 21, Trump issued Executive Order 14173, titled "Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity" (EO 14173). In the text of EO 14173, Trump...more
3/14/2025
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Executive Orders ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Relators ,
Trump Administration ,
Whistleblowers
The Northern District of Texas’s nationwide ban on the Federal Trade Commission’s noncompete rule isn’t a complete bar to government enforcement. The rule sought to curb unfair methods of competition and would have voided...more
On April 23, the FTC promulgated its final rule banning noncompetes nationwide.
Originally published in Law360 - May 23, 2024....more
8/26/2024
/ Competition ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
FTC Act ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Proposed Rules ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Unfair Competition
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) recently announced an Airline Passenger Protection Partnership with state attorneys general (AGs), marking a significant expansion of AGs’ regulatory reach. This partnership, formed...more
4/29/2024
/ Airlines ,
Consumer Complaint Management ,
Consumer Complaint System ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Memorandum of Understanding ,
Preemption ,
Regulatory Authority ,
State and Local Government ,
State Attorneys General
On October 17, following Washington Attorney General (AG) Bob Ferguson’s unsuccessful consumer protection action against thrift store chain, Savers Value Village Inc. (Savers), the Washington Superior Court of King County...more
On June 1, the U.S. Supreme Court published a unanimous decision in a False Claims Act (FCA) case, United States ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu, Inc., No. 21-1326. The opinion, authored by Justice Clarence Thomas, was notable...more
On Jan. 5, the Federal Trade Commission issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that, if adopted as final, would ban virtually all noncompete agreements nationwide between employers and employees. Noncompetes that would be...more
Stephen Piepgrass, Ryan Strasser, and Matt Hoekstra discuss how law firms can work with firms like Matt's on behalf of clients during congressional inquiries with parallel AG investigations or consumer litigation....more
On December 8, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a statement regarding its intent to investigate certain participants in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) created by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) protects investors and maintains a fair, orderly, and efficient marketplace. While the SEC has historically focused its enforcement efforts on public companies, recent...more
Companies today face increased risks from numerous regulatory bodies at the municipal, state, and federal levels. As we discussed in our previous article, “Preparing Companies for a New Day in Multistate AG Investigations,”...more
In 2020, two Las Vegas communications consultants brought a lawsuit against a group of top online booking companies. The complaint alleges that the defendant travel companies avoided paying hundreds of millions of dollars in...more
On June 23, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced that his office had reached a settlement with Red Rocks Credit Union to refund Colorado consumers more than $300,000 after the credit union failed to refund unearned...more
On March 25, the Illinois State Attorney General Kwame Raoul, along with 18 other state attorneys general (state AGs), provided comments to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) related to the CFPB’s inquiry into...more
Advertisements are everywhere. As we are constantly bombarded with information about the latest trends in every area from health and nutrition to finance and technology, it can be difficult to determine what information we...more
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the “Corps”) (together the “Agencies”) have continued working on a proposed rule to revise the definition of “waters of the United States”...more
On October 28, 2021, a majority of members on the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 15-7 to advance to the full U.S. Senate a bipartisan bill that would make a number of amendments to the federal False Claims Act (FCA). These...more
On Jan. 13, 2021, District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser signed the False Claims Amendment Act, which expanded liability under the Washington, D.C., False Claims Act, or FCA, to encompass tax-related claims.
Originally...more
In early March, New York State Attorney General Letitia James and New York City Corporation Counsel John E. Johnson announced a $105 million settlement against a hedge fund manager for tax evasion. The New York authorities...more
On January 13, District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser signed the False Claims Amendment Act of 2020 (the Amendment), which expanded liability under the D.C. False Claims Act (D.C. FCA) to encompass tax-related claims. The...more