Changes In Law

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In Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, No. 22-451 (U.S. June 28, 2024), the United States Supreme Court (Roberts, J.) held that the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) requires courts to independently determine whether an agency has acted within its authority. The Supreme Court’s decision marks a departure from the highly deferential relationship developed between courts and administrative agencies over the last forty years. By overruling the precedent set by Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.[1] (“Chevron”), the Loper Bright decision has cleared the way for the judiciary to interpret ambiguous statutes with more autonomy than we have seen in decades. Continue Reading Farewell, Chevron: Navigating Corporate Regulation Under Loper Bright

Candy and sports drink aisles in California grocery stores could look very different if AB418 is passed into law. The California Assembly has proposed amending the state’s Health and Safety Code to prevent the manufacture, sale, delivery, distribution, holding, or offering for sale any food that contains any of the following substances:Continue Reading New California Bill Seeks to Eliminate Certain Food Additives

In 2021 and 2022, we saw a wave of pay transparency laws aimed at improving pay equity. It first started with Colorado in 2021, then New York City in late 2022. Recently, states such as California, New York, Washington, and Rhode Island have passed similar pay transparency laws. These laws often differ by locality and state, creating many compliance questions for employers.Continue Reading The Push for Pay Transparency: New Laws in 2023

The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) recently adopted amendments to California Code of Regulations, section 25600.2 – the section titled “Responsibility to Provide Consumer Product Exposure Warnings.”  These amendments provide more specific guidance for manufacturers, retailers and other businesses in the chain of commerce on how to satisfy their responsibilities to provide consumer product exposure warnings for chemicals listed under Proposition 65. The amendments become effective on April 1, 2020.
Continue Reading Proposition 65: California Clarifies Responsibilities To Warn Amongst Manufacturers, Distributors and Retailers

As described in a previous blog post, New York’s 2019 Budget created significant new responsibilities for employers in the state with respect to sexual harassment prevention. As of October 9, 2018, all employers in New York State are required to: (i) circulate a policy prohibiting sexual harassment that complies with state requirements; and (ii) conduct annual sexual harassment training for all employees in accordance with state standards.
Continue Reading New York State Employers Take Note!!! Compliance With New Sexual Harassment Law Required By October 9, 2018

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has struck down the 15-year-old “Safe Harbor” agreement that permitted companies operating in Europe to transmit personal user data to the United States, as long as the U.S. ensures an adequate level of data protection at the company and certifies that it will abide by seven EU data privacy principles regarding notice, choice, onward transfer, security, data integrity, access, and enforcement. The case, entitled Maximillian Schrems v. Data Protection Commissioner, was decided on October 6, 2015 and has an immediate effect on European courts. See here.
Continue Reading EU Court Rejects “Safe Harbor” Agreement Permitting Customer Data Transfers to U.S.

In a decision issued on Tuesday, December 9, 2014, the United States Supreme Court ruled that employees are not entitled to compensation under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) for the time they spend waiting to undergo, and actually do undergo, security screenings.  The Court’s unanimous decision in Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc. v. Busk, et al., reverses a judgment of the United States Court of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit which found that Integrity Staffing employees could state an unpaid wages claim under the FLSA for undergoing a daily security screening because the screenings were required by, and for the benefit of, their employer.
Continue Reading U.S. Supreme Court Rules that Security Screening Time is Non-Compensable Under Federal Law and The Portal-to-Portal Act

West Hollywood, California’s controversial law banning the sale of fur within city limits survived a legal challenge by a luxury retailer last month. A federal court dismissed the action brought by Mayfair House Inc., a retailer that sells high-end clothing products, including products made wholly or partly of animal fur, challenging the ordinance as unconstitutionally vague and arbitrary in violation of the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and violating state laws preventing the City from enacting wildlife-related ordinances.
Continue Reading Fur Flies and West Hollywood (“WeHo”) Fur Ban Is Upheld By Federal Court

The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) enforces federal labeling requirements that require manufacturers, importers, sellers and distributors of certain textile and wool clothing to accurately label their products. For example, FTC rules require that manufacturers indicate the country of origin and fiber content in their clothing. In addition, the Care Labeling Rule requires that manufacturers and importers attach “care labels” to garments and certain piece goods.
Continue Reading New Updated FTC Care Labeling Rules: “Do’s and Don’ts”

Last week, New York toughened its child labor law protections for models under the age of 18 by passing New York Senate Bill No. 5486. Signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo, the law is set to go into effect within the next month and will significantly impact designers in preparing for New York Fashion Week 2014. The law will be enforced by the Department of Labor and expands the definition of child performers to include the services of runway and print models. The underage models will now be governed by the same labor protections afforded to child actors (see prior blog article here).Continue Reading The New Catwalk Experience: New York Tightens Laws for Underage Models