Retailers continue to be targeted by website accessibility lawsuits. Unfortunately, the legal landscape remains unpredictable and it varies greatly based on what jurisdiction a retailer is sued in. There remains no easy fix to prevent litigation. Plaintiff’s lawyers argue that “inaccessible” websites or mobile apps fail to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act or similar state civil rights laws. However, there are no set of detailed website accessibility standards or regulations and instead, the Department of Justice’s position has been that the Americans with Disabilities Act’s general nondiscrimination and effective communication provisions apply to web accessibility. The Department has directed that businesses look to existing technical standards for website accessibility including the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and the Section 508 Standards, which the federal government uses for its own websites. And despite the absence of formal website accessibility standards, the Department has continued to file enforcement actions against businesses who operate websites that it deems inaccessible.Continue Reading Website Accessibility Litigation Continues to be Costly and There is No Easy Fix

Environmental marketing claims often present something of a Catch-22—companies that are doing actual good for the environment deserve to reap the benefits of their efforts, and consumers deserve to know, while at the same time, heightened scrutiny from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the National Advertising Division (NAD), state regulators and the plaintiffs’ bar have made such claims increasingly risky. Continue Reading How to Succeed in Environmental Marketing Claims

Effective January 1, 2025, a new California law will prohibit 24 ingredients from use in cosmetic products. California’s Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act [Assembly Bill (“AB”) 2762] was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom on September 30, 2020, amidst continued public health concerns about chemicals in consumer products. The law makes California the first state to effectuate a state-wide ban of these ingredients, all of which are already banned by the European Union.Continue Reading California’s Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act Bans 24 Ingredients From Cosmetic Products

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

On January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) unveiled a proposed ruling that would essentially ban noncompete agreements across the country. This proposed ruling is based on a finding that noncompete agreements constitute an unfair method of competition and violate Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act.Continue Reading Non-Compete No More? FTC Proposes Broad Ban of Non-Compete Agreements

A new set of California laws will require online marketplaces to gather verifiable identifying information about high volume third party sellers, or else boot them off the platform. The laws, which seek to combat the resale of stolen goods online, call for marketplaces and sellers to ramp up their consumer disclosures around sellers’ identities and options for consumers to report suspected stolen goods. Continue Reading Online Marketplaces: It’s Time to Track, Verify and Disclose Seller Info

In her September 20, 2022 statement before the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) Chairwoman Lina Kahn emphasized the FTC’s continued work combating repair restrictions that allegedly harm consumers, explaining that the FTC is “prioritizing action against business practices that unlawfully restrict consumers’ ability to repair their products, costing them more over the long term.”[1]Continue Reading Federal Trade Commission Focused on Right to Repair Restrictions