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
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
Greta Garbo, as Grusinskaya in Grand Hotel, was famous for saying: “I want to be alone, I just want to be alone.” On Friday September 27, 2013, Governor Jerry Brown signed A.B. 370, which requires an operator of a website or online services that collects “personally identifiable information” to disclose how it responds to “do not track” signals. Companies operating commercial websites and online services will likely need to update their privacy policies to comply with new requirements in California as the result of the amendment of the California Online Privacy Protection Act (“CalOPPA”).
Continue Reading Garbo Would Be Happy: “Do Not Track Bill” Signed Into Law
The Supreme Court handed down a far reaching decision throwing out an attempt by Congress to deny the benefits conferred by federal law on same sex couples legally married under state law holding that the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”), as so applied, constituted a deprivation of the equal liberty of persons protected by the Fifth Amendment. In so doing, and perhaps without realizing it, the Supreme Court was also writing an important copyright case.
On September 14, 2012, the Indian government announced that it would relax restrictions on foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail. India—a country that traditionally excluded foreign investment—opened its doors to global supermarkets, such as Wal-Mart and Tesco. While the decision still must clear bureaucratic hurdles, American retailers welcome the opportunity to capitalize on one of the world’s largest consumer markets. On November 27, 2012, India’s federal government indicated for the first time that it may be open to a vote in parliament on the issue.
Continue Reading “Reforming Retail: India Allows FDI in Multi-Brand Retail”
On April 12, 2011, United States Senators John Kerry and John McCain formally proposed the Kerry-McCain Commercial Privacy Bill of Rights Act of 2011 ("CPBRA"). This proposed legislation would apply to all retailers, including those in the fashion, beauty, and apparel industries, that request and record their customers’ personal information. If passed in its current form, the CPBRA would preempt similar state laws, would not provide a private right of action upon which an individual claim could be based, and would cap penalties at $3 million. While that is good news in light of the burgeoning class action privacy-related litigation filed against companies by private plaintiffs under state consumer protection laws, compliance with the CPBRA could potentially be onerous because the CPBRA replaces industry self-regulation with government regulation.
As it becomes increasingly common to find "green" environmentally-friendly products on retailers’ shelves, the Federal Trade Commission is taking active steps to guarantee the legitimacy of "green" labeling and ensure that such labels do in fact represent accurate descriptions of the products’ environmental benefits. Consequently, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is about to release updated "Green Guides," which are expected to narrowly redefine and limit companies’ and marketers’ abilities to make environmental claims about their products. Once the updated guides are released, they will be the first environmental-marketing guidelines to be issued in the past twelve years. Currently, there are approximately 300 products and packages on the market stamped with environment seals of approval, such as "recyclable" or "chemical free." Experts are predicting that the new Guides could render many labels such as these useless, or even more drastically, in violation of the new Federal Trade Commission standards.
On November 30, 2010, the Judiciary Committee of the United States Senate unanimously passed the Innovative Design Protection and Piracy Act (“IDPPA”) (S. 3728), which was introduced by Senator Charles Schumer (NY) on August 6, 2010.
Continue Reading Fashion Forward: IDPPA Gains Unanimous Approval Of Senate Judiciary Committee
Hardly a day passes without new revelations about global FCPA investigations. In just the past ten days, cases involving companies as diverse as Hewlett-Packard, BHP Billiton and Avon have been reported. Earlier this year 22 individuals were arrested simultaneously on two continents in a global FCPA sting operation, the first of its kind. The U.S. Department of Justice reportedly has 140 active FCPA investigations underway.
On June 1st, 2008, New York lawmakers put into effect a law that narrows the online tax exemption and sends a clear message to online retailers: You’re either in or you’re out. New York wants retailers "in" so that they can collect NY sales tax. Retailers want to remain "out" in order to keep the online tax exemption and avoid the costs associated with collecting sales taxes from customers.
Continue Reading You’re Either In or You’re Out, New York Tells Online Retailers