Insights on Consumer Products

The US Department of Justice recently announced that Fokker Services BV (FSBV), a Dutch aerospace services provider, agreed to forfeit $10.5 million to the United States.

On June 12, the DOL, in conjunction with the White House, released its proposed rule that raises the minimum wage for workers on federal service and construction contracts to $10.10 per hour.

Our value-driven approach to client service is what distinguishes our team of lawyers as one of the premier Communications, Mobile, and Technology practices in the country.

The book provides an article-by-article analysis of the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, as revised in 2010 by the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL).

The Buy America constraints of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) which, for the first time, imposed a domestic preference provision that required all iron, steel, and manufactured goods used in any project funded wholly or partially by the ARRA be produced in the U.S.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that two uses of a racially offensive slur, directed against an employee by another employee were not sufficiently severe or pervasive as to change the terms and conditions of employment and thereby constitute unlawful discrimination.

In a closely watched case, the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has concluded that officers and employees of a foreign government-owned company may be “foreign officials” for purposes of the anti-bribery prohibitions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

In 2012, when the National Labor Relations Board launched a webpage addressing protected concerted activity, Chairman Mark Gaston Pearce declared Section 7 rights “one of the best kept secrets of the NLRA.”

On May 21, 2014, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General released a Supplement Specialty Advisory Bulletin entitled to supplement its Special Advisory Bulletin on Patient Assistance Programs for Medicare Part D Enrollees (2005 SAB) (70 Fed. Reg. 70623).

On May 9, 2014, a federal appeals court reversed a California trial court’s determination that 37 API packages that are part of Oracle’s famous Java programming platform were not subject to copyright protection.

On May 2, 2014, the Eastern District of Virginia1 held that attorneys must inform the Court of any pending Inter Partes Review (IPR) regarding patents asserted in litigation. Failure to do so may violate the general duty of candor and good faith to the Court.

In a decision filed on May 8, 2014, the California Court of Appeals held that patentable ideas, if kept secret, can constitute information protectable by trade secret law.

Often times indenture trustees seek to sit on creditors committees in furtherance of their fiduciary duties to holders. Obviously, the professional fees and expenses can be paid as a first priority pursuant to a charging lien as provided for under the indenture documents.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a press release yesterday (available here) touting its continued focus on trade associations’ compliance with the antitrust laws.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced that reporting companies are not required to describe their products as “DRC conflict free,” having “not been found to be ‘DRC conflict free,’” or “DRC conflict undeterminable,” as originally required in the Conflict Minerals Rule (CMR).

Fourth Circuit Allows Hostile Work Environment Claim to Proceed Against Employer Based on Third-Party’s Actions.

This round includes US export control sanctions on trade in controlled products and technology.

On April 14, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit stuck down portions of the Security and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Final Rule on Conflict Minerals (Final Rule) as unconstitutional.

Working conditions of interns have been the focus of a series of unpaid wage actions in New York City and elsewhere.

Following his recent controversial decision that scholarship football athletes at Northwestern University are employees who can unionize.

By a 2-1 vote, a three-member panel of the National Labor Relations Board (the NLRB or Board) ordered a California hospital found to have bargained in bad faith to reimburse the Union for its negotiating expenses and extended the certification year by another 12 month period.

The US District Court for the District of Columbia recently dismissed a former university employee’s claims under the District of Columbia Human Rights Act (the DCHRA) that she was wrongfully discharged for opposing gay marriage.

On April 3, 2014, President Barack Obama signed an Executive Order sanctioning those responsible for the conflict in South Sudan. The Executive Order blocks the property and entry of designated entities and individuals.

On April 13, 2014, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal (R) signed a law (S.B. 365) that will limit exposure for employers who hire employees with a criminal conviction history.