SEC Issues Record-Setting Whistleblower Award
Earlier this month, the SEC announced its largest ever whistleblower award – nearly $279 million – which "led to the successful enforcement of SEC and related actions." SEC Press Release, accessible here. The nearly $279 million award is more than double the prior record of $114 million set in 2020. Further, there have only been three ...
Criminal Conviction in First NFT Insider-Trading Trial
On May 3, 2023, Nathaniel Chastain, former product manager of OpenSea, the largest market for non-fungible tokens ("NFTs"), was convicted by a jury of wire fraud and money laundering. The conviction was the first of its kind. As Bloomberg Law explained, "[u]nlike most traditional insider-trading cases, which are centered around securities-fraud ...
U.S. Supreme Court to Address Causation Standard for SOX Whistleblower Claims
On May 1, 2023, the Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court granted a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by a former UBS Securities LLC ("UBS" or the "Company") researcher, Trevor Murray. As such, the Supreme Court will soon hear argument in the whistleblower retaliation lawsuit filed by Murray against UBS, Murray v. UBS Securities, LLC. At ...
ANOTHER SUIT AGAINST CRYPTO: SEC SUES CRYPTO TRADING PLATFORM BEAXY
The negative press for crypto companies continues. On March 29, 2023, the SEC filed suit against Beaxy Digital, Ltd., a crypto trading platform, in the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, "for failing to register as a national securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency." See SEC Press Release, "SEC Charges Crypto Trading ...
Anticipated Supreme Court Decision May Have a Significant Impact on an Employee’s Right to Receive a Religious Accommodation
On April 18, 2023, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Groff v. DeJoy, a case involving (1) whether an employer can deny an employee a religious accommodation if the accommodation imposes "more than a de minimis cost" on the employer, and (2) whether an employer can demonstrate "undue hardship on the conduct of the employer's business" ...
FTC Finalizes Consent Order against HomeAdvisor, Inc. For Deceptively Marketing Home Improvement Project Leads
On April 20, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission issued a final Decision and Order against HomeAdvisor, Inc., settling allegations that HomeAdvisor made various false, misleading, or unsubstantiated representations to service providers – including small businesses operating in the gig economy – about the quality, characteristics, and sources ...
Multiple Federal Agencies Address use of Artificial Intelligence in Business and Employment Practices
Several government agencies have recently announced plans to use existing regulatory structures to limit the extent to which automated systems and artificial intelligence are potentially resulting in illegal and unfair practices in both business and employment. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), ...
New York Expands Nursing Mothers’ Rights at Work
On December 9, 2022, Governor Kathy Hochul signed a bill into law expanding nursing mothers' rights at work. The new law (SB 4844B) will take effect June 7, 2023 and amends New York Labor Law § 206-c which only requires employers to give reasonable break times and make reasonable efforts to provide a private area for nursing mothers to take ...
U.S. Regulators Are Considering Revamped Rules After The Failure Of Silicon Valley Bank
According to statements by Michael Barr, the Federal Reserves' top regulator, made at a March 28, 2023 hearing before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, the Fed is considering the possibility of new regulations following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. The failure of Silicon Valley Bank ("SVB") and follow-on ...
Can NFTs Be Securities? An Analysis of Friel v. Dapper Labs
In Friel v. Dapper Labs, Inc., 2023 WL 2162747 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 22, 2023), the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, in denying a motion to dismiss a class action Complaint, held that sufficient allegations were made against Dapper Labs for violation of the securities laws by offering for sale certain non-fungible ...
State Attorneys General Advocate for Right-to-Repair Legislation
On March 24, 2023, the attorneys general of twenty-eight states sent a joint letter urging Congress to pass expansive Right-to-Repair legislation that would prevent original equipment manufacturers ("OEMs") of automobiles, agricultural equipment, and digital electronic equipment from creating products as a closed system that cannot be repaired ...
Recent SDNY Case Highlights the Broad Protections that the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act Provides to Victims
A recent decision in the action Teyo Johnson v. Everyrealm, Inc., et al. before the Southern District of New York demonstrates that broad protections victims are afforded under the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act ("EFAA"). The EFAA makes a pre-dispute arbitration agreement invalid and unenforceable in ...
FTC Announces Proposed “Click to Cancel” Rule
On March 23, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") announced that it was proposing a new rule which would, among other things, make it easier for consumers to cancel certain subscriptions involving recurring payments. According to FTC Chair Lina M. Khan, "[t]he proposed rule would require that companies make it as easy to cancel a subscription ...
New York Paid Family Leave Law Expanded to Include Siblings
As of January 1, 2023, the New York Paid Family Leave Law (the "NYPFLL") expanded its protections to allow eligible employees to take paid time off to care for their siblings. Previously, the NYPFLL only allowed employees to take paid time off to care for spouses and domestic partners (of any gender), children, parents, parents-in-law, grandparents, ...
Superseding Indictment Reveals Details Behind Sam Bankman-Fried's Alleged Scheme To Influence Washington Politics
A new indictment revealed last Thursday in the Southern District of New York charged Sam Bankman-Fried ("SBF") with additional financial crimes, and notably provided expansive details related to an unlawful political campaign donation scheme. The unsealed indictment provides details on how SBF allegedly donated tens of millions of dollars ...
Supreme Court to Decide Constitutionality of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Funding
On February 27, 2023, the Supreme Court agreed to decide a major case challenging the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's ("CFPB") funding. The CFPB is a federal agency created under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act ("Dodd-Frank Act") in response to the 2008 financial crisis. It is an ...
National Advertising Division Recommends Molson Coors Discontinue Ad Focusing on Taste of Competitor Products
On February 23, 2023, the National Advertising Division ("NAD") of the Better Business Bureau National Programs recommended that Molson Coors discontinue making certain claims about competitor light beer products in advertising promoting its Miller Lite products. Specifically, after Anheuser-Busch Companies LLC ("A-B") challenged Molson Coors' ...
Ex-Theranos COO Fights Prosecutors Over Nearly $900 Million in Restitution to Investors
Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, former Chief Operating Officer and President of defunct blood-testing start-up Theranos Inc., is fighting the nearly $900 million in restitution that U.S. prosecutors are proposing he pay to Theranos investors. Mr. Balwani is set to begin a 13-year prison sentence in March for defrauding investors and patients of Theranos ...
UPDATE: Supreme Court Holds That Highly Compensated Employee Is Entitled to Overtime Pay
As previously discussed here, the U.S. Supreme Court heard argument a few months ago in Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc. v. Hewitt, one of the more notable employment law cases headlining the Court's October 2022 Term. The Court recently ruled in favor of Hewitt, finding that he is entitled to overtime compensation despite being paid a salary ...
SEC Sues Convicted Felon and Others for Alleged $45 Million Dollar Fraud Involving Sham Blockchain Technology
Last month, the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") filed suit against convicted felon Neil Chandran and others for an alleged $45 million dollar fraudulent investment scheme whereby Defendants "raised more than $45 million from sales of unregistered securities to tens of thousands of investors worldwide" for a blockchain technology ...