Final SEC climate disclosure rule pushed to April 2024

The Department of Treasury and Federal Trade Commission also have a number of upcoming rules that could affect companies’ environmental, social and governance policies.

By Lamar Johnson • Dec. 7, 2023

Don’t sit on concerns before self-disclosing, DOJ official says

To get a guilty-plea bye or penalty waiver, self-disclosure of suspected misconduct must be timely, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Arun Rao says.

By Robert Freedman • Dec. 7, 2023

NYC adds height, weight to protected workplace categories

Employees who think they’ve been denied a position or other opportunity because of their stature have grounds to file a complaint under a law now in effect.

By Robert Freedman • Dec. 1, 2023

Businesses face automated decisionmaking disclosures under proposed California regulations

Companies using automated technology to make decisions in areas such as employment would have to provide consumers with a variety of information about their activities.

By Lyle Moran • Nov. 28, 2023

Hefty $4.3B Binance penalty reflects cooperation credit

The crypto exchange was given a 20% reduction in its fine in exchange for cooperating in the investigation and remediating its compliance operations, the Department of Justice says.

By Robert Freedman • Nov. 22, 2023

Consistency called key to avoiding SEC whistleblower fines

The agency’s focus isn’t just on separation or severance agreements; other contract areas – and even non-contract materials like handbooks – can have non-compliant language.

By Robert Freedman • Nov. 20, 2023

Companies hit with $5B in SEC penalties in FY23

The agency took almost 800 enforcement actions, the second-highest ever, fueled by 18,000 whistleblower tips. Two-thirds of the cases included charges against individuals.

By Robert Freedman • Nov. 15, 2023

SolarWinds case is the latest in which cybersecurity executive is charged

The personal stakes for CSOs and CISOs in a breach are getting high even before the SEC’s cyber rules are added to the liability picture.

By Robert Freedman • Nov. 1, 2023

Groups criticize DOJ M&A self-disclosure safe harbor

Public Citizen and other public interest groups say the Department of Justice is enabling companies that have engaged in misconduct to merge their way out of trouble.

By Robert Freedman • Oct. 31, 2023

Keeping government investigations from rattling employees

Many investigations are sprung on companies unaware, making employees nervous. Normalizing the process can help. 

By Robert Freedman • Oct. 30, 2023

DOJ self-disclosure push aids its covert operations, official says

By learning of misconduct while it’s still happening, the Department of Justice can investigate without the company knowing it, Emma Burnham of the agency’s criminal division says.

By Robert Freedman • Oct. 26, 2023

Ensuring your separation agreements are OK as SEC steps up whistleblower protection

Even private companies could be hit if the agency believes contract language discourages, not just prohibits, employees from talking with federal agencies. 

By Robert Freedman • Oct. 25, 2023

FTC tires of Total Wine’s hardball CID tactics

The wine and spirits retailer hasn’t been cooperative, the agency says, in an investigation of a distributor that might be giving large retailers advantages that small retailers don’t get.

By Robert Freedman • Oct. 23, 2023

Corporate Transparency Act could impact some large companies

Although the beneficial-owner disclosure law that takes effect in January applies to smaller companies, subsidiaries of larger companies could come under the law based on how they’re structured.

By Robert Freedman • Oct. 13, 2023

DOJ gives companies six months to disclose misconduct discovered during M&A deals

Companies get 12 months to remediate the problem in the acquired company, although the timeline goes away if the problem poses a national security risk, the agency says.

By Robert Freedman • Oct. 5, 2023

The Corporate Transparency Act: Shedding light on a stealth statute

The overarching regulatory framework of the CTA is relatively straightforward, but the devil is in the details and there are lots of details.

By Robert B. Lamm • Sept. 27, 2023

GTT self-reported accounting inaccuracies, earning penalty-free settlement with SEC

The company kept investigators apprised of its efforts to resolve account discrepancies stemming from integration problems after it acquired several companies, the agency says.

By Robert Freedman • Sept. 25, 2023

DOJ touts declinations for companies that self-disclose misconduct

A new focus is on M&A. Details will come later on how the department will drop prosecutions when an acquiring company reports misconduct in the target, either before or after the deal closes.

By Robert Freedman • Sept. 22, 2023

Maintaining compliance as SEC cracks down on encrypted messaging apps

Navigating enforcement actions and keeping up with regulatory expectations can help your organization benefit from use of the apps while keeping risks aligned with requirements.   

By Chris Lehman • Sept. 20, 2023

SEC fines Lyft for failing to disclose $424M, pre-IPO stock sale

Lyft is required under federal securities laws to disclose stock transactions exceeding $120,000 that involve a person with ties to the company, the SEC said.

By Jim Tyson • Sept. 18, 2023

How to avoid violating CCPA when sharing employee data

If companies don’t have the right contractual arrangements with their vendors, sharing data could be construed as a sale. 

By Robert Freedman • Sept. 15, 2023

Orthofix ousts CEO, CFO, CLO, citing ‘offensive conduct’

An investigation conducted by an independent outside legal counsel found that the three executives had “violated multiple code of conduct requirements.”

By Maura Webber Sadovi • Sept. 14, 2023

EEOC sues Maryland Verizon branch for ADA violations

Beyond terminating employment, creating environments that force workers to quit is also a violation of federal labor law.

By Caroline Colvin • Sept. 8, 2023

SEC fines Fluor $14.5M for accounting flaws

Fluor last decade failed to deploy the internal controls needed for its use of the percentage of completion accounting method, the SEC said.

By Jim Tyson • Sept. 8, 2023

More states join paid leave trend, making it harder for employers to keep up

Benefits teams that seek to stay ahead of local family and medical leave requirements may need to make adjustments soon, experts said.

By Ryan Golden • Sept. 7, 2023