INSIDE COMPLIANCE

SEC Adopts New Rules for Whistleblower Program

October 15, 2020Travis ThickstunFinance & Banking, Fraud & Abuse

Twelve years after the 164-year-old brokerage firm Lehman Brothers collapsed during the global financial crisis that had been sparked by the subprime mortgage catastrophe, last month the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted a new rule changing parts of the agency’s whistleblower program. The program, which was established by the Dodd-Frank Act in 2010, permits the agency to provide financial awards to whistleblowers who provide it with original information about fraud and securities violations. At issue in this new rule is how the SEC will evaluate and apply its award criteria based on the circumstances in each case. Commissioners voted 3-2 to adopt the final rule – which is effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register – during their Sept. 23 meeting. The SEC said the new rule was aimed at more efficient claim processing, increased transparency to the structure used by the Commission in determining award amounts and making other changes that reflect the Commission’s experience overseeing the program.

Journal of Regulatory ComplianceRegulation

DOL Proposes Rule That Could Recategorize Many Employees into Independent Contractors

October 14, 2020Michell Pacheco SotoUncategorized

The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) has recently proposed a rule change that would revise its interpretation of “independent contractor” under the Fair Labor Standard Act (“FLSA”). According to DOL, which has the power to investigate worker complaints about misclassifications, this change is needed to promote certainty for stakeholders, reduce litigation, and encourage innovation in the economy. However, this proposed rule could also diminish employee rights because independent contractors have fewer protections under FLSA. This rule widens the scope of who can be considered an independent contractor. Thus, many workers classified as employees could be reclassified as independent contractors and lose protections under FLSA.

Department of LaborEmploymentIndependent ContractorsJournal of Regulatory ComplianceLabor and EmploymentRegulationWorkers' Rights

Rural Hospitals in Crisis Receive a Boost to Value-Based Care Model from New CMS CHART Model

October 14, 2020Kennedy ChigloUncategorized

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) Innovation Center (“CMMI”) recently announced a new model for health care providers in rural areas to receive payment from the federal government. The Community Health Access and Rural Transformation (“CHART”) initiative aims to improve rural health care while promoting the Trump Administration’s push to shift health care providers into a more expansive value-based payment model.

CHART ModelCMSfederal grantsfundsHealth InsurancehealthcareHHSJournal of Regulatory ComplianceMedicaidmedicareRegulationrulemakingruralrural healthcareTrump Administration

The Constitutionality of the ACA: California v. Texas

October 13, 2020Joseph HoUncategorized

Signed by President Obama on March 23, 2010, The Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) provided a monumental change to healthcare. The ACA created access, added provisions to improve quality, and created cost containment measures. However, the ACA created a quintessential question of Federalism. As it exists today, the Supreme Court will listen to oral arguments in November on the constitutionality of the ACA, in California v. Texas. If the Court decides that the ACA is unconstitutional, millions of Americans who are insured under the Act will lose coverage. Additionally, aside from access, the ACA includes regulatory laws such as Section 1557’s nondiscriminatory provisions, and amendments to the False Claims Act & HIPAA.

ACAconstitutionalityHealth InsurancehealthcareJournal of Regulatory ComplianceObamacare

The New SEC Whistleblower Rules and their Impact on Whistleblower Litigation

October 13, 2020Abigail HeeterFinance & Banking

Whistleblowers are crucial to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) ability to enforce regulatory standards. Because of their knowledge, they can help the SEC protect investors and capital markets, as well as hold those performing unlawful conduct accountable. Through Section 21F of the Exchange Act the SEC has power to award whistleblowers for the information they provide. Last month, an amendment was added to this section altering the rules of whistleblower award allocations.

SECSecurities and Exchange Commissionwhistleblower

Open Meetings and Government Transparency in the Wake of COVID-19

October 2, 2020Daniel BourgaultCompliance Spotlight

On March 16, 2020, Governor JB Pritzker issued Executive Order 2020-07 which, among other things, suspended certain provisions of the Illinois Open Meetings Act (“OMA”), an act which ensures transparency regarding meetings, discussions, and actions taken by public actors concerning public business. The executive order was a response to the practical challenges to compliance with the OMA’s in-person and physical quorum requirements facing local governments as they grapple with restrictions on public gatherings due to the public health threat of COVID-19, declared an emergency in Illinois by Pritzker’s Gubernatorial Disaster Declaration on March 12, 2020. Since March, Pritzker has continued to re-issue and extend COVID-19-related executive orders and the disaster declarations, including the executive actions identified above and their restrictions and suspensions applicable to the OMA, most recently through Executive Order 2020-55 on September 18, 2020. While the suspensions through executive order have provided a temporary solution allowing local governments to comply with the OMA in such an emergency situation, the Illinois legislature took it upon itself to address the issue permanently by amending the OMA statute.

COVID-19Government OversightGovernment TransparencyJournal of Regulatory Compliancelocal governmentsmunicipal lawOMAopen meetingstransparency

Privacy Lessons Learned from Litigation: Video Surveillance of the Robert Kraft Massage Parlor-Prostitution Sting Operation

October 1, 2020Richard HortonUncategorized

The criminal case against the NFL New England Patriots’ franchise owner, Robert Kraft, has taken an astounding turn of events as the Florida Court of Appeals handed down its ruling on Kraft’s privacy objections against law enforcement’s surveillance video evidence showing the billionaire soliciting prostitution at a local spa. Kraft filed a motion to suppress the evidence arguing that Florida law enforcement’s non-consensual and surreptitious recording of non-audio video surveillance of the premises of a private business, that is open to the public, runs afoul of Kraft’s, and others’, Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable government searches. The ruling of the Appeals Court not only affirmed a similar lower court ruling by the Palm Beach County trial court, favoring Kraft, but it served up an interesting compliance lesson on the privacy protections required of law enforcement during their surreptitious video surveillance operations.

compliancedata privacyJournal of Regulatory CompliancePrivacy & Security

A New Housing Crisis: Navigating Changing Guidelines and Relief in a Pandemic

October 1, 2020Patrick GilsenanFinance & Banking

Patrick Gilsenan Associate Editor Loyola University Chicago School of Law, Weekend JD 2023 Americans looking for relief and regulatory protections in the face of an eviction and foreclosure crisis have been met with a patchwork system of confusing, temporary, and difficult to navigate government programs. The eviction ban established by the CARES Act has expired, …
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CARES ActCOVID-19EvictionForeclosureJournal of Regulatory ComplianceRegulation

How COPPA and FERPA affect Education in the Age of Remote Learning

September 30, 2020Jacqueline BrownUncategorized

As thousands of schools across the country comply with state and local social distancing orders due to the global pandemic COVID-19 for this 2020-21 school year, many schools are now faced with having to educate students from their homes in either hybrid or fully remote models. Millions of students are now utilizing online educational services to aid in remote learning. Although these education technology companies (“EdTech”) are now providing crucial remote learning opportunities for students, school districts must also keep students’ privacy rights in mind. Many of these EdTech services will collect and use personal information of students who use their services. This is where the Federal Trade Commission’s Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”) pertains.

EducationJournal of Regulatory CompliancePrivacy & SecurityRegulation

Illinois football will not resume for the fall despite Big Ten’s reversal

September 30, 2020Marcella SlayAthletic Regulation

On September 16, The Big Ten conference announced the reversal of the decision to postpone fall sports and will resume football the week of Oct. 23rd. On that same day, Governor J.B. Pritzker announced elementary and high school football teams will still not return for the fall. With football being a contact sport, the risk of spreading COVID-19 is very high. There are hopes for Illinois high school football to return in the spring but as of now, there are not enough resources to comply with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) and local authorities’ guidelines.

college footballCollege SportsCOVID-19EducationfootballJournal of Regulatory ComplianceSports