INSIDE COMPLIANCE

The DOJ Challenges Penguin Random House’s Acquisition of Simon & Schuster

November 12, 2021Gavin MartinThe Marketplace

In the United States, “The Big Five” denote the largest five publishing houses. These publishing empires print everything from medical textbooks to children’s books and together control over eighty percent of the publishing market. The Big Five includes Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. In November of 2020, Viacom announced the sale of Simon & Schuster to Penguin Random House for $2.175 billion. A year later on November 2, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a lawsuit challenging the acquisition to ensure “fair competition in the U.S. publishing industry.”

DOJJournal of Regulatory ComplianceMonopolyPenguin Random HousepublishingRegulation

Compliance Spotlight: William Hanning, CISSP, CISO

November 11, 2021Marisa PolowitzCompliance Spotlight

William Hanning is a Chief Information Security Officer with Groups360 and close to twenty years of Information Security experience. Mr. Hanning has built and managed security programs in multiple industries in organizations of varying sizes, as well as within Fortune 100 companies. Here, he gives insight about the separation between data privacy and cybersecurity, the role of information security teams, and how cybersecurity relates to and supports the work of legal and compliance departments.

compliancedata privacyJournal of Regulatory CompliancePrivacy & Security

Eradicating Real Guns in Hollywood: Why No One’s Life Should be Put at Risk on a Fictional Movie Set.

November 10, 2021Katia Cortes GuzmanUncategorized

On October 21, 2021, actor Alec Baldwin fatally shot a cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, and injured director Joel Souza on the set of the western film, Rust. Details of the tragic accident are still surfacing, but the incident has already sparked debate over the safety of cast and crew in Hollywood. With access to so much technology and computer-generated work behind the scenes, there is no longer a need for real guns in Hollywood. Despite the regulations on guns on Hollywood film sets, accidents still happen. Cast and crew should not have to risk their lives over something that is one hundred percent preventable.

Employmententertainment lawhollywoodJournal of Regulatory ComplianceOSHA

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and Its Failure to Protect Our Undocumented Communities

November 9, 2021Charlene Echeverria BurciagaUncategorized

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has proposed new regulations regarding DACA and is accepting comments on the proposed rule. USCIS claims that the new regulations will preserve and fortify the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy. As well as respond to President Biden’s memorandum from January 20, 2021, where Biden states in support of DACA, that “these immigrants (DACA recipients) should not be a priority for removal based on humanitarian concerns, and that work authorization will enable them to support themselves, and contribute to our economy, while they remain(in the U.S.)” USCIS further claims that DACA has been economically and socially beneficial to undocumented communities. It reiterates their “consistent judgment” that DACA recipients should not be a priority for removal citing Secretary Napolitano’s 2012 memorandum that DACA recipients lacked the intent to violate the law as children. Further, “removing productive young people (unless justified)” is not a prudent way to spend border resources. The agency continues to provide that the proposed regulation does not provide lawful status or path to citizenship. Despite the use of language that speciously centers on DACA recipients, the proposed provisions are at best superficial and continue to leave undocumented young people in a state of uncertainty.

BidenDACADreamersImmigrationImmigration and Nationality Act of 1952Journal of Regulatory ComplianceObamaRegulation

Title IX Changes & Timelines: What Can We Do When a Final Rule Will Take Too Long?

November 8, 2021Madison XilasUncategorized

On September 13, more than thirty members of Congress sent a letter to the Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona, urging the Biden Administration to continue to build on the steps the administration has taken thus far to protect survivor-complaints from sexual misconduct. The letter emphasized President Biden’s clear interest in Title IX reform, celebrating many of the changes he has made since coming into office. However, alongside this praise, came the enumeration of several remaining concerns born out of the Trump Administrations widely criticized May 2020 Title IX regulations.

Biden AdministrationDepartment of EducationEducationOffice of Civil RightsTitle IX

Price Control Legislation for Generic Drugs – A Delaware Case Study

November 5, 2021Andrew ThompsonDrugs & Devices, The Marketplace

Price Control Legislation for Generic Drugs – A Delaware Case Study Andrew Thompson Associate Editor Loyola University Chicago School of Law, JD 2023 Earlier, I wrote here about how American drug prices are approximately 256 to 344 percent higher than prices in OCED member markets. Federal legislators confronting patent extensions, pay-for-delay agreements, and other tools …
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#drugregulation#pricecontrolsfinancial regulationJournal of Regulatory Compliance

FINRA Targets High-Risk Brokerage Firms With New Rule

November 4, 2021Jeffrey HymenFinance & Banking

For several years, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has sought to increase oversight of brokers who have a history of misconduct as well as the firms that hire these brokers. In an effort to disincentivize the recruitment of high-risk brokers, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently approved FINRA’s proposed Rule 4111, which subjects “restricted firms” to additional capital obligations and hiring restrictions. Specifically, FINRA Rule 4111 targets brokerage firms that have exceeded thresholds of risk-related or investor-harming disclosures compared to similarly sized peers. The new rule, which will go into effect in 2022, is designed to provide FINRA with greater authority to proactively address the risks posed to investors by rogue brokerage firms.

Arbitrationbroker-dealerDisclosuresfinanceFINRAInvestorsSEC

NBA Healthcare Fraud Scheme

November 3, 2021Krista SolanoAthletic Regulation

Krista Solano Associate Editor Loyola University Chicago School of Law, JD 2023 Eighteen former NBA players were charged with defrauding the league’s health and welfare benefit plan. The former players were charged under 8 USC Section 1347, otherwise known as the federal healthcare fraud statute. The fraud scheme submitted $3.9 million in fake claims, for …
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##healthcarefraudcomplianceHealth InsuranceNBARegulation

Mattresses & Money Laundering

November 2, 2021Puja ValeraFinance & Banking, Fraud & Abuse1 Comment

Puja Valera Associate Editor Loyola University Chicago School of Law, JD 2023 Mattresses and money laundering – two very different topics that have been intertwined in mystery and conspiracy. On Medium, a journalist reported that a reddit user first introduced the concept that Mattress Firm, the largest mattress retailer in the world, is actually a …
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conspiracyJournal of Regulatory ComplianceMattressMattress Firmmoney laundering

Employees Continue to Fight Compliance with Vaccine Mandates

November 1, 2021Micaela EngerUncategorized

An earlier blog post explored the challenges of employees returning to work, including questions about the legality of COVID-19 vaccine mandates. In response to the uptick in cases towards the end of the summer and into the fall, many large employers implemented vaccine mandates. As vaccine mandates have increased, so have the lawsuits contesting them. As of October 14, 2021, there have been at least thirty-nine federal cases contesting vaccine requirements imposed by either employers or governments and approximately fifty-seven total decisions, including federal and state cases. In most cases, courts are denying requests for temporary injunctions against the mandates or dismissing the cases.

constitutionalityCOVID-19Employmentlegalityvaccine mandates