INSIDE COMPLIANCE – Page 35 – Loyola University Chicago School of Law

The Gig is Up: Government Efforts to Regulate Gig Work and the Changing Definition of Employment

October 20, 2022Uncategorized

On October 11, 2022, the Department of Labor released a proposal to redefine independent contractor classifications under the Fair Labor Standards act. The change in definition, if approved, will have major implications for gig workers and companies such as Uber, Doordash, Grubhub, etc. These companies have already had a drop in stock value because of the announcement and the companies are at risk of losing more value as the gig economy destabilizes.

Department of LaborLabor and EmploymentRegulationTransportation

Facing the Fire: A Lesson on Whistleblower Protections

October 19, 2022Finance & Banking

For compliance programs to be effective, bad behavior must be reported internally to management and an avenue must exist to report externally to regulators and the media. For whistleblowers to be willing to come forward, it is critical that they are protected.

Dodd-Frankfinancial regulationRegulationSarbanes-Oxleywhistleblower

Department of Justice Announces The Second Monaco Memo

October 19, 2022Uncategorized

On September 15, 2022, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco issued a memorandum to the Department of Justice (DOJ) titled “Further Revisions to Corporate Criminal Enforcement Policies Following Discussions with Corporate Crime Advisory Group”. This memorandum is otherwise known as the “Second Monaco Memo”, named after the Deputy Attorney General. This is the second memorandum Monaco has issued in the past year, as the first memorandum was issued in October of 2021. The first memorandum announced the establishment of a Corporate Crime Advisory group, its purpose was to guide and review the DOJ’s approach to corporate criminal enforcement. These memorandums are important to both the defense bar and corporate counsel, as they establish rules and guidelines for corporate criminal enforcement.

Corporate AccountabilityCorporate Compliancecorporate cultureDepartment of JusticeJournal of Regulatory ComplianceRegulation

Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors: What the SEC Has Proposed & How Proposals May Impact the Regulatory World and Small Businesses

October 14, 2022Uncategorized

In March of this year, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed a new rule that would require public companies to disclose important information about their carbon footprint. Although many continue to sing the praises of the new rule, a fair share of critics has emerged as well. Additionally, while this proposal may have an impact on large public companies, critics question what this rule will mean for smaller suppliers.

climate actioncomplianceDisclosure Regulationenvironmental regulationSEC

U.S. Makes Forced Labor a “Top-Tier” Compliance Issue as Chinese Government Continues to Commit Human Rights Violations

October 14, 2022Uncategorized

China has long persecuted individuals in their Xinjiang region, mostly Uyghurs and Turkic Muslims. Specifically, the Chinese government has a long history of forcing Uyghurs and Turkic Muslims to do manual labor. These human rights violations prompted President Biden to sign the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) into law late last year. On June 21, 2022, the UFLPA went into effect, blocking the importation of goods made from forced labor in the Xinjiang region of China. The law has four main functions. It employs both an enforcement strategy and a diplomatic strategy, it applies a presumption that all goods from the Xinjiang region are barred, and it has required sanctions. Although the United States had previously restricted imports from the Xinjiang region under the Trump administration, this is the furthest step forward the US government has taken to eliminate imports from the region all together.

ChinaHuman RightsimportsInternational Affairslabor

OSHA’s New Directive: An Incentive or a Drawback?

October 13, 2022Uncategorized

In September 2022, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a new instruction which broadens the scope of the agency’s inspection program, the Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP). The previous directive, which went into effect in 2010, allowed OSHA to place employers in the program if its employees committed certain serious violations, especially if they had already been cited for the violation once or received a failure-to-abate notice. The new instruction allows OSHA to place employers in the program that probably would not have met the criteria in the previous directive.

EmploymentHazardous MaterialsOSHA

FDA’s Response to Baby Formula Shortage

October 13, 2022Uncategorized

This year the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has come under fire for its slow response to the nationwide baby formula shortage. In September 2022, FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf authorized the release of an internal report. The report details how the baby formula shortage occurred, the FDA’s response to the shortage, and the challenges it faced in resolving the shortage. The report also revealed the changes in FDA regulatory procedure to ensure another shortage does not occur.

Abbott LaboratoriesBaby formula shortageCOVID-19FDARegulationUkraine

Merging and Acquiring Hospital Policies

October 12, 2022Healthcare Compliance

As the number of hospital mergers and acquisitions increases, legal, compliance, clinical, and administrative staff should be aware of the challenges of consolidating hospitals. One challenge often overlooked is the consolidation of hospital policies and procedures.

Health CareHealth Lawmergers and acquisitions

SEC Proposes Rules to Combat Cyber-Attacks

October 12, 2022Uncategorized

On March 9, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed rules on Cybersecurity Risk Management, Strategy, Governance, and Incident Disclosure by Public Companies. In an attempt to further protect against cybersecurity attacks and increase cyber transparency among issuers and investors President Biden signed into law the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act of 2022 (CIRCIA). Before CIRCIA goes into effect, it requires the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to complete mandatory rulemaking activities, to develop/publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), and a final rule. The SEC proposal and CIRCIA both have different implications, but both will increase cybersecurity regulations and procedures, even making employees more conscious of potential attacks.

cyber-securitydata privacyPrivacy & Securitysocial engineering fraud

Our American Government: a Self-Serving Entity?

October 12, 2022Finance & Banking, Fraud & Abuse

As of September 2022, the current Congress has an approval rating of just 17% – an ignominious reality – and a series of recent investigations won’t serve to ease the mounting public frustration. Insider recently identified at least 72 members of Congress in noncompliance with the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act (STOCK). This revelation – among others – has prompted a push for the enactment of more stringent congressional stockholding limitations.