INSIDE COMPLIANCE – Page 59 – Loyola University Chicago School of Law

The New SEC Whistleblower Rules and their Impact on Whistleblower Litigation

October 13, 2020Finance & 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, 2020Compliance 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, 2020Uncategorized

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, 2020Finance & 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, 2020Uncategorized

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, 2020Athletic 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

What is “Vote ‘Yes’ for Fairness” and why is it all over my T.V.?

September 29, 2020Uncategorized

If you live in Illinois, you have likely seen in the past couple of days this vibrant blue commercial at least once or twice. The commercial encourages Illinois voters to “Vote Yes for Fairness” at the polls this November by voting their approval of an amendment to the 1970 Illinois Constitution. The proposed amendment would change the state’s current state income system from a flat tax to a graduated income tax. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker made the adoption of a progressive income tax a centerpiece of his policy agenda in a budget address back in February 2019, and it was geared up to be a focus of election-season debates before the COVID-19 pandemic took precedence. With the Illinois general election less than fifty days away, however, the ‘Vote Yes for Fairness’ campaign has bolstered its attempts at garnering voters’ approval of the proposed amendment.

Fair Tax AmendmentIllinoisJournal of Regulatory Compliancetax

Flint Water Crisis: Where We Go From Here

September 29, 2020Uncategorized

There is poison in the water. The Flint water crisis has ravaged the city of Flint, Michigan, permanently altering how many in the community see the role of government.

On August 20th, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced a $600 million settlement between several state actors and victims of the Flint water crisis. Finally, six years after exposing residents to dangerous levels of lead in the water, the residents of Flint will receive their duly needed compensation. Unfortunately, it may be too little, too late for Flint, and there is little to prevent the crisis from repeating itself elsewhere without deliberate action.

EGLEenvironmental regulationInfrastructureJournal of Regulatory ComplianceLead and Copper Rulewater

Chicago City Council Passes Ordinance Banning Flavored Vaping Products

September 25, 2020Uncategorized

In response to the rise in teenage vaping, and given the link between respiratory issues and COVID-19, the Chicago City Council (“City Council”) passed an ordinance on September 9, 2020 banning the sale of flavored vaping products. Flavored vaping products are targeted to youth and can also mislead them to believe that flavored products are safer than other tobacco products. The City Council originally proposed banning all flavored nicotine products, but after pressure from small business owners, they decided to only pursue a ban on flavored vaping products.

Chicago City CouncilFlavored vaping ordinanceVaping

A Joint Venture: Medical Cannabis and Workers’ Compensation

September 25, 2020Drugs & Devices

In the long standing and highly regulated field of workers’ compensation, a look into the recent landscape of laws, regulations, and court decisions in New Mexico could provide a snapshot into the rapidly accelerating trajectory of medical cannabis regulation within a state’s workers’ compensation system.

Employmentmedical cannabismedical marijuanaNew MexicoPharmaciesWorker's Compensation