Tag:Regulation
The Ableist and Racist Public Charge Rule
The Public Charge Rule perpetuates anti-immigrant sentiment and keeps poor, disabled migrants who were often Black, Brown, and ethnically oppressed out of the United States. It makes pathways to citizenship contingent upon wealth and the absence of disability. As the Autistic Self Advocacy Network puts it, the Public Charge Rule is a “clear echo of the racist and ableist policies of the eugenics era.”
FDA-USPTO Collaboration and Bipartisan Efforts to Lower Drug Prices
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has partnered with the Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to address the high cost of prescription drugs. While the FDA possesses the authority to approve generic, lower cost drugs, the USPTO has an important and symbiotic role in bringing affordable drugs to market by blocking anti-competitive patent extensions. FDA-USPTO collaboration has gained congressional support and is the subject of key pieces of new legislation.
From Beans to Banking
Starbucks. What comes to mind? Expensive coffee in a nice atmosphere? Mermaids? A warm pumpkin spice latte? Perhaps. However, the words “billion-dollar bank” likely do not cross anyone’s mind. As wild as it seems, the huge coffee company actually has $1.5 billion in assets, an amount larger than eighty-five percent of the banks in the United States. Not only is Starbucks flush with cash, but, unlike actual banks, it can use this money to invest in other ventures, invest in the marketplace, or expand its business. This begs the question, is Starbucks merely a coffee company or will it join the ranks of Bank of America and Citibank?
Nevada Limited English Proficiency Consumer Law Taking Effect October 1, 2021
A new Nevada law will take effect October 1, 2021 aimed at ensuring that all consumers are protected from unfair and deceptive business acts and practices, regardless of their proficiency with the English language.
New Body-Worn Camera Requirements in Effect for New Jersey Police
On June 1, 2021, a new policy went into effect in New Jersey, requiring police officers to wear body cameras. In November 2020, Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation mandating and regulating law enforcement officers’ use of body-worn cameras during encounters with the public. Specifically, the governor signed two bills: S1163 and A4312. The former establishes the requirement for officers to wear body-cameras, while the latter regulates their use. These bills have received support from both law enforcement officials and civilians.
Professional Sports Leagues and Vaccine Mandates
Following President Biden’s announcement mandating vaccinations for companies with over one hundred employees, major professional sports leagues may be required to ensure compliance with the mandate. This mandate has the potential to have sweeping implications throughout professional sports, from the athletes, to staff and even spectators. The NFL, NBA, and MLB all have high vaccination rates among their players and the staff that works closely with them, since many teams have already mandated that players and those working in “close proximity” to them be vaccinated. However, their back-office staff are less protected, as those employees have yet to be subjected to strict protocols of the rest of the leagues. Despite these high vaccination rates among athletes and certain staff members, the leagues have been reluctant to institute absolute mandates. But that doesn’t mean that athletes don’t still have a responsibility not only to get vaccinated but also encourage others to do so as well.
The Bulls vs. The Bears: The Legality of Short Selling “Stonks”
The Bears of Wall Street have always used their paws to swipe down on financially weak companies by further driving down their stock price. However, the Bulls, recently led by retail investors and Wall Street Bet users, have begun thrusting their horns up into the air to lead an attack on bearish institutions by forcing them to buy back the “Stonks” that they shorted. This stock trading phenomenon, backed with the subjective ethical obligation to protect the little guy on Wall Street, is called the “The Short Squeeze.” While the Bears’ strategy of short selling stocks in the financial market faces public criticism, it is entirely legal. Therefore, financial regulators should encourage these millennial Bulls to take precautions in understanding the legality of trading strategies in the free market.
The Questions of Scotland’s Independence: The Rise of Scottish Nationalism, Trade Concerns, and the Future of Economic Regulatory Policies
Collectively, four countries make up the United Kingdom (U.K.), including England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. In 2016, an overwhelming number of Scottish citizens voted to remain in the European Union (E.U.) during the U.K. referendum, which resulted in a 51.89 percent vote in favor to leave. After departing from the E.U. in January of 2020, Scottish industries suffered economic losses due to the ‘red tape’ policies imposed by the U.K., making it more difficult to sell Scottish products to E.U. member countries. As a result, Scotland’s independence and nationalist movement grew exponentially, with forty-five of the fifty-nine Scottish seats in the House of Commons going to the Scottish Nationalist Party, with strong support of seceding from the U.K. Additionally, in 2019, Scotland’s Parliament reconvened for the first time since 1707, signaling the Scotland’s desire for self-autonomy and sovereignty. The possibility of seceding poses questions over the future of economic and social regulatory policies for an independent Scotland.
Security Awareness — Not Just an IT and Compliance Responsibility
Since the start of 2021, cyber-attacks have dominated headlines across every industry. From governments and government organizations, healthcare companies, and banks, to gaming companies and oil pipelines, ransomware has impacted organizations of all types and sizes. The scale and scope of these attacks have continued to grow and have far reaching consequences. Despite current agency attempts to strengthen cybersecurity through regulation, individual users continue to pose a serious threat due to insufficient security education.
Skewed Success: Self-Regulation of Artificial Reproductive Technology in the US
In the United States, Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) is predominantly self-regulated by a network of medical agencies that publish guidelines. ART refers generally to any fertility procedure where eggs or embryos are handled. ART clinics are not federally funded, and there is no specific national legislation that establishes a clear regulatory framework about the standard of operations, the quality-of-care patients should be provided with, the permissible uses of ART, or recourse for patients who have not benefited from their financial investments in ART. There are minimum standards set forth by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA), which require strict compliance before patients can consult and use clinics’ ART services including the use of pharmaceutical products. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also oversees truthful advertising and marketing practices within ART to ensure that clinics’ reports of success are consistent with their patient data. All states require that physicians obtain a license before providing care, and physicians are subject to investigation by state boards. Aside from this general regulation for safety and transparency, the only explicit regulation targeting the ART industry is the United States Fertility Clinic Success Rate and Certification Act, mandating all US fertility clinics to report their ART cycles performed to the Center for Disease Control (CDC). The data collected through this reporting act is governed by the NASS 2.0 (National Assisted Reproductive Technology Surveillance System), which is a collaborative surveillance system between the CDC, and private stakeholders. Self-reported data to NASS 2.0 is verified by comparing information from a patient’s medical record with data submitted for the report.