Tag:Journal of Regulatory Compliance
The United Nations Response to the Killings in Myanmar is Not Enough
On Saturday, March 27, 2021, as the Myanmar military celebrated the 76th annual Armed Forces Day with a parade, Myanmar police and soldiers killed dozens of citizens. Within the last two months, over 100 civilian pro-democracy protesters have been killed by the Myanmar military.
When the coup started in February, the United Nations (“UN”) condemned the junta. Since then, the UN has taken no action. The UN needs to interject and end the killing and violence against civilians. The UN Security Council or an emergency summit should deny recognition of the Myanmar military as a legitimate government, act to cut off the Myanmar military from funding and access to weapons, and then the International Criminal Court should investigate the killings of civilians.
Federal Bill May Soon Make Privacy Regulation Patchwork a Thing of the Past
Lydia Bayley Associate Editor Loyola University Chicago School of Law, JD 2022 While the COVID-19 pandemic undeniably pushed many legislative agendas to the backburner, some seem to be heating back up. With the 117th Congress now in session, data privacy is once again moving to the forefront of federal legislative debate. For decades, the United States has …
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Illinois House Bill 3498: Telehealth Expansion and Payment Equality
The Coalition to Protect Telehealth and State Representative Deb Conroy of the Illinois 46th House District have introduced legislation that would permanently expand access to telehealth services for Illinoisans. The legislation also details provisions that promote telehealth payment rate partity between telehealth services and in-person care. In a direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth providers have been granted temporary waivers to align their payment rates with those prescribed for traditional care in health care facilities. These waivers have served as stabilizing financial mechanisms for many practitioners experiencing revenue loss due to the restrictions on elective procedures and non-emergency care. The proposed legislation would give patients more freedom to utilize telehealth services by removing the patient responsibilities to demonstrate hardship or access issues.
Life in Illinois One Year into Covid
Molly Franklin Associate Editor Loyola University Chicago School of Law, JD 2022 Covid and its effect on daily life We have now been living in a Covid world for over a year, and Illinois has had many ups and downs in all aspects of life since Covid shut down the world as we knew it. …
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Environmental Groups Fight for Stronger Regulation of Ground-level Ozone Pollution
Daniel Bourgault Journal of Regulatory Compliance Applicant Loyola University of Chicago School of Law, JD 2022 On February 11, 2021, a host of environmental groups filed a Petition for Review with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit challenging a final action of the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) in regard to the review …
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A New Way to Tax Wealth
With Democratic control over the House, Senate, and Presidency for the first time since 2011, President Biden has been ambitious in his efforts to reinvigorate the economy, signing into law a $1.9 trillion economic aid package with plans to increase access to affordable housing and a $3 trillion investment in infrastructure. To finance their legislative agenda, Democrats have several initiatives which would mostly raise taxes for the wealthiest Americans such as Elizabeth Warren’s proposed wealth tax or increasing the maximum income tax rate back to 39.6%, as it was while President Bush was in office.
The “Equality Act” is Still Trying to Garner Equal Support From Both Parties
Last week, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary held its first round of hearings regarding passage of HR 5, known as the “Equality Act.” The Equality Act aims to codify protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. President Biden has continually reiterated his support, urging “Congress to swiftly pass this historic legislation.” While the bill has been introduced multiple times before, its potential impact has changed with the U.S. Supreme Court’s rulings in cases like Bostock v. Clayton Co, which held that terminating a man’s employment because he had a same-sex partner qualified as sex discrimination under Title XII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Rather than rely on the term ‘sex’ as an umbrella encompassing sexual orientation and gender identity, the Equality Act would actually amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act to explicitly prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, in addition to race, color, religion, sex and national origin. For all of these groups, the Equality Act would also go beyond the 1964 Civil Rights Act’s protections in the areas of employment and housing to have a broader reach, by including federally funded programs and “public accommodations,” which can include retail businesses.
The Biggest Upset of March Madness: Unequal Accommodations
A major upset took place on first day of the very much anticipated 2021 National Collegiate Athletic Association (“NCAA”) Division 1 Basketball Tournaments, and I am not referring to any of the games that took place on that day. In the evening of March 18th, University of Oregon Forward Sedona Prince took to social media to expose the evident discrepancies between the weight room facilities for the men’s and women’s tournament facilities. To prevent a coronavirus outbreak, each of the tournaments are taking place in a bubble funded by the NCAA. The video Prince posted showed the women’s tournament weight room which consisted of a single set of dumbbells, then showed the men’s tournament weight room that was supplied with various training equipment. Not only were there massive disparities between the weight rooms for the men’s and women’s tournaments, but there is also a clear and substantial difference in the “swag bags” given to each student athlete participating in the tournament from the NCAA. As well as the quality of food provided to the female student athletes who are competing in the tournament.
The Revised Lead and Copper Rule – Will it make an impact?
In 1991, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act to control lead and copper in drinking water, referred to as the Lead and Copper Rule (LCR). The Rule was created to protect public health by minimizing lead and copper levels in drinking water, primarily by reducing water corrosivity through corrosion control treatment. While implementation of the LCR has resulted in major improvements in public health, there is still much that needs to be done as research continues to show cities today see higher than normal levels of lead in their drinking water.
A Practical Approach to Post-Schrems II Remediation of Cross-Border Data Transfers to the U.S. and Other “High Risk” Third Countries
On July 16, 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) issued its deafening decision that summarily and immediately invalidated the EU-US Privacy Shield. The regulatory program established between the European Council and the U.S. Dept. of Commerce allowed for the transfer of personal data of EU residents to be sent from the EU to the US without violating the data transfer restrictions of the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). The decision went on to cast serious doubt on the sufficiency of standard contractual clauses to adequately protect data transferred to any third country, not just the US. Several months later, data exporters in the EU are still sorting through the wreckage of their privacy programs and waiting for practical advice on the way forward.