INSIDE COMPLIANCE – Page 68 – Loyola University Chicago School of Law

DHS’s Partnership with Private Industries Leads to a Crackdown of Fraudulent Behavior During the Pandemic

September 15, 2020Fraud & Abuse

After the COVID-19 pandemic spread to the U.S. in February of 2020, there was a surge in fraudulent behavior as criminals took advantage of the fear revolving around the pandemic to profit from selling defective goods and scamming the public. This has resulted in the loss of millions of dollars by the public. Scammers will continue to benefit and take advantage of the public until the government steps in and takes preventative measures to stop this criminal behavior during the pandemic.

complianceCOVID-19cyber fraudDHSfraud and abuseJournal of Regulatory ComplianceRegulation

CMS Issues New Rigid COVID-19 Requirements for Skilled Nursing Facilities

September 15, 2020Uncategorized

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released new guidance for skilled nursing facilities (“SNFs”) as part of a larger rulemaking agenda for healthcare institutions in the throes of the current public health emergency with COVID-19. CMS has also detailed the fines for non-compliance with the new COVID-19 requirements for SNFs and other healthcare institutions such as hospitals and laboratories.

CDCCMScomplianceCOVID-19Data ReportingHealth InsurancehealthcareHHSmedicarepublic healthRegulationrulemakingTrump Administration

High-Frequency Trading and its Need for Increased Regulation

September 15, 2020Finance & Banking

With the rapid innovation of technology penetrating our lives comes the need for increased regulation on the industries that are being impacted, and the stock market is no different. In the late nineties, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the use of an electronic stock exchange system and by 1998, they authorized the use of High- Frequency Trading (HFT). HFT is a method of electronic stock trading where the trader uses high powered technology to complete automated trading at a large volume and speed. Because these trades are not made by people, but instead computers, they can be executed within millionths of a second. As the speed that HFTs have allowed for stocks to be traded at has decreased over time, their popularity has increased. By 2012, it was estimated that HFT accounted for almost 50 percent of all U.S. equity trades. Their popularity is contributed to HFT’s ability to allow traders to ensure they have the most up to date information on the market and ensure that they get the lowest price. This gives traders the power to buy and sell at high speeds, increasing liquidity in the market.

High-Frequency TradingJournal of Regulatory ComplianceSEC

Will Special Education litigation amid the COVID-19 pandemic actually achieve the result your child needs?

September 3, 2020Uncategorized

Preparing for the 2020-21 school year has been exceptionally challenging for students, teachers, and administrators than in years past. This year, not only will schools be battling the challenges presented in the return to in-person learning, there is also a growing concern that school districts and educational service agencies will face unparalleled rates of litigation for their inability to meet requirements under the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA) during the months of remote learning. The IDEA guarantees eligible students with disabilities a “free appropriate public education” (FAPE). This Act also provides the right for parents to file a complaint through a due process hearing for when they believe their child is not being provided with a FAPE.

EducationIDEALitigationSchool DistrictsSpecial Education

K-12 Schools Returning In-Person During COVID-19

September 3, 2020Uncategorized

During February 2020, COVID-19 hit the United States and disrupted many lives all throughout the country. Many states shut down most businesses, stores, and restaurants except for all essential services. By March, schools were forced to create unconventional forms of teaching methods for the remainder of the school year such as e-learning and sending students lesson packets for the week. As the school year approaches, many school districts are still determining their instruction mode for the upcoming school year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provided guidelines to reopening schools and advised school districts to work closely with local and state health officials to determine the best practices for reopening.

CDCcomplianceCOVID-19EducationJournal of Regulatory Compliance

Privacy Lessons Learned from Litigation: The unfair and deceptive practices lawsuit against Zoom

September 3, 2020Uncategorized

Yet another privacy and data security-related lawsuit has been filed against Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (“Zoom Inc.”). Zoom Inc. has been the subject of several complaints related to its video-conferencing service since its meteoric and spectacular rise in popularity due to the Coronavirus pandemic and related quarantine measures beginning in March 2020. In this particular case, there are compliance lessons to be learned from the unfair and deceptive practices claims alleged against Zoom Inc. in the plaintiff’s D.C. Superior Court filing.

compliance programCOVID-19data privacyJournal of Regulatory CompliancePrivacy & Security

The NEPA: Environmental Impact Statements, Compliance, and an Impending Threat to Environmental Regulation

September 2, 2020Uncategorized

On March 25, 2020, a judge for the United States District Court in the District of Columbia held that the Army Corp of Engineers (hereinafter the Corp) failed to comply with the standards of the National Environmental Policy Act (hereinafter “the Act”) by failing to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) before deciding to approve federal permits for construction of a portion of the Dakota Access Pipeline which ran under the Mississippi River. The ruling came four years after the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe brought the original action in 2016. The Act is meant to ensure the public that agencies have considered the environmental consequences of a potential project before going forward with it, and so requires agencies to consider any and every significant environmental impact that could result from the project through completion of an Environmental Assessment, and, in some cases, an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

complianceDAPLenvironmentalenvironmental impact statementenvironmental regulationJournal of Regulatory CompliancenepaStanding Rock

USPS and Delivering for America Act

September 2, 2020Uncategorized

On Saturday, August 22nd, the US House of Representatives voted on a new bill introduced, known as the Delivering for America Act. This legislation would prohibit the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) from making changes to operations or levels of service from those that were in effect on January 1, 2020. Specifically, the USPS may not, during the period beginning on enactment of the bill and ending on the last day of the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency or January 1, 2021, whichever is later, implement or approve any change to the operations or the level of service that would impede prompt, reliable, and efficient services.

2020 Presidential ElectionDelivering for America ActRegulationUSPS

One Ballot, One Vote? Fears Amass Surrounding Mail-in Voting in 2020 Election

September 1, 2020Uncategorized

Mail-in voting has been in the forefront this election season due to persistent COVID-19 concerns. Tensions exist between those who claim that mail-in voting is a safe and valid alternative to in-person voting and those who argue that it will lead to widespread voter fraud and inaccurate election results. Illinois was recently front and center in this national discussion when a Facebook post went viral, asserting that an Illinois couple who received multiple ballot applications could submit them all and vote multiple times without anyone knowing. Far from true, such misconceptions have many questioning how states will monitor mail-in voting to ensure that it remains an effective option in this crucial election.

compliancefraudJournal of Regulatory ComplianceRegulationTrump AdministrationVoting Rights

Financial Regulation During COVID-19

September 1, 2020Finance & Banking, Fraud & Abuse

Coronavirus (COVID-19) has shaken the world economy, not the least of which the financial industry. As the financial industry has adapted to work-from-home life under the coronavirus pandemic, industry regulators such as the SEC and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) have been forced to adapt rules to changing circumstances and shift their enforcement priorities to pandemic related fraud.

COVID-19financial regulationFINRAfraudJournal of Regulatory ComplianceRegulationSEC