Tag:Journal of Regulatory Compliance
Six Years Later – Is the Chicago Police Consent Decree Working?
Six years ago, the City of Chicago (the City) entered into a consent decree establishing a framework for sweeping reform of the policies and operations of the Chicago Police Department and the City. This major reform effort was initiated after Chicago police officers shot and killed 17-year-old Laquan McDonald in 2014. Chicago’s consent decree is aimed at addressing concerns in several areas, especially police accountability and officer misconduct. Oversight is done by the Independent Monitoring Team, which reviews and assesses the City’s compliance. After almost six and a half years, the City is nowhere close to fulfilling the requirements. Even worse, Chicagoans have little faith that the City will ever reach full compliance.
Breaching the Last Bastion of the Human Psyche: Neural Data as Biometrics
Earlier this year, the New York Times reported on the proposed Colorado Privacy Act and the impact it would have on neurotechnology which uses “neural data” and already has noteworthy support within programming communities. What the Colorado Privacy Act aims to address are not the labs and medical studies conducted within clinics, but how it may be used within a consumer context. The Colorado Privacy Act does more than Illinois’ pioneer Biometric Information Protection Act (BIPA).
Generative AI- The Next Frontier in Fighting Financial Crime
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the latest tool in a financial institution’s arsenal to restrict the flow of money being channeled to fund illegal activities worldwide. As criminals get more innovative and sophisticated in using the latest technology to evade detection of their financial crimes, financial institutions must follow suit and utilize similar technology to root out these crimes or risk facing regulatory sanctions. Money laundering generally refers to financial transactions in which criminals, including terrorist organizations, attempt to disguise the proceeds of their illicit activities by making the funds appear to have come from a legitimate source. However, this is not a new phenomenon. Congress passed the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) in 1970 to ensure financial institutions follow a set of guidelines known as KYC (Know Your Customer/Client) to detect and prevent money laundering through their systems.
No Post Hoc Justification for Submitting False Claims
On June 1, 2023, in a unanimous opinion, the United States Supreme Court ruled in United States et al. ex rel. Schutte et al. v. Supervalu Inc. et al. and United States et al. ex rel. Proctor v. Safe-way, Inc. that the scienter element of the False Claims Act (FCA) refers to a defendant’s knowledge and subjective beliefs. Supervalu and Safeway knew they were charging government health insurance programs more for prescription drugs than what they usually and customarily charging regular customers, in violation of the FCA.
Regulatory Implications of the FTC’s Proposed Ban on Noncompete Clauses
The landscape of post-termination benefits and rights for employees is continuously evolving. In recent developments, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has proposed a rule that could significantly change the dynamics of the job market by seeking to ban noncompete clauses. This proposal impacts businesses and employees and intersects with other regulatory frameworks, calling for an integrated perspective on its implications.
Florida’s War on “Woke” – First Amendment Concerns and the Stop “W.O.K.E” Act
Florida recently passed the “Stop W.O.K.E” Act (Senate Bill 147 / House Bill 7) (The “Act”), effectively banning public colleges in the state from using funds on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. Florida’s governor and current Presidential candidate, Ron Desantis, defines W.O.K.E as “Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees”. The passing of this legislation follows another highly controversial piece of legislation passed earlier this year, Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, that largely bars Florida educators from discussing LGBTQIA+ topics with students. Governor Desantis has led an aggressive campaign against academic freedom to combat a perceived “woke indoctrination in [U.S] schools, that is a road to ruin for this country”. The implementation of this legislation brings up valid concerns regarding the First Amendment rights of the State’s educators and population at large.
New Rule Proposed by the EPA to Clean Up Coal Waste in the Midwest
On May 18, 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a new rule to address the concern of a previous loophole that allowed pits of coal ash to sit inactive and unmonitored. The new proposed rule was created in response to the August 21, 2018 opinion by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in Utility Solid Waste Activities v. EPA.
SEC Proposes Changes to Adviser Custody Rule
On February 15, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed an enhanced safeguarding rule for registered investment advisers (RIAs) under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The proposal would require RIAs to implement certain additional measures to protect their clients’ assets from theft or misuse. Additionally, to combat the growing concerns around cryptocurrency and to modernize the Advisers Act, the SEC proposal would expand protection to all assets, not just funds or securities.
Ninth Increase in Banking Interest Rates
Taelor Thornton Associate Editor Loyola University Chicago School of Law, JD 2024 During this long battle with inflation, the Federal Reserve (the Fed) has now raised the interest rates by a quarter for the ninth time in a year. In February 2023, the Fed increased the rates by a quarter from 4.75% to 5%. Rates …
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Senate Enjoys Rare Bipartisan Moment, Seeks to Punish Silicon Valley Bank Executives
n March 17, 2023, following the second-largest bank collapse in U.S. history, President Biden released a statement urging Congress to allow financial regulators to impose tougher penalties on the executives of failed banks. Encouragingly, on March 29–just twelve days later–the Senate proposed bipartisan legislation, dubbed the Failed Bank Executives Clawback Act (FBECA), which would grant the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) clawback authority to confiscate all or part of the compensation received by bank executives in the five years leading up a bank’s failure.