The Federal Trade Commission will host a workshop on December 4, 2013 in Washington, DC to examine so-called “native advertising.” This term refers to the practice of blending advertisements with news, entertainment, and other content in digital media and is sometimes also referred to as “sponsored content.” As an FTC blog post explains, “[w]hatever the
September 2013
Senate Judiciary Committee Approves Media Shield Law
By Kurt Wimmer and Jeff Kosseff
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved a bill that would prevent federal prosecutors, agencies and civil litigants from forcing journalists to reveal their confidential sources without court approval.
In a 13-5 vote, the committee approved S. 987, the Free Flow of Information Act (FFIA), which is sponsored…
CA Passes Legislation Requiring Search Warrant For Disclosure of Stored Content
Continuing a flurry of recent legislative activity (see posts here and here), the California legislature on Tuesday passed a bill requiring that California law enforcement agencies obtain a search warrant to compel the production of communications content (e.g., emails and social media messages) from providers of electronic communication services. A service provider may provide stored…
Department of Labor Confirms No Penalty For Failing to Provide Exchange Notice
By Inside Jobs
The Affordable Care Act requires employers to provide to employees a written notice about public health exchanges (now called Health Insurance Marketplaces). The Department of Labor issued a frequently asked question today confirming that employers subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) should provide the notice by October 1, 2013, but there is no…
New Opinion Examines Terminated Employee’s Access to Confidential Information
A Virginia federal court opinion issued this week illustrates the hazards of allowing employees to retain access to confidential company information after they learn of their termination.
On November 3, 2011, ECS Federal, Inc. informed Jacqueline Marsteller, a senior vice president and account executive, that she would be terminated effective at the end of the…
Plan Documents Should Not Be Rewritten When an SPD Does Not Disclose Wear-Away, Industry Groups Say
In an amicus brief filed last week, the ERISA Industry Committee and Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America stated that a court should not rewrite a plan document, or penalize the administrator who follows the plan document, merely because a summary plan description does not disclose wear-away in pension accruals (although it did…
Health Coverage Reporting Rules Create New Burdens for Employers
The IRS has released proposed regulations that implement two significant new reporting requirements for employer group health plans. Employers and insurers that provide minimum essential health coverage must report information to the IRS about the coverage provided to each individual for each month, with a copy of the statement to the individual. Employers with at…
Courts Recognize First Amendment Right to Social Media Use
A North Carolina appellate court recently held that a statewide ban on sex offenders’ access to social media violates the First Amendment. The opinion is the latest in a string of recent federal and state court decisions to recognize a First Amendment right to access social media.
In 2008, North Carolina’s General Assembly enacted the…
Federal Court Blocks Enforcement of Canadian Defamation Judgment
The recently enacted federal ban on libel tourism is making it more difficult for plaintiffs to sue U.S. defendants in countries that afford weaker free speech protections. Last week, in the first federal appellate opinion to apply the new statute, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that plaintiffs cannot collect damages…
New Jersey Restricts Employer Access to Employees’ Personal Online Accounts
New Jersey has enacted restrictions on the ability of employers to access employees’ social media accounts, becoming the twelfth state to enact such legislation. More than 30 state legislatures have considered bills on the topic in 2013, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
New Restrictions in New Jersey
New Jersey’s new law
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