By Caleb Skeath
Earlier this week, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs held its first hearing of the new Congress, entitled “Protecting America from Cyber Attacks: The Importance of Information Sharing.” The hearing focused in large part on the White House’s recent information sharing proposal, which would protect private entities from…
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in M&G Polymers USA v. Tackett, addressing the question whether a collective bargaining agreement is presumed to provide vested retiree medical benefits. Unlike pension benefits, welfare benefits, such as retiree medical coverage, are not subject to statutory vesting rules under ERISA. Accordingly, whether an employer…
By Fredericka Argent
The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has announced that it is looking to introduce a system of “privacy seals” for organizations doing business in the UK. The seal is intended to be a consumer-facing stamp of approval demonstrating that a particular organization is meeting or surpassing the compliance requirements of the UK’s Data Protection…
On Wednesday, January 28, 2015, better known as “Data Protection Day,” the Belgian Under-Secretary for Data Protection Bart Tommelein called for the creation of an EU Data Protection Authority. He intends to present this position of the Belgian Government to the informal meeting of Ministers of Justice and of the Interior in Riga (Latvia). The…
Covington has recently learned that, for the first time ever, the CPA-Zicklin Index, which ranks companies’ political disclosure practices, plans to issue rankings for all 500 companies in the S&P 500 Index. This is a significant expansion of the Index, which will impact many public companies that have not previously been subject to intense scrutiny…
Yesterday, the Federal Trade Commission released a staff report on the Internet of Things (“IoT”) that provides best practice recommendations for addressing privacy and security risks associated with IoT products and services. The report, Internet of Things: Privacy & Security in a Connected World, also summarizes findings from the FTC’s 2013 IoT workshop. …
This morning, the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, chaired by Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX), held a hearing to determine what elements should be included in federal data breach legislation. Despite the momentum for legislation created by high-profile breaches at retailers like Target and Home Depot, and most recently at Sony, ongoing efforts in…
On January 15, 2015, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (“SIGAR”) released a new report, Department of Defense: More Than 75 Percent of All SIGAR Audit and Inspection Report Recommendations Have Been Implemented (“SIGAR Report”). At 86 pages, the SIGAR Report might be expected to robustly catalogue and analyze how the Department of…
The UK’s next General Election will be on 7 May 2015, and with neither the Conservatives nor Labour having a clear lead in the opinion polls, the outcome is difficult to predict (see our earlier post on this topic). Ordinarily, the economy is the key battleground topic for General Elections, but recent polls suggest that…
Electricity consumption in the United States has generally declined in recent years, due in part to the quiet success of several energy efficiency standards. In 2013, for instance, the average amount of electricity used in American homes fell to 2001 levels, despite consumers using more products that require electricity.
Building on this success,…
