The EU recently published a Guidance on Compliance Criteria on Environmental Claims (“Environmental Claims Guidance”). The Guidance is intended to support economic operators and EU Member State enforcement authorities in their application and implementation of the principles of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (“UCP Directive”) to self-declared environmental claims and related graphics and imagery. The
August 2016
FAA Drone Rules Take Effect; Commercial Use of Drones Permitted with Certain Conditions
Welcome to the Drone Age.
The Federal Aviation Administration’s (“FAA”) long-awaited rule on the commercial use of small unmanned aircraft systems (“UAS” or “drones”) took effect Monday, August 29, 2016, providing a comprehensive and generally applicable set of rules for anyone wishing to operate a small drone for commercial purposes.
This does not mean you…
“Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” Final Rule and Guidance Released
Just in time for Labor Day, the Labor Department and FAR Council issued a final rule and accompanying “Guidance” to implement the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order. The new regulations will take effect on October 25, 2016. The regulations—which run to nearly 900 pages—contain a number of changes from the proposed…
Have We Reached A FARA “Tipping Point”?
The New York Times, earlier this month, reported that “secret ledgers” in Ukraine show $12.7 million in cash payments designated for former Donald Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort from Ukraine’s pro-Russian political party. Days later, the Associated Press reported that Manafort helped the pro-Russian party “secretly route at least $2.2 million in payments to…
IRS Provides Guidance on Calculating Intentional Disregard Penalties for Paper Filings
Earlier this month, the IRS announced in interim guidance that it would amend Section 20.1.7 of the Internal Revenue Manual to provide a methodology for the calculation of intentional disregard penalties under Section 6721 for filers who fail to file information returns electronically when required. In general, filers of more than 250 information returns are…
JAMA Study Finds Low Rate of Digital Health Technology Use Among Seniors
A research letter published this month in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that only a small fraction of seniors in the United States use digital health technology. The authors applied statistical analysis to data gleaned from a nationally representative sample of Medicare beneficiaries age 65 and older. In 2011, 16% of seniors…
China Releases Draft Implementing Regulations for Consumer Rights Protection Law
By John Balzano
Against the backdrop of a long string of product safety scandals that have eroded public trust, and a desire to transition China’s economy from an export-driven model to a consumption-driven model, the Chinese government continues to enhance its legal framework for the protection of consumer rights. On August 5, China’s State Administration of Industry and…
Sixth Circuit Allows Lawsuit to Proceed Against Electronic Monitoring Software Company
In a 2-1 decision on August 16, the Sixth Circuit refused to dismiss a claim against the maker of an online surveillance tool for wiretapping under both federal and state laws, and for intrusion against seclusion. While the breadth of this holding is unclear, and the case may be an outlier, the Sixth Circuit’s reasoning…
Take Two: Proposed DFARS Commercial Item Rule Still Fails to Rein in Contracting Officer Discretion
On August 11, 2016, the Department of Defense (“DoD”) published a revised proposed rule to amend the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (“DFARS”) to implement sections of the National Defense Authorization Acts for Fiscal Years 2013 and 2016 relating to commercial item acquisitions. This proposed rule replaces the rule that DoD proposed last August and…
ISDC Reports a “Plateauing” in Suspension and Debarment Activity
Each year, the Interagency Suspension and Debarment Committee (ISDC) reports to Congress on the status of the Federal suspension and debarment system. With its mission of assisting agencies to build and maintain efficient and effective suspension and debarment activities, the ISDC is uniquely situated to provide comments and insight on the status of suspension and…