Now that the COVID 19 pandemic seems to be – at least temporarily – under control, competition authorities in Europe have gone back to performing dawn raids on companies in the second half of 2021.
December 2021
New California Workplace Laws for 2022
Governor Newsom has signed a number of workplace laws that take effect on January 1, 2022. Here’s a rundown on key provisions:…
New York City Announces Workplace COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement
Pursuant to a new Order issued by New York City’s Commissioner of Health and Mental Hygiene, beginning December 27 workers in New York City who perform in-person work or interact with the public in the course of their work must provide proof of at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccination before entering the workplace. …
U.S. AI and IoT Legislative Update – Year-End 2021
As 2021 comes to a close, we will be sharing the key legislative and regulatory updates for artificial intelligence (“AI”), the Internet of Things (“IoT”), connected and automated vehicles (“CAVs”), and privacy this month. Lawmakers introduced a range of proposals to regulate AI, IoT, CAVs, and privacy as well as appropriate funds to study developments…
FCA Defendants May Be Able to Recover Attorney Fees Under Their Fixed-Price Contracts, At Least For Now
If a contractor is working on a fixed-price contract, can it charge the government for attorney’s fees to defend a False Claim Act (“FCA”) case related to the contract?
In The Tolliver Group, Inc. v. United States (Fed. Cl. Jan. 22, 2020), the Court of Federal Claims (“COFC”) said the answer was “yes,” if…
DoD Releases Updated CMMC Program Documentation
The Department of Defense (DoD) released key documentation relating to Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) 2.0 over the past several weeks, including (1) a CMMC 2.0 Model Overview document, (2) CMMC Self-Assessment Scopes for Level 1 and 2 assessments/certifications, (3) CMMC Assessment Guides for Level 1 and 2 attestations/certifications, and (4) the CMMC Artifact Hashing…
Inside Privacy Audiocast: Episode 17 – Children’s Privacy Developments
On Episode 17 of Covington’s Inside Privacy Audiocast, Dan Cooper, Sam Choi, Danielle Kehl and Nick Shepherd discuss the developments related to children’s privacy, looking at relevant legislation, standards, and guidelines in the UK, the EU, and the U.S., and zooming in on some child-specific topics such as age thresholds and age verification,…
U.S. and Australia Sign CLOUD Act Agreement
On December 15, 2021, the United States and Australia signed an agreement on cross-border law enforcement demands for data from service providers (“Agreement”). The Agreement is the second bilateral agreement to be entered into under the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (CLOUD) Act, following the U.S.-UK agreement in 2019.…
SAMR Releases Draft Regulations on Review of Food Manufacturing Licenses
By Muyun Hu
On November 16, 2021, SAMR released for comment draft regulations entitled “General Rules for Food Manufacturing License Review (2021)” (the “2021 Draft” or the “Draft”). The 2021 Draft sets forth the license review scheme for food varieties that are difficult to classify, such as new food raw materials or foods in new forms that emerge…
Foreign Direct Investment Regulation: EU M&A after one year of the FDI Regulation
In M&A and other transactions, conditions associated with foreign direct investment (“FDI”) filings are becoming more common place, and investors are adjusting to the diligence, disclosure and time associated with obtaining FDI clearances. In the EU, the introduction of wider-ranging FDI laws has been rapid, and freshly empowered national regulators in the Member States are…