As 2025 begins, we highlight the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)’s litigation focus in fiscal year 2024. Despite the upcoming change in presidential administrations, we do not anticipate immediate changes within the EEOC. The EEOC Commission members are presidential appointees serving five-year staggered terms. There is currently one vacancy, and the first expiration of a term will be in July 2025.

During fiscal year 2024, the EEOC filed 110 employment discrimination lawsuits. These lawsuits demonstrated a trend of what the EEOC characterizes as an effort to protect vulnerable employees, address emerging issues, and challenge systemic harassment, all in accordance with the EEOC’s Strategic Enforcement Plan (SEP) released for fiscal years 2024 to 2028.

Recent legal developments have profoundly affected the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”). In light of these changes, we provide this focused update on compliance expectations resulting from the latest court rulings. This alert provides a concise overview of the current status of the CTA, including recent court decisions, FinCEN’ response, and compliance considerations for businesses.

On December 21, 2024, Governor Hochul vetoed the proposed "Grieving Families Act" legislation for the third year in a row.

The proposed law would have substantially amended New York's Estates, Powers and Trusts Law 5-4.1 and related statutes. Among other things, it would have expanded the types of damages that can be recovered in a wrongful death action to include grief or anguish caused by the death of another person. The Act would also have expanded the classes of claimants who could recover, to include anyone who had an "in loco parentis" relationship with the deceased. The Act would also have extended the statute of limitations from two to three years.

Recent legal developments have significantly impacted the enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”), with a nationwide preliminary injunction issued, affecting all reporting companies. Here’s what you need to know about the current legal landscape and how it may affect your compliance obligations.

On Dec. 13, the North Carolina Supreme Court issued decisions in two COVID-19 business interruption coverage cases that will have far-reaching consequences for carriers doing business in the state. In one of the rulings, the state high court bucked an overwhelming national trend by holding that businesses’ inability to access or fully use their properties due to government shutdown orders may constitute a “direct physical loss” under an “all risk” property policy, while in the other, it found that a "contamination" exclusion barred coverage for losses resulting from the pandemic.

The rise of ransomware attacks has significantly impacted the cryptocurrency payment ecosystem. Cybercriminals often demand payments in cryptocurrency due to its pseudonymous nature and global accessibility. However, for businesses facilitating such transactions, including cryptocurrency payment vendors, this environment presents not only operational challenges but also complex legal and regulatory risks. Chief among these risks is the necessity of complying with U.S. sanctions, particularly those targeting various ransomware groups.

On November 13, 2024, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) amended several Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), including numbers 61-65, 68, 69, and 102-104. OFAC also published two new insurance-related FAQs, which are 1199 and 1200. Below please find a summary of these new and amended FAQs.

On December 3, 2024, Judge Amos L. Mazzant of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas granted a request for a nationwide preliminary injunction preventing the federal government from enforcing the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) and its implementing regulations. The injunction stays the new law’s compliance deadline of January 1, 2025, for all reporting companies.