The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has proposed significant amendments to the Health Breach Notification Rule (HBNR) in response to the rapid evolvement of health apps and other health related technologies. These changes aim to strengthen and modernize the rule, ensuring that consumers' health data are protected and that companies provide timely notifications when breaches occur.

On June 27, 2023, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated the “Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination Is Illegal” poster. Significantly, the new poster includes information about the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which was signed into law on December 29, 2022. PWFA requires covered employers to provide “reasonable accommodations” to a worker’s known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless the accommodation causes the employer an “undue hardship.” The PWFA also requires covered employers to post a notice describing the law’s protections. This Act does not replace any federal, state, or local law that may be more protective of workers affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. 

On June 27, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a sharply divided opinion that appears to backtrack on the Court’s steady trajectory away from assertions of general jurisdiction in recent years, e.g. Goodyear Dunlop Tires Operations, S.A. v. Brown, 564 U.S. 915, 919 (2011), Daimler AG v. Bauman, 134 S. Ct. 746 (2014), BNSF Railway Co. v. Tyrrell, 2017, 137 S. Ct. 1549 (2017). Relying on a case from 1917, Pennsylvania Fire Ins. Co. of Philadelphia v. Gold Issue Mining & Milling Co., 243 U. S. 93 (1917), Justice Gorsuch, writing on behalf of the plurality, (Justices Gorsuch, Thomas, Sotomayor, and Jackson) (Justice Alito concurring) found that Norfolk Southern “consented” to jurisdiction in Mallory via 42 Pa. Cons. Stat. §5301(a)(2)(i),(b) by registering to do business in Pennsylvania. This statute, 42 Pa. Cons. Stat. §5301, specifically permits jurisdiction over a corporation “incorporat[ed] under or qualifi[ed]as a foreign corporation under the laws of this Commonwealth … for any cause of action that may asserted against him, whether or not arising from acts enumerated in this section.”

On June 4, 2023, President Putin instructed the government of the Russian Federation to use proceeds from the “exit tax,” which foreigners from “unfriendly” states pay when selling their Russia assets, for subsidies to the Industry Development Fund and for funding research and development projects to develop “priority industrial goods,” including reverse engineering.

In a recent decision, the Kentucky Supreme Court placed stricter limitations on the opinions that biomechanical engineers may offer at trials in Kentucky courts. Specifically, the published opinion issued in Renot v. Securea, Supreme Ins. Co., 2023 Ky. LEXIS 163, recognizes a new space for the testimony of biomechanics experts – “The Goldilocks Zone.”

In Sarah Gregory and New Prime, Inc. v. Jaswinder Chohan, et al., ___S.W.3d ___, No. 21-0017, 2023 Tex. LEXIS 528 (June 16, 2023), the Texas Supreme Court reversed and remanded a $15 million non-economic damages award in a wrongful death suit where there was no evidence to support the amount of the award.

In a joint enforcement effort, the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed civil penalties totaling over $3.3 million on Microsoft Corporation. The penalties were issued to resolve alleged and apparent violations of U.S. export controls and sanctions laws. Microsoft voluntarily disclosed the violations, cooperated with the investigation, and implemented remedial measures. This alert explores the details of the case and its implications for technology companies operating through foreign subsidiaries.

The Colorado legislature concluded the 2023 Legislative Session on May 8, 2023. As in prior years, the legislature passed several new employment-related bills that significantly expand employee protections and increase compliance burdens on Colorado employers. Governor Jared Polis recently signed many of these bills into law, so the compliance clock is now running.

There are over $300 billion dollars' worth of Russian assets from Russia's central bank that have been frozen by the United States and its allies, though it will take further authority from Congress to attach the assets that have been seized or frozen. Seizures by the Russian Elites, Proxies, and Oligarchs Task Force (REPO Task Force), as part of a coordinated multilateral effort, are authorized in the U.S. under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), 50 U.S.C. §§1701–1707. However, the IEEPA does not allow the U.S. Government to take ownership over the assets (as it is not a “vesting” statute), unless the U.S. is “engaged in armed hostilities or has been attacked by a foreign country or foreign nationals.” This is not the current state of the conflict in Ukraine.

On June 16, 2023, the Rhode Island General Assembly wrapped up its 2023 legislative session. As in previous years, the General Assembly passed several new employment-related bills that expand employee protections and increase compliance burdens on Rhode Island employers. Governor Daniel McKee is expected to sign these bills into law in the coming days.