The landscape of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) training initiatives in the workplace is evolving rapidly. Within the last several years, we saw an increase in DEI training and corporate/client encouragement for such training initiatives. Recently, however, Title VII plaintiffs - mainly white males - are now challenging aspects of DEI training with some success. These recent DEI Title VII cases illustrate how DEI initiatives, while well-intentioned, can inadvertently expose employers to legal liabilities if not carefully implemented.
Read moreThis month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit will hear a challenge to a recently-enacted Florida law, Senate Bill 264, which restricts foreign ownership or investment in Florida real property from specific countries and imposes a near ban on property purchases by Chinese, Russian and other foreign nationals.
Read moreIn the realm of intellectual property and privacy rights, California stands at the forefront with robust legislation protecting individuals' right of publicity. The California Civil Code, specifically section 3344, outlines the unauthorized use of a personality's name, voice, signature, photograph, or likeness. This statute imposes liability on any individual or entity that exploits these attributes without prior consent, ensuring that damages, profits from the unauthorized use, and punitive damages can be sought by the injured party.
Read moreCalifornia employers should be aware of and prepare for the implementation of Senate Bill 553, Occupational Safety: workplace violence: restraining orders and workplace violence prevention plan. This bill continues to forge the way towards hefty employer obligations in the Golden State, requiring that employers prepare, implement and train employees on detailed violence prevention plans by July 1, 2024. Are we surprised? Sadly, no.
Read moreOn March 26, the People’s Republic of China (“China”), through its Ministry of Commerce, issued a statement that it had notified the World Trade Organization (the “WTO”) of its intent to invoke the organization’s dispute settlement procedures regarding the impact of the United States’ Inflation Reduction Act’s (the “IRA”) tax incentives for new electric vehicles and other green energy-related provisions.
Read moreIn the context of artificial intelligence, "scraping" refers to the process of extracting data from websites for use in training AI models. This data extraction is typically done through web scraping techniques, where specific information — including personal identifying information like names, addresses, phone numbers, and more — is gathered from websites and then used to create datasets that are utilized to train AI tools. This practice involves copying and gathering data from the web into a central database or spreadsheet for later analysis or retrieval.
Read moreFollowing up on its Tri-Seal Compliance Note last year cracking down on third-party intermediaries’ evasion of Russia-related sanctions and export controls, the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Treasury, and Justice have issued a new Tri-Seal Compliance Note (“Note”) detailing the obligations of foreign-based persons to comply with U.S. sanctions and export control laws. The Note describes the applicability of U.S. sanctions and export control laws to foreign-based persons as well as significant enforcement actions against foreign persons over the last two years. The Note also details compliance considerations for foreign-based persons.
Read moreLast week, the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) released a final rule to impose additional restrictions under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) on persons and entities identified under 14 sanctions programs, on the List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN List) maintained by the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
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