On January 16, 2020, healthcare technology conglomerate Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE BSX) entered a notice to appeal the Delaware court decision that ordered the completion of a $275 million acquisition of medical device company Channel MedSystems Inc. (“Channel”) (Mike Leonard, Bloomberg Law). The court’s decision comes despite Channel’s previous submissions of falsified records to the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”). Id.
Read MoreThe proposed Secure and Fair Enforcement (“SAFE”) Banking Act of 2019 addresses the cannabis industry’s pressing desire to join the banking world. (American Bankers Association, GovInfo).
Currently, most banks deny modern luxuries such as checking accounts, savings accounts, payroll services, insurance policies, credit cards, debit cards, and online banking to participants in the cannabis industry. Id. This freeze-out stems from laws that hold banks liable for money laundering when processing money from an illegal enterprise. Id. Under federal law, any cannabis related business still constitutes an illegal enterprise. Id. This banking situation is no longer a viable option. Id.
Read MoreAs the COVID-19 pandemic continues, employers are among the many groups of people facing new challenges. Against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (“EEOC”) discouragement, many employers have utilized antibody testing to avoid liability as their employees return to work. (Mulvaney, Bloomberg). The EEOC and several other agencies state that antibody testing might have an unintended discriminatory impact on several groups of employees. (Mulvaney, Bloomberg). These concerns raise issues that employers need to consider in the midst of today’s volatile work world: is antibody testing a satisfactory way to screen employees before allowing them into a workplace? If not, how should employers provide a safe workplace?
Read MoreThe COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on the legal profession has been profound and has impacted law firms of all sizes. Female attorneys in particular may see the worst of the pandemic’s effects. (Russell-Craft, Bloomberg Law). After a sharp decline following the post-2008 economic downturn, the percentage of female attorneys working in large law firms had just returned to pre-recession levels when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. (Tribe & Russell-Craft, Bloomberg Law). As a result, diversity experts are concerned that female attorneys will again be the group most impacted by the current economic crisis. Id. They worry that the pandemic will undo much of the work the legal profession had done in the years following 2008 to promote diversity and facilitate success for females in the profession. Id.
Read More“Contact Tracing” is a term used by the Centers for Disease Control (“CDC”) that means tracking the spread of COVID-19 in order to interrupt the virus’s transmission. (CDC, Contact Tracing – CDC’s Role and Approach). The upside of allowing big tech firms; Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Facebook, to track our location data is clear: when a person tests positive for COVID-19, those who have been in recent proximity to that person can be notified that they, too, should get tested. Such tracking would thus allow for swifter tracking of COVID-19 as it spreads person-to-person and disrupt its transmission. But it may also be important for consumers to wonder whether they can trust big tech to handle their location data with care.
Read MoreDue to the usage of mobile payment systems increasing, there is a need for increased regulation to prevent anti-competitive behavior. Throughout history, consumers have relied on some form of payment system to purchase the goods or services they want or need. From bartering to mobile payment platforms, there is one consistent theme regarding the evolution of payments, that consumers prefer convenience. Generally, mobile payments are defined as the use of a mobile device – commonly, but not exclusively, a smartphone or tablet computer – to initiate a transfer of funds to people or businesses. (Jeffrey M. Kopchik, FDIC). The use of mobile payments continues to rise globally as consumers are increasingly capable of purchasing goods and services with apps such as Apple Pay, Google Wallet, PayPal, and more. United States (“U.S.”) mobile sales are expected to grow from roughly 40 percent of e-commerce this year to 53.9 percent in 2021. (J. Clement, Statista). As use continues to grow, regulators must make a choice as to whether to actively regulate the use of mobile payments to increase competition for the benefit of consumers or allow the free market to reign.
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