In 2012, the UK Government published a strategy entitled “Preventing Suicide in England: A cross-governmental outcomes strategy to save lives”, and two further updates were published in 2014 and 2015. In 2016, an inquiry was launched by England’s Health Committee to tackle an 8% increase in the suicide rate. The issue of suicide
US Deputy Attorney General: Focus on Individual Wrongdoing to Promote Compliance
This month marks the one-year anniversary of the Yates Memorandum, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) memorandum drafted by Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates, which announced revisions to the US Attorney’s Manual (USAM). One purpose of the Yates Memorandum was to refocus corporate compliance on individual accountability. To do so, it created incentives
Health & Safety Retaliation Cases are Very Much Alive: Current Trends in OSHA and MSHA Whistleblower Laws and Regulations
What was recently a hot topic within the regulatory community, conversations about Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) and Mine Safety & Health Administration (MSHA) whistleblower, retaliation, and discrimination claims have seemingly fallen by the wayside. But don’t be fooled. Two recent developments demonstrate that these US Department of Labor agencies continue to find novel
Georgia and South Carolina are the Newest Battle Grounds for States’ Eminent Domain Authority
In 2005, the US Supreme Court held in Kelo v. City of New London that the city of New London, Connecticut could condemn 15 residential properties for a “public use” that entailed transferring the property to a new private owner. The majority opinion backstopped its expansive definition of “public use” by emphasizing that “nothing in [its]
OSHA Releases New Requirements for Settlement Agreements, Provides Whistleblowers with Additional Protections
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released new guidance September 9 on settling whistleblower claims under the 22 statutes the agency administers that provide more protections to employees and make it more difficult for employers to end litigation.
U.S. EPA Announces Its Retail Strategy
Yesterday, U.S. EPA announced a new Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) retail strategy. This strategy has been long-awaited, given that it has been well over two years since the retail industry commented on EPA’s February 14, 2014 Notice of Data Availability for the Retail Sector (20 Fed. Reg. 8926). After last year’s release of the
Medicare’s Commercial Repayment Center Means Business: Swift Deadlines on Conditional Payment Notices and Demand Letters
Historically, the Benefits Coordination and Recovery Center (“BCRC”) arm of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) collected Medicare’s conditional payments. While the BCRC continues to address Medicare’s reimbursement rights with Medicare beneficiaries, in late 2015 the CMS’s Commercial Repayment Center (“CRC”) took over responsibility for seeking reimbursement directly from Applicable Plans. Applicable Plans
EDLA Reminds That Maritime Liens Are Not Automatically Enforceable At Time Of Attachment… But There Are Exceptions
On August 10, 2016, the Eastern District of Louisiana reaffirmed that a maritime lien may attach to a vessel at the moment the necessaries are provided, but that the lien may not yet be enforceable until payment is due (i.e., the debt had matured). Thus, in the typical case, the amount of security necessary to
Decedents Who Are Neither Jones Act Seaman Nor Covered By The LHWCA Are “Nonseafarers”
In the recent case of In re Marquette Transp., No. 13-5114, 2016 WL 1695109 (E.D. La. 4/26/16), Judge Sarah Vance offered the latest comment on how a “seafarer” is defined by the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case of Yamaha Motor Corp. U.S.A. v. Calhoun, 516 U.S. 199 (1996).
In re Marquette arose out of a
Record Retention Requirements after a Natural Disaster
For several businesses in the Baton Rouge area, one of the many implications of the recent flooding is the loss of business records that are subject to retention requirements under various state and federal laws. In light of the destruction of many such records in the flood, a question arises as to the applicability of