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
Latest from frESH - Page 22
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.
US Congress Considers Law That Would Overturn Chevron Deference
Earlier this year, Senate and House Republicans introduced the “Separation of Powers Restoration Act of 2016.” On July 12, 2016, the House passed the bill by a vote of 240-171, largely along party lines.
The legislation would fundamentally alter a cornerstone of administrative law: Chevron deference. Chevron deference describes a doctrine articulated by a unanimous US Supreme Court in its 1984
New Ohio Law Increases Protections From Lead Contamination in Drinking Water
On June 9, 2016, Governor John Kasich signed House Bill (HB) 512, a multifaceted law that the Governor has said “puts Ohio in front” and makes Ohio “the leader in the country” in dealing with the problem of lead contamination in drinking water. After the crisis in Flint, Michigan sparked a national inquiry and events in
Implications Of The Brexit Vote On UK Environmental Law And Policy
Following a referendum which has polarised the nation, the people of the UK have voted to leave the European Union. Stepping away from the political rhetoric and posturing, it is worth reflecting on some of the more practical issues which will arise from this decision, such as how it could affect our environmental law landscape.
US EPA’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Grants for Voluntary Action a Striking Contrast to the Chesapeake Bay TMDL
US EPA announced recently that it had awarded twenty-eight Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) grants totaling more than $12.5 million. Portions of this federal funding will provide financial assistance to owners of farmland who voluntarily act to reduce nutrient runoff from their land. The provision of federal funding to address issues in the Great Lakes
US EPA Finalizes Oil and Gas New Source Performance Standards With Potentially Broader New Source Review Impact
With US EPA’s regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel–fired electric generation still hotly contested in the D.C. Circuit, US EPA is proceeding with the next step in its implementation of the White House’s Climate Action Plan by moving forward with additional greenhouse gas regulations, this time of the nation’s oil and gas
Citing Climate Change, US Regulations Expand Protection for the Critical Habitats of ESA-Listed Species
On March 14, 2016, two new federal rules went into effect that could change the way in which the Endangered Species Act (ESA) is implemented throughout the United States. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) finalized these rules to update the regulatory provisions on which the agencies