Article
Published 02/26/2021
Services Force Majeure Litigation
Alert
Published 02/25/2021
By James A. Morsch, Justin C. Danilewitz
Services Antitrust
The recent change in Administrations and control of Congress may well usher in a new era of more energetic antitrust enforcement as well as substantive changes to the federal antitrust laws. Such changes would likely affect all industries and businesses – both dominant firms, and those that compete with them or are affected by dominant firms’ exclusionary conduct. Thus, the political alignment of both the executive and legislative branches, coupled with bipartisan consensus on the anticompetitive threats from “Big Tech”, may be the harbingers of a perfect storm for a new era of aggressive...
Alert
Published 02/24/2021
By Melissa A. Clarke, Esq.
Services Environmental
On February 1, 2021, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) issued a Notice of Rule Waiver/Modification/Suspension (“Notice”) extending certain remediation timeframes as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. These include cases where the remedial action was to be completed by May 7, 2021, and other timeframes that were or will be reached while Governor Murphy’s Executive Order 103 (“EO 103”) declaring a state of emergency due to the pandemic remains in effect. Conspicuously absent from the Notice was an extension for soil-only cases, which oversight was rectified...
Article
Published 02/23/2021
Services White Collar and Government Enforcement
Alert
Published 02/23/2021
By Jonathan Havens, Ruth Rauls, Matthew Smith, Paige Berry
Industries Cannabis Law
Although it took much longer than expected following New Jersey’s November 2020 vote to legalize adult-use marijuana, Governor Phil Murphy finally yesterday signed several cannabis reform bills into law, including Assembly Bill 21 ( A21 ), “The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act”), which legalizes cannabis use and possession for adults 21 years of age and older in the Garden State, and paves the way for regulation of the same. The Governor also signed a “clean-up” bill, which clarifies marijuana and cannabis use and possession penalties...
Alert
Published 02/23/2021
By Alexander R. Bilus, Patrick M. Hromisin
Services Cybersecurity and Privacy
Virginia is on the brink of joining California as the second state with a broad privacy law that restricts how companies can use and disclose personal information. The Virginia Consumer Data Privacy Act (CDPA) recently passed both houses of the legislature and is expected to be signed into law by Governor Ralph Northam as early as next month. The bill is somewhat similar to the California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA), which went into effect last year and prompted many businesses to examine and update their privacy programs. It also includes some concepts comparable to the European Union’s...
Alert
Published 02/22/2021
By Bruce D. Armon, Samantha R. Gross\
Industries Health Care | HIPAA / Health Information Privacy and Security
On February 12th, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced it settled its sixteenth enforcement action as part of its HIPAA Right of Access Initiative (the “Initiative”). The Initiative is an OCR enforcement priority with the goal to ensure individuals can easily and timely access their health information at a reasonable cost under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) Privacy Rule. This is OCR’s second settlement announced under the Biden Administration . In this settlement, Sharp HealthCare d/b/a...
Blog Post
Published 02/19/2021
By Thomas Laser
Podcast episode
Published 02/18/2021
In this episode, host Jonathan Havens, co-chair of Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr’s Food, Beverage and Agribusiness (FBA) Practice, speaks with colleague Justin Danilewitz, a litigator in the Firm’s White Collar and Government Enforcement Practice and a former federal prosecutor, about the Responsible Corporate Officer (RCO) doctrine, also known as the Park doctrine, and how it impacts the FBA industry. Justin addresses how under the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), the RCO doctrine can result in strict criminal liability for an individual who stands in a position of responsibility with respect to lower-level employees as a result of the conduct of those employees, even without knowledge of that conduct. Although strict liability for a criminal offense – without knowing participation in the conduct – is rare, the U.S. Supreme Court has recognized this exceptional approach in the public welfare context, since public health and safety is paramount in the FBA industry. Jonathan and Justin discuss the practical applications of the doctrine, how the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) partners with the Department of Justice (DOJ) on enforcement of the RCO doctrine, how federal prosecutors tend to look for evidence, and how companies can implement rigorous policies, procedures and training programs to help maintain compliance.
Alert
Published 02/16/2021
By Bruce D. Armon, Samantha R. Gross, Michael A. Finio, Jonathan Havens, Patricia Varona Garcia, David Waxman, Jourdan Garvey, Josh Pasker, Chris Hall, Scott Patterson, Richard Frazier, Joe Ourth
Industries Health Care
One year ago – in early 2020 – most of us did not know what COVID-19 meant (co-Corona; vi-Virus; d-disease; 19 – 2019); had no idea how to “zoom”; did not know what social distance meant; and, were largely unfamiliar with working from home on a normal weekday and certainly not week after week and month after month. The health care delivery system has had to react as well – and is still doing so! Institutional and individual providers have demonstrated to all they are the true HEROES of this pandemic. And their work is not done, even as the roll-out of vaccines continues to increase in numbers...
Article
Published 02/15/2021
Services Labor and Employment
Alert
Published 02/11/2021
By Darius C. Gambino, Leah D. Leyendecker, Zachary B. Kizitaff
Industries Sports and Entertainment
In recent years, businesses of all shapes and sizes have seized upon opportunities to advertise within the video game industry, and particularly in connection with esports games. As an example, BMW signed global partnership agreements with five major esports teams last year (Cloud9, Fnatic, FunPlus Phoenix, G2 Esports, and T1 Entertainment & Sports). Each of these five teams have one thing in common – they all play in esports tournaments for the game League of Legends ( LoL ). LoL has been the most-watched esports game for several years running. Big brands like BMW want to engage with a...
Alert
Published 02/11/2021
By Bruce D. Armon, Samantha Gross
Industries Health Care
In the first settlement under the Biden Administration, on February 10th the Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) announced a settlement of a fifteenth enforcement action under its HIPAA Right of Access Initiative (the “Initiative”). The Initiative is an OCR enforcement priority to support individuals’ right to timely access their health records at a reasonable cost under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) Privacy Rule. Earlier this year, a large health system agreed to pay $200,000 under the Initiative. In...
Article
Published 02/11/2021
Alert
Published 02/09/2021
By Sarah Lockwood (Sally) Church, Dasha G. Brockmeyer, Andrew J. Daly
Services Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation
Many employers in both the for-profit as well as non-profit sectors have responded to the challenges of the pandemic through reductions in force. Depending upon the scope of these reductions in force, the retirement plans that these employers sponsor may have experienced a partial termination. The Tax Code’s partial termination rule applies to all retirement programs, including defined benefit plans, 401(k) plans and tax-deferred annuity programs under 403(b). Generally, partial terminations occur when a significant amount of active participants are no longer eligible to participate in the...
Alert
Published 02/09/2021
By Melissa A. Clarke
Services Environmental
On February 8, 2021, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection announced a Notice of Rule Waiver/Modification/Suspension , pursuant to Executive Order 103 (which declared a Public Health Emergency and State of Emergency), further extending certain remediation timeframes based on the unprecedented circumstances presented by the COVID-19 pandemic (“Temporary Rule Modification”). Perhaps most significantly, this Temporary Rule Modification grants a one-year extension to the May 2021 Remedial Action timeframe under the Site Remediation Reform Act (“SRRA”). Notices of Rule Waiver/...