Proposed “preemption” laws threaten local democracy and civil rights
March 13th, 2017
Counties, cities, towns, and other local governmental units across the country have been leaders in developing public policies that expand civil rights and otherwise promote the public interest. Minneapolis and St. Paul have both exemplified this tre…
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Categories: Blog
Trump presidency triggers immediate legal and direct action
February 13th, 2017
In a per curiam decision, State of Washington, et al. v. Trump, et al., a panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently and unanimously affirmed a landmark ruling against the Trump Administration’s travel ban concerning people from certain n…
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Categories: Blog
Confirmed: whistleblowers make things better!
January 3rd, 2017
A new study from the University of Iowa undertook a sophisticated analysis to confirm something as simple as it is obvious. In particular, the study found that whistleblowing reduces harmful conduct. The study, which will be published in the latest e…
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Categories: Blog
Accountability for corporate gamesmanship
December 1st, 2016
One of the most recognized corporate actors nationally and internationally, McDonald’s, Inc., has agreed to pay nearly $4 million to settle a class action wage case concerning the conduct of a McDonald’s, Inc. franchisee. This result is groundbre…
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Categories: Blog
Welcome to the surveillance state?!
November 1st, 2016
The Center for Privacy & Technology at Georgetown University Law Center recently issued a report, “The Perpetual Line-Up,” which determined that half of the nation’s adults are in at least one facial-recognition database used by police or o…
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Categories: Blog
Some whistleblowers left in the lurch by agency delay
October 17th, 2016
Many have heard about the recent disclosures regarding Wells Fargo & Co. opening unauthorized accounts for clients, which forced the bank’s Chief Executive Officer to resign abruptly under a cloud of controversy. As it turns out, however, enfor…
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Categories: Blog
Another tool to combat rampant employee misclassification
September 19th, 2016
The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) has joined an array of enforcement agencies in cracking down on the misclassification of employees as purported independent contractors. In a recently issued Advice Memorandum, the NLRB General Counsel…
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Federal courts around the country reject State laws that suppress the vote
August 8th, 2016
There has been an evident effort to restrict voting rights in recent years. This development has been led largely by the American Legislative Exchange Council (“ALEC”). As discussed previously here, ALEC consists of corporate executives and right…
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Categories: Blog
Victory for whistleblowers under the false claims act
July 1st, 2016
In Universal Health Services, Inc. v. United States of America, et al. ex rel. Escobar, et al., a unanimous Supreme Court rendered a landmark decision for whistleblowers under the False Claims Act and for taxpayers in general. In that case, the Supre…
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Categories: Blog
North Carolina’s restriction of civil rights goes beyond facility access
June 6th, 2016
North Carolina’s newly enacted law, often referred to as HB2, has received nationwide attention primarily because of its requirement that transgender people use the bathroom corresponding to their purported biological identity rather than their act…
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Categories: Blog
