Publications
Connecticut’s Personnel Files Act previously required employers to permit current and former employees to inspect their personnel files “within a reasonable period of time” after making a written request. A new amendment to this law now mandates a seven-day inspection period for current employees and a ten-day period for former employees. Both current and former […]
What guidance can educational institutions glean from the Court’s long-awaited decision in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin (No. 11-345), which reversed a decision upholding the University’s use of race in its undergraduate admissions policies? The Court’s narrow, compromise decision let stand the basic principle established in Grutter v. Bollinger, 539 U.S.306 (2003), that […]
Firm News Wiggin and Dana Expands Biotechnology and Life Sciences Practice Group Wiggin and Dana is pleased to announce that Lily Wound has joined the firm as Counsel in the firm’s Biotechnology and Life Sciences Practice Group. Lily joins Wiggin and Dana from Kaye Scholer LLP where she was a member of the firm’s Corporate […]
The Supreme Court recently issued its long-awaited opinion in United States v. Windsor – the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) case – striking down Section 3 of DOMA on equal protection grounds. Although the exact details of how the federal government will implement this change in the law are not yet known, it is clear […]
The Supreme Court recently granted certiorari in another affirmative action case, Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, No. 12-682, which addresses whether a state may amend its constitution to prohibit public universities and employers from using race- and sex-based considerations in admissions and hiring. Surprisingly, the Court took this case without awaiting the outcome […]
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently released a revised version of the I-9 employment eligibility verification form. Form I-9 is used to verify the identity and employment authorization of each employee who works in the United States, citizens and noncitizens alike, and employers must ensure that Form I-9 is properly completed by both […]
One of the most commonly used visa categories for U.S. employers to employ foreign nationals is the H-1B for temporary workers. H-1B visa status is available to an individual who will perform services in a “specialty occupation” that generally requires a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent to perform the responsibilities the position entails. There is […]
You've heard of HIPAA, but you've relegated it to something applicable only to health care companies. You've heard some of the recent hype about increasing penalties and aggressive enforcement, but you haven't paid much attention, happy knowing that HIPAA was something that you didn't have to worry about. If this describes you, beware! Your organization […]
Last week, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) published the long-awaited final HIPAA regulations commonly referred to as the Omnibus Rule. These new regulations (1) implement changes to HIPAA that were mandated by the 2009 Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH); (2) […]
On January 2, 2013, the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that Hospice of North Idaho (HONI) agreed to pay $50,000 and entered a two-year corrective action plan to resolve allegations that it violated HIPAA’s Security Rule. This settlement reflects the current trend of more vigilant HIPAA enforcement and provides several lessons […]
Wiggin and Dana LLP recently held its Fifth Annual Health Care Compliance and Enforcement Roundtable, where state and federal enforcement officials discussed HIPAA/HITECH enforcement priorities and breach notification requirements with members of the health care community. Michelle DeBarge, Wiggin and Dana Partner and Chair of Wiggin and Dana’s HIPAA Practice, moderated the program. Linda Sanches, […]
The Act Recognizing Connecticut’s need for an economic boost in the current business climate, last session the legislature—with support from Governor Malloy—enacted An Act Promoting Economic Growth and Job Creation in the State (the Act). [1] The Act authorizes state and quasi-public agencies to enter into partnerships (public-private partnerships or P3s) with private entities for […]
Anand Sharma, India’s Minister for Industry and Commerce, announced April 8th that India has deposited with the World Intellectual Property Organization the instruments of accession to the Madrid Protocol for the International Registration of Marks. The Madrid Protocol system offers the owner of a mark in one of the member countries the ability to obtain […]
The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (“AIA”) is the most significant change to patent law since the 1952 Patent Act. The USPTO has gradually implemented numerous provisions of the AIA. Significantly, patent applications filed on or after March 16, 2013 will be subject to the following Rule changes: First-to-File System. Previously, patent applications were filed based […]
In an all-too familiar fact pattern, a San Francisco-based employee of a California-based cord blood bank put four company back-up tapes — filled with personal data on 300,000 pregnant mothers, expectant fathers and newborns — into a backpack and then set out by car to deliver the tapes to the company headquarters in San Bruno, […]
The smoke has barely lifted since Connecticut’s passage of Public Act No. 12-55, “An Act Concerning the Palliative Use of Marijuana” (“the Act”), and the questions continue to pile high. On October 1, 2012 Connecticut became the seventeenth state to allow the physician-authorized use of marijuana for specifically enumerated and “debilitating medical conditions.” Companies who […]
For several years running, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC” or “Commission”) has chastened businesses for alleged laxity in securing consumer data from breaches and other unauthorized access. The overwhelming majority of these enforcement efforts have focused on how corporate end users of information technology products fail to manage the security of their internal networks or […]
California regulators have traditionally carried the flag towards new consumer privacy protections in the nation’s digital economy. Last week, the California Attorney General took the battle to the privacy wilderness known as the “mobile ecosystem” by issuing comprehensive recommendations to protect consumer privacy in “[a] world gone mobile.” “Privacy on the Go: Recommendations for the […]
Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen [1] announced yesterday a $7 million multistate settlement with Google, Inc. arising out of Google’s ambitious, but over-intrusive ‘Street View’ project to map the United States at street level and improve Google’s geo-location services. Attorney General Jepsen’s office led an executive committee of eight states that conducted negotiations with Google […]
This time last year, Wiggin and Dana’s Securities and Capital Markets Group summarized many of the legal considerations and best practices involving social media communications by reporting companies.[1] As we begin the new year, many public companies look to update internal controls and procedures. A recent encounter with the SEC by Netflix CEO, Reed Hastings, […]
On February 12, 2013, President Barack Obama signed an Executive Order, titled “Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity” (the “Order”), aimed at bolstering U.S. cybersecurity through voluntary best practices developed by federal agencies in collaboration with industry stakeholders. The President officially announced the long-awaited Order, as well as a related document, the “Presidential Policy Directive on Critical […]
On the eve of Groundhog Day, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) released comprehensive recommendations for improving consumer privacy in the data-hungry realm of mobile apps (the “Recommendations”). The Recommendations urge mobile industry players to adopt a variety of best practices in their data collection and sharing practices, most notably by (i) improving the transparency of […]
The rules regarding the Say-on-Pay and Say-on-Frequency voting requirements that have been in effect for larger companies for the past two proxy seasons are now also applicable to smaller reporting companies (“SRCs”). SRCs enjoyed a temporary exemption but are now required to include the Say-on-Pay and Say-on-Frequency votes beginning with their proxy statements for the […]
Over the past year, a significant number of companies have adopted forum selection provisions in their corporate governing documents establishing that derivative actions and other actions against the corporation may only be brought in the state of incorporation. This practice gained popularity among corporations following a recent opinion by the Delaware Court of Chancery suggesting […]
The District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals has temporarily enjoined the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) from requiring private-sector employers to comply with a Final Rule mandating them to post a notice informing employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act. This is the third time the posting deadline has been changed […]
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 directed the SEC to enact rules requiring public companies to hold a non-binding advisory “Say-on-Pay” vote to approve the compensation program for their named executive officers and an accompanying non-binding advisory vote as to the frequency of holding the Say-on-Pay vote – every year, […]
As previously reported, last year the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) issued a Final Rule requiring that private-sector employers subject to the NLRB’s jurisdiction post a notice informing employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”). Implementation of that rule was postponed on two occasions, most recently due to consolidated legal challenges […]
The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) recently held in D.R. Horton, Inc., 357 NLRB No. 184 (Jan. 3, 2012) that an employer violates the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”), and thus commits an unfair labor practice, by requiring its employees “as a condition of employment to sign an agreement that precludes them from filing joint, […]
On January 24, 2012, the National Labor Relations Board’s Office of the General Counsel, Division of Operations-Management, issued its second Memorandum describing the facts presented and rulings issued in several recent social media cases. The Memorandum, which may be accessed here, is intended to further clarify the NLRB’s position regarding this evolving area of law […]
The United States Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral argument on April 16, 2012 in Christopher v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., No. 11-204, and thereby take the first step toward resolving the divisive issue of whether Pharmaceutical Sales Representatives (“PSR’s”) are exempt from the overtime pay provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). An […]