Uber on a Hiring Spree, CFPB Arbitration Rule in Senate's Hands: Roundup
Uber's gone on a lobbying bonanza, the SEC awarded a government employee for helping regulators with an enforcement action, and more.
July 28, 2017 at 01:19 PM
10 minute read
Welcome back to our weekly roundup of regulatory and compliance news. I'm C. Ryan Barber, reporting from a rainy D.C. that's hot with health care news this morning. Got tips or suggestions? Reach me at [email protected] or at 202-828-0315. DM me at @cryanbarber.
The Trump family wants to keep things confidential. Following the election, the Trump Organization rolled out new confidentiality agreements requiring employees to stay quiet about the extended family. The agreement's broad terms could discourage would-be whistleblowers. [CBS News]
Could 100,000 self-driving cars soon hit the road? A House panel is on board. This week, a subcommittee approved a proposal to allow automakers to deploy up to 100,000 autonomous cars without undergoing customary safety reviews. Also, states would be barred from imposing their own driverless car rules. [Reuters]
Uber's gone on a lobbying bonanza. The embattled ride-hailing company hired two new lobbying firms—Chambers, Conlon & Hartwell and Peck Madigan Jones—as it continues to reel from last month's resignation of its founder and chief executive, Travis Kalanick. The registrations come a week after Uber hired Ballard Partners, a firm led by a top fundraiser for Donald Trump's campaign. [Politico]
For the first time in the history of its whistleblower program, the SEC awarded a government employee this week for helping regulators with an enforcement action. On Friday, the whistleblower firm Katz, Marshall & Banks disclosed that it represented the whistleblower, who received $2.4 million. That award was followed two days later by another notable bounty. [The National Law Journal]
“Loosey-goosey.” That's how Walter Shaub, the recently-departed chief ethics watchdog for the federal government, described his successor's approach to enforcing conflict-of-interest rules. President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Office of Government Ethics, David Apol, has drawn criticism inside the agency for seeking to scale back ethics requirements for federal employees. [New York Times]
The U.S. Labor Department's overtime rule is getting more comment time. That's a positive sign for business groups that have targeted the rule. By calling for comments, the Trump administration sent a strong signal that the Obama-era rule expanding access to mandatory overtime pay could be revised—or even revoked. [Reuters]
Famous for his sports-betting prowess, William “Billy” Walters was sentenced to five years in prison for orchestrating an insider trading scheme involving Dean Foods. Among the recipients of his tips was pro golfer Phil Mickelson, who forfeited about $1 million to the SEC as a “relief defendant.” [Wall Street Journal]
Trump's pick for a top Federal Reserve post signaled support Thursday for a regulatory goal of the financial industry: More transparency around how stress tests are run for big banks. That nominee, Randal Quarles, criticized “the lack of transparency that has surrounded” the annual tests. His predecessor resisted disclosing certain information out of fear banks would learn how to game the tests. [Wall Street Journal]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau took a gamble finalizing a rule banning arbitration agreements that include class action waivers. The risk was clear: If the rule became the latest undone through the Congressional Review Act, the agency would be barred from reupping the rule without new authorization from lawmakers. The House this week voted to nullify the rule, leaving the regulation in the Senate's hands. [The Hill]
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Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
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Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
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David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
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Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
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