The New SEC-FDA Alliance
June 29, 2004
On Feb. 5, 2004, the FDA and the SEC announced a new alliance between the two agencies. In a press release describing the changes, the FDA explained that "[u]nder the new referral procedure, any FDA employee who believes a publicly held, FDA-regulated firm has made a false or misleading statement to the investment public concerning a matter within the FDA's authority can initiate a process for referring the matter to the SEC Division of Enforcement."
Disability Dilemmas for Supervisors
June 29, 2004
As we all know, the ADA prohibits discrimination on account of past, present and perceived physical and emotional disabilities. Generally, the key to avoiding liability is focusing on abilities and not disabilities. That's an easy mantra to articulate, but it can be deceptively complicated for a supervisor to implement.
NLRB Again Limits <i>'Weingarten' </i>Rights
June 29, 2004
Continuing a seesaw battle that has been ongoing since the early 1980s, the NLRB recently held in a 3-2 decision that non-union employees do not have a right under the National Labor Relations Act to be accompanied by a fellow employee during a meeting that might lead to discipline.
Coordinating Complex Employment Litigation
June 29, 2004
In the past several years, employment class and collective action lawsuits have caught the attention of employees across the country. Many of these cases have resulted in multi-million dollar settlements or verdicts. Equally troubling, once an industry or corporation is viewed as potentially vulnerable on an issue, copycat cases may be brought in multiple jurisdictions against the same defendant or against others in the same industry.
9th Circuit Snaps At Gator's Argument
June 29, 2004
An Internet company asked a skeptical 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in late June for the right to sue an East Coast business rival in Northern California, even though the rival has no physical presence in the California.
Spam Costs Double in Last Year
June 29, 2004
According to a new report from Nucleus Research, "Spam: The ROI Killer," the cost of spam per employee has skyrocketed to $1934 per year.
All Together Now: ISP Group Releases Spam-Fighting Measures
June 29, 2004
Leading Internet service providers (ISPs) say that the industry needs to work together and take proactive steps to stop the conflagration of unwanted e-mails. <br>The companies ' including leading e-mail providers and ISPs Yahoo!, EarthLink, Microsoft, Comcast and America Online (AOL) ' through the Anti-Spam Technical Alliance (ASTA), are calling on other ISPs to adopt a series of actions and policies that they have developed after a year of collaboration to fight spam.
Spyware Remains Elusive
June 29, 2004
Even 007 wasn't shadowed this much. These days, spyware operations are the most popular cybermarketing tool around ' and the most unpopular. Software designers and advertisers have joined forces to run a clandestine operation on millions of consumers across the country. The tracking, data mining, and browser hijacking files that these companies surreptitiously plant on a person's computer extract personal information for advertising purposes, often without the user's knowledge or consent, and they have become a growing concern to companies, individual consumers, and the government. Most importantly, as frustration and fear of spyware grow and cause more people to turn away from the Internet, e-commerce is threatened. How did we get to this point, and what are the chances of successful regulation?
