HHS proposes tougher child care safety measures 
Published: May 17, 2013
Tags: child care, Department of Health and Human Services, federal agencies, safety
WASHINGTON – New proposed regulations would impose stricter safety requirements on child care providers who receive federal funding.
NLRB advice on confidential investigations has lawyers reading tea leaves
By:
Kimberly Atkins
Published: May 8, 2013
Tags: confidentiality, federal agencies, National Labor Relations Act, NLRB
WASHINGTON – The employment bar was roiled last year when the National Labor Relations Board ruled that a company policy requiring employees to keep interviews related to internal investigations confidential violated federal labor law.
But since then, the agency has been informally placing limits on that holding by issuing advice memoranda suggesting that companies can make reasonable case-by-case judgments about whether confidentiality is necessary — and attorneys have been eyeing them closely for guidance on how to advise clients.
Court takes up ‘Chevron’ jurisdictional issue
By:
Kimberly Atkins
Published: January 16, 2013
Tags: administrative law, Chevron deference, federal agencies, jurisdiction, U.S. Supreme Court
WASHINGTON – While courts have long given deference to federal agencies’ reasonable interpretations of statutes under Chevron USA v. NRDC, the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court wrestled with the open question of whether Chevron deference extends to an agency’s determination of its own statutory jurisdiction.
Bill to unify agency privilege standard awaits signing
By:
Kimberly Atkins
Published: December 18, 2012
Tags: banking regulations, CFPB, Congress, federal agencies, privilege
WASHINGTON – Legislation that would impose a single standard on how privileged information submitted to any federal agency is treated has passed both houses in Congress and is expected to be signed by President Barack Obama.
Justices to decide agency deference standard
Published: October 10, 2012
Tags: Chevron deference, federal agencies, jurisdiction, U.S. Supreme Court
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether a court should give Chevron deference to an agency’s interpretation of its own jurisdiction.
Federal employers cut time for processing complaints
Published: August 27, 2012
Tags: age discrimination, Discrimination, EEOC, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, federal agencies, retaliation
Federal employers have reduced the time they take to process job discrimination complaints, according to a new study by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Proposed White House budget outlines legal priorities
By:
Kimberly Atkins
Published: March 1, 2012
Tags: budget, federal agencies, legal services, White House
WASHINGTON – The proposed fiscal 2013 budget released by the White House in February outlines a number of the administration’s priorities related to lawyers, from an increase in enforcement of federal employment and labor laws to more focused attention on food and drug safety and immigration enforcement.
Federal agencies launch radon reduction program
By:
Kimberly Atkins
Published: July 8, 2011
Tags: Department of Health and Human Services, Environmental Protection Agency, federal agencies, lung cancer, radon
WASHINGTON – Citing radon as a leading cause of non-smoking-related lung cancer, which leads to about 21,000 deaths each year, more than a half dozen federal agencies have joined in an effort to reduce exposure to the radioactive element.
Headaches for lawyers averted with budget deal
Published: April 11, 2011
Tags: Congress, federal agencies, Federal courts, Obama, shutdown
WASHINGTON – Just hours before the U.S. government was set to shut down due to a lack of funding, Washington lawmakers agreed to a short-term budget plan Friday night, ensuring that courtrooms and agencies crucial to lawyers will remain open for business.
Government shutdown would halt systems critical to lawyers
By:
Kimberly Atkins
Published: April 8, 2011
Tags: FDA, federal agencies, Federal courts, FHA, government shutdown, Justice Department, NLRB, SBA
The budget impasse and resulting government shutdown would have widespread effects on systems critical to attorneys, slowing some courtroom and agency operations while bringing others to a screeching halt.
