Beltway Buzz, August 7, 2026The Beltway Buzz is a weekly update summarizing labor and employment news from inside the Beltway..
Four Is A Trend: Lessons For Medicare Advantage Diagnosis Coding Programs To Take From Recent FCA..Diagnosis coding practices in the Medicare Advantage (“MA”) risk adjustment space continue to be a..
Is It Better to Ask for Forgiveness or Permission? Non Legal Factors That Drive Trademark Clearance ..As entertainment lawyers, we are often asked a deceptively simple question by creatives, producers, ..
NLRB General Counsel Doubles Down: What GC Memo 26-04 Means for Employers Right NowOn August 26, 2026, NLRB General Counsel Crystal S. Carey issued Memorandum GC 26-04, “Further..
FinCEN Clarifies Use of Digital Credentials Under CIPFinCEN and the staffs of the Fed, FDIC, OCC, and NCUA, have jointly issued two FAQs addressing the..
MBA Sues New Jersey Over Disparate Impact RuleThe Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) recently filed a lawsuit in the U.S. district court for the..
AI in Medical Documentation and Coding: Emerging Uses, Benefits, and Risks for Healthcare ProvidersArtificial Intelligence (“AI”) is increasingly moving beyond clinical decision support and into the ..
Here We Go Again: California’s Minimum Wage Is Headed Up to $17.40It’s that time of year again—the temperatures are high, summer vacations are winding down, and..
NO MORE ENDLESS SCROLLING?: California Cracks Down on Addictive Social Media and AI ChatbotsHi TCPAWorld!On September 10, 2026, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a sweeping package of new laws..
What Happens When a Customer Harasses an Employee?Key HighlightsCustomer harassment can create employer liability. Employers may be responsible for..
Labels Are Not Enough: Why Calling It ‘Sexual Harassment’ May Not Be Enough to Defeat ArbitrationThe federal Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (EFAA) of 2022..
AI-Assisted Hiring Is Here; So Are the Litigation RisksArtificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping hiring. Employers increasingly use AI-enabled..
Will The Federal Circuit Limit Obviousness-Type Double Patenting To Term Extension Scenarios?The doctrine of obviousness-type double patenting (“OTDP”) is one of the most complicated aspects..
Massachusetts Whistleblower Law: Appeals Court Protects Informal Employee ComplaintsA new Massachusetts Appeals Court decision offers important guidance for employers handling..
ITAR & AI-Enabled Defense Technologies: Autonomous Systems, Targeting Algorithms, and the New..Executive SummaryArtificial intelligence has moved from research laboratories into deployed defense ..
New York State Mandates Employee Access to Personnel RecordsNew York Governor Kathy Hochul has signed into law a bill that will provide private and public..
![Talent Risk Assessor, 5: Performance Ratings as the Foundation [Podcast]](/images/blog/thumbnails/202609/uploads/img_120901473887.webp)
Talent Risk Assessor, 5: Performance Ratings as the Foundation [Podcast]In episode five of the Talent Risk Assessor series on Defensible Decisions, Scott Kelly..
Not So Fast- Why Your COVID Telework Policy Doesn’t Bind You ForeverRemember when half the workforce went home in 2020 and, somehow, the work still got done? Employees ..
The Reliability Premium- What's Driving Energy M&A in 2026Energy, utilities, and resources M&A produced an unusual result in 2025. According to PwC, overall..
California Office of Tax Appeals Rejects Unitary Business Treatment for Gain from Sale of Company..In a pending precedential decision, the California Office of Tax Appeals (OTA) found that a..
When Agencies Play Ostrich: A Fee-Recovery Playbook for Any Government Contractor or Grant RecipientA federal judge in Massachusetts recently ordered the Department of Defense (DoD) to pay $450,447..
Keeping Up With Mexico’s IMSS: The Employers Registration Identification Will Be ElectronicThe Mexican Institute of Social Security (Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS)) will now..
CMS Defers $1 Billion in Medicaid Payments—and Gains New Power to Exclude ProvidersEarlier this year, the federal government promised a sweeping crackdown on fraud, waste, and abuse..
OCC and FDIC Finalize Standards for Unsafe or Unsound Practices and MRAsOn August 27, the OCC and FDIC announced a final rule defining “unsafe or unsound practice” for..
Before Exclusivity: Strengthening the Antitrust Position in Hospital DealsA hospital facing financial pressure may see affiliation with a larger system as its best path..
The Villages Health System $541.5 Million Settlement: A New Frontier in Medicare Advantage Risk..HighlightsThe Villages Health System LLC (TVH) agreed to pay $541.5 million to resolve allegations..
New Jersey Seeks Supreme Court Review of Kalshi Decision… and One Additional Argument That May Come ..On September 2, 2026, the State of New Jersey and the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement..
Litigating Without Waiving Arbitration: The Third Circuit Draws the LineCompanies frequently reserve arbitration as an affirmative defense while simultaneously litigating..
O-1A Case Study: Visa Approval for M&A Advisor from the United KingdomM&A AdvisorColombo & Hurd secured an O-1A approval for a mergers and acquisitions (M&A) advisor..
China’s Supreme People’s Court Issues First National Judicial Rules on AI Disputes — But Sidesteps..On September 7, 2026, the Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China released the..
Back to the Basics: Preserving Evidentiary Principles in Negligence Claims Against Public EntitiesWhile in the recent past California courts have given wide deference to the principle that..
Inclusion of Over a Hundred Endocrine Disruptors and PBT/vPvB Substances in EU CLP Regulation..The revised CLP Regulation (Article 37(7)) establishes a mechanism for transferring into the list..
30 Days on the Clock: What the Federal Hemp “Ban” Delay Really Means for the IndustryIn the iconic halftime scene of Friday Night Lights, Coach Gary Gaines (played with a charming..
United States - Away With Pay to Play?Sometimes, people like to give money to other people. Sometimes, those other people are politicians...
The Grid's Bottleneck Isn't Just Money. It's Materials.America’s investor-owned electric utilities have committed historic amounts of capital to expanding ..
Zafirov Update- Eleventh Circuit Sides With Relators on Appointments Clause, But Article II..On September 1, 2026, the Eleventh Circuit issued its long-awaited decision in United States ex rel...
CLIA at a Crossroads: CMS and CDC Seek Input on the Future of Laboratory RegulationOn July 16, 2026, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Centers for Disease..
DRILLING DOWN ON PRIVACY ALLEGATIONS: Northern District Of California Dismisses Data Privacy ClaimsHi, CIPAWorld! Kelly Sandberg here, with a case on the importance of properly pleading data privacy ..
