On May 6, 2024, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) Director Andrea Gacki, Acting Chief of the Enforcement Division Steve Hsieh, Acting Associate Director of the Policy Division James Martinelli, and other key industry leaders, convened at SIFMA’s Anti-Money Laundering and Financial Crimes conference in New York to discuss, among other things, FinCEN’s priorities for
Corporate & Commercial
FTC Issues Final Rule Banning Most Non-Compete Agreements
On April 23, the Federal Trade Commission approved a final rule that will ban most employer-employee non-compete agreements. The rule represents an unprecedented federal initiative to invalidate agreements commonly entered into between employers and employees. Read on for details about the final rule and the challenges the rule’s implementation faces.
CFPB: For-Profit School Misrepresented ISAs, Made False Claims About Grads’ Employment Rates
On April 17, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau entered an order against a for-profit vocational school and its CEO for mischaracterizing the school’s income-share agreements (ISAs) and misrepresenting its graduates’ employment rates. The CFPB said the school drove students to finance their training programs with promises of high graduate employability. To finance students’ education,…
EEOC Releases Final Regulations Implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
On April 15, 2024, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released the long-awaited final regulations implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). The regulations will take effect on June 18, 2024. Read on for a summary of the additional clarity and guidance the regulations provide as to the scope and application of the PWFA.
CFPB Updates Process to Designate Nonbanks for Supervision
Yesterday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau updated its process for designating a nonbank for supervision. Initially issued in 2013, the revised rule specifically establishes the CFPB’s procedures in determining whether a nonbank “poses risk to consumers” and is thus subject to the Bureau’s supervisory authority. The CFPB has had the authority to supervise such nonbanks…
SEC Speaks 2024: In Defense of Enforcement’s Aggressive Agenda
On April 2 and 3, 2024, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler, Division of Enforcement Director Gurbir Grewal and other senior SEC officials convened at the SEC Speaks conference held in Washington, DC to discuss the SEC’s accomplishments in fiscal year 2023 and announce its priorities for 2024. …
Spring Has Sprung for Recent Reg NMS Reporting Changes
On March 6, the SEC released its long-anticipated adopting release amending Rule 605.[1] Separately, in late February, FINRA issued Regulatory Notice 24-05 discussing new FINRA Rule 6151, which requires member firms to provide Rule 606 reports to FINRA. The following provides a brief overview of these recent moves by both regulators. …
CMS Again Settles Record Stark Self-Disclosures in 2023
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released data on its 2023 settlements of voluntary self-disclosures related to past violations or potential violations of the physician self-referral law (the Stark Law). In 2023, CMS settled an agency record 176 self-disclosures, with settlement amounts totaling over $12,000,000 in the aggregate. Both totals exceeded its…
OIG Plans New Guidance for Medicare Advantage and Nursing Homes
On Feb. 21, the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced the first four subsectors for which it will publish industry segment-specific compliance program guidance. Guidance published in 2024 will focus on Medicare Advantage and nursing facilities. Subsequent guidance will focus on hospitals and clinical laboratories.
Deputy Attorney General Monaco Announces New DOJ Whistleblower Program
On March 7, 2024, U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco gave remarks at the American Bar Association’s 39th National Institute on White Collar Crime in San Francisco, California. Monaco provided updates on the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ or the Department) corporate criminal enforcement efforts and announced a handful of new Department initiatives, including a…