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U.S. cruises could restart by mid-July, U.S. CDC says

By Oliver Beiersdorf & Justin deBettencourt

May 6, 2021

Recently, on April 28, 2021 the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) distributed a letter to the cruise industry in which it notified the industry regarding clarifications and amplifications of the CDC’s Conditional Sailing Order (“CSO”). The CSO provided guidelines for the resumption of cruises from the United States. Notably, following the letter, the CDC’s spokesperson stated that passenger voyages from the United States could resume in mid-July depending on pace and compliance…

Drug & Device Law

A Defense-Friendly Take on Albrecht

By Andrew Tauber

May 6, 2021

This blog has discussed Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. v. Albrecht, 139 S. Ct. 1668 (2019), and its progeny on multiple occasions. We provided a quick take when Albrecht was issued; discussed the decision’s possible ramifications here and here; expressed consternation at certain parts of the decision; reported here and here on how it is viewed by the plaintiffs’ bar; and analyzed cases applying Albrecht here, here, and here. And if…

Technology Law Dispatch

ICO announces it is working on bespoke UK set of Standard Contractual Clauses

By Cynthia O’Donoghue & Asel Ibraimova

May 5, 2021

What is new? During the ICO’s Data Protection Practitioners’ Conference 2021 today, the ICO revealed that it is working on new Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) to facilitate transfers of personal data outside the UK. The ICO’s consultation on the new UK SCCs will take place this summer. This is a separate process to the new SCCs that are currently being finalised by the European Commission. These new EU SCCs will not be valid for use…

Employment Law Watch

Department of Labor withdraws pro-business independent contractor final rule

By Mark S. Goldstein, Mark Phillips & Saranne Weimer

May 5, 2021

As we previously reported here and here, in January 2021 the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) proposed a business-friendly final rule concerning the classification of workers as independent contractors under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The final rule, which was scheduled to take effect in March 2021 (but never did), reaffirmed the use of the so-called “economic reality test” to distinguish between independent contractors and employees under the federal wage/hour law. In essence,…

Technology Law Dispatch

EDPB clarifies the application of the GDPR for scientific research

By Cynthia O’Donoghue & Sarah O'Brien

May 5, 2021

The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) released a document earlier this year in response to a request by the European Commission for clarifications on the application of the GDPR in the area of scientific health research, which you can read here. However, it’s important to note that the EDPB are currently preparing guidelines on the processing of personal data for scientific research purposes, which are set to be released later this year, which will include…

Health Industry Washington Watch

CMS finalizes rule to expand and modify Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement Model

By David Hartmann

May 5, 2021

On May 3, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published an 81-page final rule to both extend and change the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) model. We previously reported on the proposed rule here. The CJR model was initially implemented by way of notice-and-comment rulemaking in April 2016; the recent final rule will extend the CJR model by an additional three years through December 31, 2024. Purpose of CMS’s CJR…

Drug & Device Law

D. Minnesota Dumps Non-Diverse Plaintiff’s Claim for Lack of Personal Jurisdiction

By Stephen McConnell

May 5, 2021

Today’s case, BCBSM, Inc. v. Celgene Corp., 2021U.S. Dist. LEXIS 52785 (March 22, 2021), is an antitrust case. The plaintiffs alleged that a pharma company suppressed generic competition. We enjoy reading antitrust cases, always doing so with a healthy skepticism about the merits of the claims. We did, after all, attend the University of Chicago. But the BCBSM case is of immediate interest because of its sound application of the modern learning on personal jurisdiction.…

Employment Law Watch

COVID-19, health and safety and dismissal

By Graham Green & Jonathan Lord

May 5, 2021

COVID-19 has thrown up numerous and multi-varied concerns for employers and employees alike. One notable area of consideration and concern has been the delicate and difficult issue of dismissals related to health and safety reasons. A recent case has shed more light on how Tribunals may deal with the pandemic-related workplace issue of employees’ refusal to work on health and safety grounds, due to fear of COVID-19. Rodgers v Leeds Laser Cutting Limited ET/1803829/2020 Case…

EHS Law Insights

California Proposition 65 updates regarding cooked or heat processed foods

By Todd O. Maiden & Eric Schmoll

May 4, 2021

The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (“OEHHA”) recently modified the text of its proposed Proposition 65 regulation regarding warnings for chemicals formed in foods by cooking or heat processing (most frequently associated with the formation of the carcinogen acrylamide during the cooking process). OEHHA removed two food categories from the warning requirement (almond butter and prune juice) in response to comments received on its earlier proposal, as well as making some other minor…

Employment Law Watch

New York legislators pass sweeping new workplace health and safety bill

By Mark S. Goldstein & Alexandra Manfredi

May 4, 2021

In late April, New York State legislators passed a bill that can best be described as a “game changer.” Known as the Health and Essential Rights – or HERO – Act, the bill proposes a novel, sweeping overhaul of the Empire State’s workplace health and safety laws. Among other things, the HERO Act directs New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) to create minimum workplace safety standards, requires all New York business to adopt airborne…

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U.S. cruises could restart by mid-July, U.S. CDC says

A Defense-Friendly Take on Albrecht

ICO announces it is working on bespoke UK set of Standard Contractual Clauses

Department of Labor withdraws pro-business independent contractor final rule

EDPB clarifies the application of the GDPR for scientific research

CMS finalizes rule to expand and modify Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement Model

D. Minnesota Dumps Non-Diverse Plaintiff’s Claim for Lack of Personal Jurisdiction

COVID-19, health and safety and dismissal

California Proposition 65 updates regarding cooked or heat processed foods

New York legislators pass sweeping new workplace health and safety bill

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