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Federal Trade Commission

Monday, February 28, 2022

Bureau of Consumer Protection: Credit Card Debt Fraud

  • The FTC has permanently banned a group of alleged scammers from the debt relief industry and has imposed a monetary judgment of $5.3 million. The ban and judgment stem from a settlement related to a lawsuit in which the Commission and the Florida Office of the Attorney General alleged that the defendants tricked seniors and financially distressed consumers into signing up for a debt relief scheme by “bombarding” them with telemarketing calls. Under the alleged scheme, the defendants falsely claimed that consumers could save thousands of dollars in credit card interest, when in reality the defendants did little more than collect upfront fees from consumers. The Commission voted unanimously to approve the stipulated final order based on the settlement.

Continue Reading FTC Updates (February 28-March 4, 2022)

Federal Trade Commission

Monday, January 31, 2022

Consumer Protection: Privacy & Facial Recognition

  • FTC Commissioner Christine Wilson issued a series of letters to Senators Ron Wyden, Maria Cantwell, and Roger Wicker as well as House of Representatives members Jan Schakowsky, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, and Gus Bilirakis to request review of a proposed contract between the IRS and ID.me, an identity verification software company. Ms. Wilson’s letters highlight a recent Washington Post article predicting that taxpayers may have to scan their faces in order to access their IRS tax accounts. She also expresses concerns that ID.me’s software would not adequately protect the privacy of taxpayer records and could cause other harms, referencing a 2019 hack of the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol database, which exposed thousands of photos of Americans. Commissioner Wilson notes that the recipients of her letters are leaders on privacy issues in the House and Senate, and she offered the FTC’s assistance with this request.

Continue Reading FTC Updates (January 31-February 4, 2022)

Federal Trade Commission

Tuesday, January 18, 2022

Bureau of Consumer Protection: Credit and Finance

  • The Commission is returning over $10 million to consumers who were charged hidden fees by online lender LendingClub Corporation. The disbursement stems from the FTC’s 2018 lawsuit against the corporation, in which the agency alleged that LendingClub falsely promised loan applicants that they would receive a specific loan amount with no hidden fees, when in fact the company deducted hidden up-front fees from the loans. The FTC is sending refunds to 15,748 customers who complained to the company or the FTC about the fees; the agency will also be reaching out to additional Lending Club customers who repaid loans during the period at issue. This order predates the FTC’s loss of its ability to obtain equitable monetary relief in federal court for consumers following an April 22, 2021 Supreme Court decision. Congress has not yet acted on the FTC’s request to reinstate this power.

Continue Reading FTC Updates (January 17–21, 2022)

A perfect storm of unprecedented stress on the global supply chain from the continuing COVID-19 pandemic coupled with the promise of increased FCPA enforcement by U.S. regulators makes this an opportune time for retailers to take stock of changes to their corruption risk profile and ensure that they adjust their compliance programs accordingly.
Continue Reading Supply Chain Pressures Trigger Escalating FCPA Risks — Impact on Retailers

On November 4, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) released its much-anticipated COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) requiring employers with 100 or more employees to ensure that their employees are either vaccinated by January 4, 2022, or submit to weekly testing.  According to OSHA, employees who are unvaccinated face a “grave danger” from COVID-19, including the more contagious Delta variant.  The ETS notes that COVID-19 is highly transmissible—particularly in workplaces where multiple people interact throughout the day often for extended periods of time—and exposure to COVID-19 can result in death or illness, with some individuals experiencing long-term health complications.  OSHA has determined that vaccination is the most effective way to protect these employees.
Continue Reading OSHA Publishes Vaccine Requirements for Employers with 100 or More Employees

As the world continues to settle into its new normal regulators have so too. Recently, State Attorneys General (AGs) are increasingly focused on several specific enforcement priorities, including (1) price gouging; (2) privacy concerns; (3) antitrust litigation; and (4) harmful substances in products and environmental issues. Many of these priorities have gained prominence in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Continue Reading Enforcement in the New Normal: Recent Trends in State AG Enforcement

Business legal document concept : Pen and glasses on a lease agreement form. Lease agreement is a contract between a lessor and a lessee that allow lessee rights to use of a property owned by lessor

With COVID-driven litigation ongoing across the nation, close analysis of commercial lease language is now more important than ever as many questions remain unanswered. The first wave of commercial lease disputes dealt in large part with whether commercial tenants were required to pay rent while forced to close due to the pandemic and related governmental orders. Now, new disputes are arising based on the lingering impacts of the pandemic and certain key clauses like co-tenancy, sales kickouts, operating covenants, casualty clauses and force majeure provisions are likely to play a crucial role.

For example, retail leases commonly contain co-tenancy clauses that allow tenants to reduce their rent or, in some cases, terminate the lease if key tenants or a certain number of tenants are not open and operating. These provisions are front and center given the government-mandated closures, curfews and social-distancing requirements that forced businesses to significantly alter and/or reduce their operations. As with every lease, it is important to read and understand the fine print. Some questions that we have seen arise with respect to co-tenancy clauses are:
Continue Reading Commercial Lease Disputes During the Ongoing Pandemic: The Second Wave

Consumer Protection. Laws, regulations and data security. Pencils, wooden stamps on orange paper

On April 15, 2021, the FTC filed its first complaint under the COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act (the CCP Act). The complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, alleges that an in-state chiropractor and his company violated both the CCP Act and the FTC Act by deceptively marketing Vitamin…

California Governor Newsom signed into law a new bill, SB 95, that provides for up to 80 new hours of COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave to covered employees. The law applies to all businesses with more than 25 employees, and goes into effect on March 29 through September 30, 2021. SB 95 retroactively applies…

On December 2, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (the CDC) updated its guidance regarding how long an individual must quarantine after being exposed to COVID-19. While the CDC continues to endorse a quarantine period of 14 days after last exposure, it has now provided two additional options for how long quarantine should last. Based on the availability of COVID-19 testing, individuals without symptoms can shorten their quarantine period to 10 days after exposure or to 7 days after receiving a negative test result. Individuals can take either the PCR or antigen test up to 48 hours before the seventh day of the last exposure. This means that individuals can take a PCR or antigen test on the fifth day after exposure but they must quarantine for at least 7 days regardless of when they receive the negative test result. If they do not receive their test result within the 7 day period, they cannot discontinue quarantine until the receipt of a negative test result. After discontinuing quarantine, individuals should monitor for symptoms of COVID-19 until 14 days have passed since their last exposure. If symptoms are present before the end of the 14 day period, individuals must immediately self-isolate and contact their local public health authority or healthcare provider. Individuals who test positive on the seventh day but have no symptoms must self-isolate for an additional 10 days after the last test. Individuals who develop symptoms after testing positive must self-isolate until all of the following conditions have been met: (1) at least 10 days have passed since the individual’s symptoms first appeared, (2) the individual has been fever-free for at least 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications and (3) there has been improvement in the individual’s other symptoms.Continue Reading CDC Updates Its Guidance for Necessary Quarantine Period