Administrative Law

Oprah Show on Obama Wasn’t a Campaign Contribution, FEC Rules

An Oprah Winfrey show on then-presidential candidate Barack Obama didn’t amount to an illegal campaign contribution, the Federal Election Commission has ruled. Ruling on an administrative complaint that the popular daytime television show gave Obama a boost that his opponents didn’t get, the FEC said a “media exemption” that excludes…

Apr 14, 2009 10:05 PM CDT

EPA & Lawmakers Focus on New Environmental Issue: Bedbugs

In a summit today near the nation’s capital, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is putting a new emphasis on a growing environmental issue: A proliferation of bedbugs. The increasing plague of the tiny insects, which notoriously lurk in mattresses waiting to feed on humans as they sleep, apparently has been…

Apr 14, 2009 7:53 PM CDT

Feds Discipline Ex-Harvard Prof for Falsifying Sleep Research

A physician and former professor at Harvard Medical School has been disciplined by an arm of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for faking data in a sleep apnea study funded by federal research grants. Dr. Robert Fogel fabricated and falsified data “so that those data would better…

Apr 10, 2009 5:36 PM CDT

Not in My Backyard

Muralist Michael Webb had already had two public art projects shot down in the upscale Philadelphia neighborhood known as Rittenhouse Square, when he was commissioned to paint a third. He fully expected that this assignment would never come to fruition either, but the reasons had nothing to do with his…

Apr 2, 2009 2:00 AM CDT

April is the Cruelest Month for Lawyers Behind on Their Taxes

Although most lawyers pay their taxes and file their returns on time, some don’t. And those who don’t often make for a doozy of a story. One longtime Illinois lawyer, now deceased, simply refused to file, says George Collins, himself a longtime Chicago practitioner who regularly represents attorneys in disciplinary…

Apr 1, 2009 11:43 PM CDT

Covington Returns Yolanda Young Fire, Says Ex-Staff Lawyer Had Lackluster GPA

Sued last month by a former staff attorney who claimed Covington & Burling maintained its staff attorney ranks as a ghetto for minority attorneys, the law firm didn’t hesitate to fire back earlier when Yolanda Young apparently made similar charges in an administrative complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity…

Mar 27, 2009 6:21 PM CDT

Judge Rules Pole Dancing Is Art Qualifying for Sales Tax Exemption

After reviewing DVDs of exotic dancers, an administrative law judge has determined that pole dancing is “no small feat”—and it’s also art qualifying for a tax exemption. The judge, Catherine Bennett, ruled the Albany-area club Nite Moves was entitled to a “dramatic arts” tax exemption and did not have to…

Mar 27, 2009 3:51 PM CDT

Geithner to Propose Sweeping Regulations for Oversight of Financial System

Hedge funds would have to provide government reports on their operations, and large financial institutions would be subject to more oversight under sweeping regulations to be proposed today by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. The plan would be the most significant regulatory expansion since banking and mortgage reforms instituted after the…

Mar 26, 2009 11:13 AM CDT

Feds are Gearing Up for Wage-Theft Enforcement Campaign

Working undercover to investigate whether the federal watchdog charged with enforcing U.S. labor laws is doing its job, agents of the Governmental Accountability Office found that nine of 10 complaints it made as purported aggrieved workers were mishandled. Instead of investigating as required, the Wage and Hour Division of the…

Mar 25, 2009 6:34 PM CDT

Judge: FDA Overstepped Bounds in Restricting ‘Plan B’ Contraceptive

A federal regulatory agency overstepped its bounds in limiting access to the so-called “Plan B” emergency contraceptive, a federal judge has ruled. In setting special requirements for the controversial contraceptive, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration “departed in significant ways from the agency’s normal procedures regarding similar applications to switch…

Mar 23, 2009 8:13 PM CDT

Law Firm Layoffs (and Alternatives) Create Litigation Risk

Employment litigation, in general, is increasing, and laid-off lawyers certainly should be able to recognize a possible cause of action as quickly as most potential plaintiffs. So law firms need to exercise care when making layoffs—particularly since they, unlike their corporate clients, don’t have much prior experience doing so, reports…

Mar 14, 2009 2:00 AM CDT

Obama Eliminates ‘Enemy Combatant’ from DOJ Legal Lexicon

In a U-turn from the language of the Bush administration, the White House has eliminated the use of the term “enemy combatant” concerning terrorism suspects being held at the U.S. military detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. At the same time, the White House may also have strengthened the legal…

Mar 13, 2009 9:41 PM CDT

Stanford Takes Fifth in SEC Civil Case over Alleged $8B Fraud

After a former chief investment officer for the Stanford Financial Group at least arguably said too much in testimony before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, chairman and sole shareholder R. Allen Stanford isn’t going to make the same mistake. In an affidavit included in a federal court filing today…

Mar 11, 2009 9:31 PM CDT

Madoff Aides Talk to Feds, as Some Call for International Financial Court

As a plea deal in the federal criminal case against Bernard Madoff appears imminent, several people who worked for him reportedly are talking with prosecutors about how he allegedly operated a $50 billion Ponzi scheme. Under proffer agreements protecting them from prosecution if they tell the truth, two assistants told…

Mar 10, 2009 12:03 AM CDT

Whole Foods Settles Antitrust Case, Agrees to Sell 32 Wild Oats Stores

The Federal Trade Commission’s longtime effort to unravel the purchase of Wild Oats by Whole Foods has ended in a settlement. Whole Foods has agreed to sell 32 of 74 Wild Oats groceries, restoring competition in 17 geographic areas, reports The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times. Several of the…

Mar 6, 2009 4:28 PM CST