On Feb. 7, New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo signed legislation regulating the presence of toxic chemicals in children’s products and apparel. The governor agreed to the legislation – the last of the bills from the 2019 legislative session to be signed – on the condition that the bills be amended in the current 2020…

On Jan. 10, 2020, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced another increase in the maximum civil monetary penalties for violations of federal Occupational Safety and Health standards and regulations. The new monetary penalties will be nearly 2% higher than the current maximum penalty amounts.

Effective Jan. 15, 2020, the maximum penalty for…

On Jan. 1, 2019, a new law aiming to limit children’s intake of sugary beverages became effective. California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the “Children’s Meals” law on Sept. 20, 2018, in an effort to combat the rising obesity rate in California, which increased 250 percent between 1990 and 2016. The Children’s Meals law modifies the…

In a unanimous decision issued Jan. 25, 2019, the Illinois Supreme Court held that a plaintiff need not plead or prove actual harm to bring a claim under Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). The court’s decision in Rosenbach v. Six Flags Entm’t Entertainment Corp. settles a split among Illinois’ appellate courts, which centered on…

On March 14, 2016, Ageas (formerly, Fortis Bank) and several foundations representing the Fortis shareholders announced a EUR 1.204 billion settlement of shareholder claims and they are now seeking to declare the settlement legally binding on all shareholders under the 2005 Dutch Act on Collective Settlement of Mass Claims (the WCAM).[1] Recently, the settlement was…