To say that privacy regulations have been in the news lately is a bit of an understatement. The European Union’s new General Data Protection Regulation has had privacy professionals and businesses scrambling to meet the May 25, 2018 deadline for compliance. While the GDPR may be dominating the national news circuits, the EU is not
Jessica Engler
Eastern District of Louisiana: Total Work Stoppage Not Necessary for Eichleay Recovery of Extended Home Office Overhead
Delays are an unfortunate, but common occurrence on construction projects. These delays are sometimes caused by the project’s owner through change orders, delays in providing equipment and materials, slow response to requests for information, etc. When these delays occur, contractors will often request adjustments to the contract to account for the delay.
A major expense…
The Defend Trade Secrets Act at Year One
- This article originally appeared in the Fall 2017 edition of DRI’s In-House Defense Quarterly
On March 11th of this year, the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) celebrated the one-year anniversary of its enactment. The DTSA, 18 U.S.C. Section 1831, et seq. expanded the federal legal protection for holders of trade secrets presently offered to holders…
Kean Miller Data Security Alert: W-2 Phishing Scam Returns for Tax Season
The IRS has sent an urgent alert to employers this month that a W-2 phishing scam that many companies fell victim to in 2016 is back in full force for 2017. The IRS warns that this scam is emerging earlier this year and is targeting school districts, tribal organizations, and nonprofits in addition to businesses.…
If You Build It, They May Hack: Data Privacy & Cybersecurity FAQs for the Construction Industry
Continuing the trend from 2015, 2016 has seen a significant number of large, public data breaches. Many of these breaches involved high-profile companies such as the Democratic National Convention, Internal Revenue Service, MySpace, Yahoo!, and Anthem. Since large corporate and government breaches typically get the most attention, many smaller, local businesses can be lulled into…
HHS OCR: Ransomware Attacks Usually Qualify as a HIPAA Breach
Ransomware is here to stay. According to a recent United States Government interagency report, on average, there have been approximately 4,000 daily ransomware attacks since early 2016, which is a 300 percent increase from the approximately 1,000 daily ransomware attacks reported in 2015.[1] A significant percentage of those affected by ransomware have been healthcare…
Contract Claims Still Viable for “Imperfect” Contractors under the Louisiana Public Works Act
On May 3, 2016, the Louisiana Supreme Court held that the notice and recordation requirements of the Louisiana Public Works Act do not bar a suit on contract by a subcontractor against the general contractor’s surety. The Court’s opinion is nuanced, and dependent on the meaning and word choice of certain terms in the Louisiana…
The New Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 Provides Federal Remedies for Trade Secret Misappropriation
On May 11, 2016, President Barack Obama signed into law the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (“DTSA”). Through the DTSA, claims for trade secret misappropriation will now have a basis in Federal law and Federal Courts will have jurisdiction over such claims. In addition to the new federal cause of action, the DTSA adds…
New Federal Regulations Seek Federal Contractor Assistance with Preventing Human Trafficking
On March 2, 2015, new federal regulations went into effect which seek to strengthen the protections against human trafficking. A large part of these new regulations, which are updates to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”), provide a stronger framework to discourage federal contractor employers from trafficking workers into the country illegally. Since a significant number…
New Federal Regulations Seek Federal Contractor Assistance with Preventing Human Trafficking
The United States has long had policies prohibiting government employees and government contractors from engaging in trafficking of persons, and the recent Executive Order, titled “Strengthening Protections Against Trafficking in Persons in Federal Contracts”, and Title XVII of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 have served to heighten the requirements on federal…