The legal landscape is ever-changing, as new laws are passed or existing laws are interpreted or enforced differently. Brooks Pierce attorneys have identified some of the biggest potential legal issues that businesses need to be aware of in the coming months—from labor and employment to cybersecurity and federal investigations—and provided a high-level assessment of what company leaders need to know now to better prepare themselves for the future.
Labor and Employment
Federal agencies have identified more employee-friendly priorities since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021. Many of those initiatives are likely to develop further in 2022. We also see higher rates of collaboration among government agencies in the investigation of employee complaints. Multiple federal agencies have entered a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to enhance enforcement of federal employment laws. This makes it more likely that employers will be defending agency investigations on multiple fronts. For example, a charge of discrimination from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) may be followed by a notice of investigation from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Wage & Hour Division based on information uncovered by the EEOC.
For employers, we expect this means two things. First, there will be more agency investigations of workplaces than we have seen in recent years. Second, those investigations will likely be more intense than past administrations and may involve...
Quince is looking to sidestep a proposed class action lawsuit accusing it of “defraud[ing] customers as to the value of thousands of … products sold on its website.” In a newly filed motion to dis...