On August 7, 2025, President Trump’s reciprocal tariffs fully came into effect. The overall U.S. effective tariff rate has now risen to an estimated 18.6%, which is the highest rate since 1934. Several countries continue to negotiate the applied tariff rates.
Continue Reading Tariff Update: Reciprocal Tariffs and Other Recent Changes
The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) is sharpening its focus on “salting”—the practice of union organizers seeking employment with non-union employers to facilitate organizing campaigns. On July 24, 2025, the NLRB’s Acting General Counsel (“AGC”) William Cowen issued updated guidance that both clarifies and intensifies scrutiny around salting cases, altering how these matters will be investigated and litigated.[1] Employers and HR professionals should take note of this evolving landscape.
Continue Reading Hold the Salt: Key Takeaways from the NLRB’s New Guidance on Union Salting
Four advance notices of proposed rulemaking scheduled for publication on August 8 will solicit public comment on whether the CFPB should raise the size thresholds that determine which nonbank entities qualify as “larger participants” subject to routine Bureau supervision. The notices address the automobile-financing, international money-transfer, consumer-reporting, and consumer debt-collection markets.
Continue Reading CFPB Seeks Comment on Proposed Rules to Scale Back Larger Participant Thresholds
On July 28, The New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) announced that its amended debt-collection rule, scheduled to take effect on October 1, 2025, has been postponed, leaving the industry in limbo for the third time since the rules were finalized in August 2024. DCWP will set a new effective date with at least three months’ advance notice.
Continue Reading New York City Pushes Back Compliance Date of Amended Debt-Collection Rules
On August 4, 2025, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a notice warning financial institutions about escalating illicit activity involving convertible virtual currency (CVC) kiosks. The notice cites increased misuse of CVC kiosks in fraud schemes, drug trafficking, and cybercrime, and identifies operators’ potential violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) through failures to register, implement anti-money laundering (AML) programs, or conduct customer due diligence.
Continue Reading FinCEN Warns Financial Institutions of Illicit Activity at Crypto Kiosks
On August 2, the U.S. Senate passed the Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act (H.R. 2808) by unanimous consent, which amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to restrict consumer reporting agencies from sharing “trigger leads” generated in connection with residential mortgage credit inquiries. The bill now awaits the President’s signature and would take effect 180 days after enactment.
On August 1, 2025, the Health Resources and Services Administration (“HRSA”) issued a Notice announcing the launch of the 340B Rebate Model Pilot Program (“Pilot Program”), that would dramatically change the way in which participating drug manufacturers provide discounts to healthcare entities eligible to participate in the 340B Program.
Continue Reading HRSA Launches and Seeks Comments on 340B Rebate Model Pilot Program
On July 29, the Massachusetts Attorney General issued updated business guidance and a webinar explaining the state’s new “junk fee” regulations under the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act, which take effect on September 2. The guidance breaks down the rule’s disclosure and cancellation obligations into checklists and identifies narrow carve-outs for businesses already subject to comparable federal or state rules.
On July 14, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA” or the “Agency”) issued a warning letter (the “Warning Letter”) to WHOOP, Inc. (“WHOOP”), rejecting WHOOP’s claim that its wearable “Blood Pressure Insights” product qualifies as an unregulated wellness product[1] and alleging, instead, that the product qualifies as a “device”[2] under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act (“FDCA”) (i.e., is intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, prevention, or treatment of a disease or condition).[3] FDA concludes, therefore, that the product is misbranded and adulterated, as WHOOP is currently marketing the product with a cleared 510(k) notification or approved premarket application (“PMA”).
Can we take any insights from Connecticut’s first settlement under the state’s Data Privacy Act, reached with TicketNetwork, an online ticket marketplace? The AG concerns mirrored priorities outlined in Connecticut’s 2025 CTDPA Enforcement Report. This suggests that future cases may also draw from that report.
Continue Reading Privacy Compliance Insights from Connecticut’s First Privacy Law Settlement
Plaintiff Lisa Bodenburg brought a putative class action against Defendant Apple Inc. after purchasing a 200 GB iCloud+ storage plan. She believed that by upgrading to the paid 200 GB plan, the 200 GB would add to the free 5 GB of storage provided to all Apple customers for a combined total of 205 GB of storage. However, after her purchase, she allegedly discovered that her total available storage was 200 GB, not the expected 205 GB. Bodenburg sued Apple, alleging breach of contract and violations of California’s Unfair Competition Law (“UCL”), Consumers Legal Remedies Act (“CLRA”), and False Advertising Law (“FAL”), seeking damages, restitution, and equitable relief on behalf of herself and a proposed nationwide class of iCloud+ customers. The district court dismissed Bodenburg’s action with prejudice, finding that none of her claims were plausible, and the Ninth Circuit affirmed.
Continue Reading Navigating Ambiguity in Consumer Protection Law: Insights from Bodenburg v. Apple
Prosecution history estoppel may narrow the scope of a claim that was unamended during prosecution, if another closely related claim is amended or cancelled during prosecution.
The Sunshine State just got brighter for Florida employers seeking to enforce non-compete agreements. On April 24, 2025, the Florida legislature passed the Contracts Honoring Opportunity, Investment, Confidentiality, and Economic Growth (CHOICE) Act (the “Act”). The Act—which took effect on July 1, 2025—significantly enhances the enforceability of both non-compete and garden leave agreements in Florida. As a result, Florida may now be the most non-compete friendly state in the nation.
Starting January 1, 2026, health care practitioners in Texas are required to store electronic health records in the United States under a new Act. It applies to all records- regardless of the date on which the record was first prepared. his requirement is found in a recently enacted law that also includes requirements for practitioner’s AI use.
Continue Reading New Texas Law Requires Storage of Electronic Health Records in U.S.
Among the many sweeping changes to the Medicaid program included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (“OBBBA”), Congress established new statutory caps on state-directed payments (“SDPs”) in Medicaid managed care. SDPs have long served as a critical mechanism for states pursuing value-based payment (“VBP”) reforms, addressing network adequacy, and advancing health equity for underserved populations. OBBBA imposes explicit Medicare-based caps on new SDPs, time-limited exceptions for certain SDPs that were approved or in development on or before July 4, 2025, and a phased transition to new payment caps beginning January 1, 2028, that will reshape state payment policy tools to drive VBP, narrow disparities, and close gaps in access.[1] State Medicaid agencies, healthcare providers, patient advocacy groups, and other stakeholders should prepare to weigh in as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) proposes regulations to implement these changes in the coming months.
In Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. v. Alkermes PLC, the Federal Circuit held that it did not have appellate jurisdiction to review a decision by the district court in the Southern District of New York not to modify an arbitral award of patent royalties. Though the Appellant, Accorda Therapeutics, Inc., presented a first ground to modify the arbitral award based in patent law, its presentation of a second and alternative ground based on contract law effectively undermined the Federal Circuit’s appellate jurisdiction.