Civil Law

Guest blog: SEC adopts final rules for clawback of erroneously awarded compensation

By: Louann Fang Richard, Brent L. Bernell, Andrew D. Ledbetter, Eric Forni, Rita M. Patel, Keith Ranta, Bryan Card

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved, by a 3-2 vote, final rules that require publicly traded companies to adopt policies regarding recovery of erroneously awarded incentive-based compensation, or “clawback” policies. The SEC initially proposed clawback rules in July 2015, but the rules have been pending finalization until the SEC reopened the comment period in October 2021 and again in … Read the rest

Civil Law

The psychological assumption behind multi enterprise bargaining

In our previous blog, Chris Gardner and I explained why in our view, if the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill was made law, it would spell the end of single-enterprise bargaining. We said this would happen because many employers would be roped-in or otherwise pressured to join multi-enterprise deals, resulting in industry-level enterprise agreements much like industry awards.

More fundamentally, we made observations on the impact on competition, which have since been echoed in numerous forums.

On Wednesday this week, … Read the rest

Civil Law

Technology in food driving FDA’s announcements during the past week

During the same week that the Food and Drug Administration re-affirmed its approval of Atlantic salmon with an intentionally altered genome, the agency also permitted the growth of chicken from animal cells in laboratories.

The approval went to a specific company, UPSIDE FOODS. The company is a leader among those wanting to harvest cells from animals and then use the cells to grow meat and poultry in lab settings.

The federal government’s dual regulatory system for cell-grown meat and poultry … Read the rest

Civil Law

Observations from the COP27 Halfway Point

We are half way through COP27, so (disregarding the intersessionals that will take place during 2023), the negotiations will “soon” start to focus on Dubai, the venue for next year’s COP28 summit.  Who knows how much progress will be made before then.  One point to note is that COP27 is more of an “implementation” COP, rather than one with a more grandiose task, such as ramping up climate ambition.

To continue on that point, there do seem to be signs … Read the rest

Civil Law

UK food microbiology lab notes less contact with the EU

The United Kingdom leaving the European Union has resulted in reduced communication between UK and EU food networks, according to a new report.

The annual report covers work of the UK’s national reference laboratory (NRL) for food microbiology between April 2021 and March 2022.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) provides this service for the Food Standards Agency (FSA) for Listeria monocytogenes, coagulase-positive staphylococci, E. coli, Campylobacter, Salmonella and antimicrobial resistance.

Reduced information sharing

The NRL has had less contact … Read the rest

Civil Law

Researchers look at reducing Salmonella risks for bulb onions

Research funded by the Center for Produce Safety (CPS) is hoping to identify production practices that may contribute to Salmonella contamination of bulb onions and steps growers can take to reduce food safety risks.

Salmonella on onions is a growing concern. This past year a Salmonella Oranienburg outbreak linked to whole, fresh onions imported from Mexico sickened more than 1,000 consumers. The outbreak came just a year after more than 1,000 consumers were sickened by Salmonella Newport from red onions.… Read the rest

Civil Law

Federal meat inspection has failed to adapt to operational environment

Editor’s note: This is the first of a four-part series.

I had two simultaneous careers: the U.S. Army Reserve and the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). I graduated from the U.S. Army War College (USAWC) with a masters degree in Strategic Studies. I earned a bachelors of science, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, and masters in Veterinary Pathology with a minor in Meat Science. I participated in strategic planning on two general staffs. I was an Inspector-in-Charge in slaughter … Read the rest

Civil Law

The federal agency won’t say if it sent a warning letter to makers of Jif peanut butter

The FDA won’t comment on a key element in its investigation into the conditions at a peanut butter plant linked to an outbreak of infections from Salmonella Senftenberg.

Warning letters are routinely sent to companies after inspections turn up deficiencies or illegal conditions at food facilities, especially if the problems are so severe that they result in the issuance of a 483 Form. The warning letters detail problems found at food facilities.

However, the Food and Drug Administration will not … Read the rest