5/4/2015 Last week, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a bill that incentivizes whistleblower complaints within the automotive industry. The bill, modeled off of similar measures for the Internal Revenue Service and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), allows the U.S. Secretary of Transportation to award up to 30 percent of revenue collected in excess of
5/4/2015 In a surprising and pragmatic break from his usual stance regarding campaign financing, Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the 4 Supreme Court liberals, ruling in favor of campaign limits for judicial candidates. Roberts, along with Justice Anthony Kennedy, cast the deciding precedent-setting votes in the 2010 Citizens United ruling that essentially blew the
5/1/2015 Pending approval from U.S. district court in Minnesota, Medtronic Plc agrees to consent decree with the FDA regarding its SynchroMed implantable drug pump. The company will correct problems that cause the pumps to deliver either too little or too much medication. The pumps are used for treating cancer and chronic pain patients and those
5/1/2015 Among the controversies surrounding the anticipated Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement between the U.S. and 11 other Asian-Pacific countries, the most hotly debated component is the inclusion of the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) system. Under ISDS procedures, in case of a disagreement, a multinational corporation and a nation in which that corporation does business can
5/1/2015 The old adage still remains true even if the names have changed. As a business owner, when 60-Minutes comes to your door, it is probably not going to be a good day. Lumber Liquidators is the largest hardwood flooring retailer in the world, with annual revenues of over a billion dollars. Yet, that may
Image: Shutterstock 4/30/2015 Under the stated reason of lowering the state’s highest-in-the-nation rates, Michigan insurance companies push radical no-fault auto insurance changes. To that end, the insurance industry is generously donating to state legislators and it seems to be working. The controversial bills seem to have been fast-tracked having only one Senate hearing and three
4/30/2015 In a great example of “CYA,” Takeda settles Actos cases for $2.3B. The agreement, yet to be approved by the plaintiffs, is a result of last year’s whopping smackdown in which a federal jury awarded a shopkeeper $9B, payable by Takeda and it’s former partner, Eli Lilly & Co. The court reduced that award
4/30/2015 In what has been initially hailed as both a small victory for companies as well as for employees, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Wednesday, April 29th, that proper Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) procedures may be subjected to court oversight. More specifically, the Court mandated that the EEOC must make an attempt at
4/30/2015 When former Attorney General Eric Holder announced the retirement of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) chief, Michelle Leonhart, on April 21st, he may have also closed the book on an era for the DEA as we know it. Called a “trailblazer for equality” by Holder in his statement, Leonhart spent 35 years working for the
4/29/2015 The two most recent scandals involving government healthcare that Legal Reader has been following have been unearthed by whistleblowers, former employees who have brought systematic abuses to the public even in the face of retaliation. First, last year’s nationwide Veterans Affairs (VA) wait-time scandal dominated news headlines and forced the resignation of then-Secretary Eric