In a speech to the Federal Bar Association’s annual qui tam conference on Feb. 20, 2025, Michael Granston, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Commercial Litigation Branch at the U.S. Department of Justice, discussed how the Trump administration plans to “aggressively” enforce the False Claims Act (FCA). His statements come on top of other comments from Trump administration officials stating that DEI, domestic sourcing/industry, pandemic relief and cost-related considerations will be among the administration’s key enforcement priorities. This raises compliance risks for numerous entities, including healthcare and government contracting industries, federal grant recipients, educational institutions, and cybersecurity, import/export, freight forwarding and infrastructure companies.

Granston’s remarks were made one day before the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland preliminarily enjoined the provision concerning certifications under the FCA in Executive Order 14173, “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.” The order would require a term in every procurement contract or grant award that compliance in all aspects with all applicable federal antidiscrimination laws is material to the government’s payment for purposes of the FCA.

Read on to learn more about Granston’s remarks and the FCA enforcement landscape.

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New York Attorney General Letitia James issued a warning to businesses against price gouging for eggs and poultry. The current bird flu outbreak began in March 2024 but has become a topic of increasing concern for consumers and businesses in the new year after more than 13 million hens — necessary to the success of the egg and poultry industry — died or were slaughtered within the last two months. The result? Mass egg shortages for consumers and soaring cost increases that have jumped more than 50% in the past year and accelerated in recent weeks.

Read on to learn what the crackdown could mean for businesses in the egg and poultry industry and for price gouging investigations in the agricultural space and other industries.

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The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced on Jan. 24, 2025, that its highly anticipated one-to-one consent rule was postponed by at least one year. This is big news for companies that were gearing up for the implementation of the rule, which would have significantly altered the requirements for obtaining consent to place calls or text messages under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

Companies should keep an eye on another FCC rule that will change the requirements regarding consumers’ ability to revoke consent, scheduled to take effect on April 11, 2025. Meanwhile the U.S. Supreme Court will decide to what extent courts must defer to the FCC’s interpretation of the TCPA.

Read on to learn how ongoing changes in the regulatory landscape for the TCPA stress the importance of reviewing and prioritizing TCPA compliance in 2025.

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Following the recent catastrophic wildfires that have affected California, businesses need assistance navigating the ins and outs of insurance coverage and the claims process and ultimately protecting their interests if litigation ensues. Whether it’s wildfires in California, hurricanes along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, tornadoes in the Midwest, or infrastructure failures in major population centers, how can you maximize recoveries under insurance programs and policies? And how can corporate policyholders manage claims, coverage disputes, business interruption insurance and more — no matter the cause of the crisis or the industry involved?

Click below for resources that support those who have experienced loss, especially in the wake of the Los Angeles wildfires.

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Labeling litigation in the food and beverage space remains vigorous, especially in California.  To avoid becoming a party to such litigation, participants in the manufacturing and sale of consumer products must take care to ensure that their labeling and marketing of products is accurate and is not misleading as prohibited by various consumer protection statutes.  A recent opinion in a pending California action highlights the increase in “greenwashing” litigation – where plaintiffs claim that labels and marketing materials misrepresent the environmentally sustainable practices associated with a product.

Continue Reading Greenwashing Trends in Labeling Litigation and Legislation

The current environment of higher interest rates and high inflation may have a deleterious effect on the retail industry. Although the fear of interest rates and inflation continuing to rise appears to have tapered off, both are still relatively high in comparison to the past twenty-year period. Each on its own can have a negative impact on the retail industry, and unfortunately, both combined can present enough challenges to a retail businesses to force them to change strategies for long-term survival.

Continue Reading Potential Benefits of Chapter 11 Bankruptcy for Retailers Facing Higher Interest Rates and High Inflation

Walgreens Boots Alliance d/b/a Walgreens Co. and Denise Bentley and United Food and Commercial Workers District Union Local One, case number 03-RD-321385, before the National Labor Relations Board Region 3.

The NLRB left the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) on the shelves long past its sell-by date at several western New York Walgreens locations.

Continue Reading NLRB Dismisses Decertification Petition Because Union’s Disclaimer of Interest Effectively Mooted Employees’ Vote

June 27, 2024

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McGuireWoods latest installment of its bimonthly brown-bag lunch series that explores important topics affecting the consumer product and retail industries. This webinar covers cannabis industry news and speakers answer questions from attendees..

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The H5N1 virus, commonly referred to as the bird flu, is spreading through U.S. cattle herds and the virus has been detected in pasteurized milk on grocery store shelves. The World Health Organization labeled the outbreak an animal pandemic, but fears of animal to human transmission are rising.

Read on to learn how to prepare for the financial impact of this looming outbreak and why businesses in the livestock and dairy industries should carefully review their policies to maximize coverage for the losses the outbreak will cause.

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