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Inflation Reduction Act
SEC Cybersecurity Reporting Requirements for Public Companies: Applying Old Standards to New Risks
On July 26, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued a final rule that requires registrants to provide enhanced and standardized disclosures regarding “cybersecurity risk management, strategy, governance and incidents.” This rule, the culmination of discussion following the March...
FTC Acts to Remedy Interlocking Director and Information Exchange Concerns in Oil & Gas Transaction
On August 16, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission took action to resolve its antitrust concerns associated with a proposed transaction between EQT Corporation (EQT) and private equity firm QEP Partners, LP (Quantum) pursuant to which EQT agreed to acquire certain...
Fifth Circuit Expands Title VII Exposure for Employers
On August 18, 2023, in Hamilton v. Dallas County , the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, sitting en banc , expanded the circumstances under which an employer can be held liable for disparate treatment under Title VII...
No Surprises Act Creates Payment Challenges for Providers
Since the implementation of the No Surprises Act last year, flaws in the federal Independent Dispute Resolution process – particularly enforceability issues – have left providers struggling to get paid for out-of-network emergency services, say Bracewell’s Carrie Douglas and Julia Kowalsky.
Generic ESG Statements and Securities Class Actions: Goldman Sachs Secures Second Circuit Victory in Long-Running Class Certification Battle
A three-judge panel for the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed a district court’s class certification in the decade-long Arkansas Teacher Retirement System v. Goldman Sachs Group litigation regarding allegedly false public disclosures made by Goldman regarding...
What to Expect When You’re . . . Under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Proposed Rules
On August 7, 2023, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued proposed rules for implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). Once published in the Federal Register, the public will have 60 days to comment on the proposed rules...
NLRB Revises Test for Evaluating Workplace Policies
On August 2, 2023, in Stericycle, Inc. (Stericycle), the National Labor Relations Board (the Board) revised the test for determining whether an employer’s workplace policies comply with the National Labor Relations Act (the NLRA). Stericycle reverses the Board’s 2017 decision...
FERC Finalizes Interconnection Queue Reforms
On July 28, 2023, following up on its June 2022 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“Generator Interconnection Reform NOPR”), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or “Commission”) issued its long-awaited rulemaking order, Order No. 2023, requiring reforms to FERC’s pro forma...
The Multi-Sector Fuel Dilemma
Confusion persists among industry stakeholders regarding the correct structuring approach to renewables. The truth is that renewables traverse sectors and is not a sector itself. Electrical power generated through sustainable means is a service, much like fossil fuel powered power...
FINRA Facts and Trends: July 2023
Welcome to the latest issue of Bracewell’s FINRA Facts and Trends, a monthly newsletter devoted to condensing and digesting recent FINRA developments in the areas of enforcement, regulation and dispute resolution. This month, we report on a challenge in the...
What Once Was Old Is New Again: DOJ and FTC Issue Draft New Merger Guidelines
On July 19, 2023, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a draft version of new Merger Guidelines (Merger Guidelines), which would replace the 2010 Horizontal Merger Guidelines and the 2020 Vertical Merger Guidelines (the...
Voluntary Carbon Credits – A Free Market Solution
OVERVIEW In February of this year, the International Emissions Trading Association (“ IETA ”) published a comprehensive set of standardised agreements for the sale and purchase of voluntary carbon credits (“ VCCs ”). The international market for VCCs has been...
Texas UIC Class VI Update: Proposed Amendments to 16 TAC Ch. 5
In Volume 48, Number 26 of the Texas Register , the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) published proposed amendments to 16 Texas Administrative Code Chapter 5 (relating to Carbon Dioxide and related storage activities). These proposed rules are essential to...
BOEM Releases Proposed Rule on Supplemental Financial Assurance for OCS Lease and Grant Obligations
On June 29, 2023, the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) published a proposed rule that, if adopted, would substantially revise the financial assurance requirements applicable to offshore oil and gas operations. [1] The proposed rule is...
Supreme Court “Clarifies” Employer Duty to Make Religious Accommodations
On June 29, 2023, in Groff v. DeJoy , the US Supreme Court unanimously adopted a new interpretation of the standard for when an employee’s religious accommodation poses an “undue hardship” for an employer under Title VII of the Civil...