United States: Compliance

The FCC has granted waivers allowing broadband providers to make limited hardware changes to previously authorized routers now on the Covered List, addressing critical component shortages and supply chain disruptions.

The FCC received extensive industry feedback on its proposed equipment authorization and Covered List rules, with manufacturers, technology companies, and trade associations pushing back against broad regulatory requirements. Commenters generally support supply chain protection but seek narrower rules with a stronger connection between regulatory burdens and actual security risks, particularly regarding bills of materials requirements, certification mandates, and equipment authorization expiration.

California Senate Bill 690 eliminates private lawsuits under Penal Code § 638.51 for alleged pen register violations involving website tracking technologies, while leaving other privacy claims intact. The legislation addresses aggressive litigation tactics but does not create broad exemptions for commercial website activity or amend California's wiretapping provisions. Businesses must understand both the relief provided and the significant limitations of this narrow reform.

Bracewell attorneys examine how parent companies can face Clean Air Act operator liability when they exercise control over a facility's environmental operations, analyzing the district court's application of the Bestfoods framework in United States v. EES Coke Battery, LLC. The discussion explores the evidence of control through master services agreements, parent-company involvement in operations, and authority over compliance spending that led to three parent entities being held liable alongside

The IRS has issued proposed Treasury Regulations that would significantly expand reporting obligations and clarify certification rules for Qualified Opportunity Funds and Qualified Opportunity Zone Businesses. These proposed changes introduce new information return requirements, establish formal decertification procedures, and impose substantial penalties for non-compliance, fundamentally reshaping the administrative landscape for opportunity zone investments.

New York City's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection secured a landmark $131.5 million settlement with DoorDash, marking the largest worker settlement in the city's history and the largest involving food delivery workers nationwide. The agreement provides over $115 million in direct compensation to more than 260,000 delivery workers who were underpaid, unpaid, or paid late, while establishing a comprehensive three-year compliance monitoring program.

The SEC proposes new custody rules for crypto assets held by investment advisers and funds, allowing self-custody under strict conditions. Meanwhile, regulatory developments continue with new FAQs on crypto asset classification, state certification procedures under the GENIUS Act, and state-level actions including Illinois's digital asset tax and California's meme coin ban.

A public advocate group has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the American Medical Association's copyrights over CPT medical billing codes, arguing these government-mandated codes should be freely accessible to the public. The case raises fundamental questions about whether standardized medical billing codes incorporated into federal law can remain proprietary, with significant implications for healthcare transparency and fraud detection.

The Department of Justice (DOJ or the Department) has formally denied a petition from the American Clinical Laboratory Association (ACLA) requesting rulemaking under the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act of 2018 (EKRA). ACLA asked DOJ to issue rules under EKRA allowing for compensation of employed sales representatives in any manner, including through variable compensation, consistent with the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) safe harbor for employees.