In the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 and the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 Congress expressly preempted some state laws and regulations that would set the economic rules for the commerical airline and trucking industries. Congress had partially deregulated those industries, and, to an extent, it didn't want the states to disturb the […]
Author Archives: Brian Wolfman
The Supreme Court granted review on Friday in American Express Co. v. Italian Colors Restaurant. Here is the question presented in the petition: Whether the Federal Arbitration Act permits courts, invoking the “federal substantive law of arbitrability,” to invalidate arbitration agreements on the ground that they do not permit class arbitration of a federal law […]
Appointment to the Senate Banking Committee is a plum usually reserved for Senators with more seniority than Senator-Elect Elizabeth Warren — that is, Senators with at least some seniority — but it appears that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid may make it happen because of Warren's expertise on banking and finance issues. Read about it […]
In September, we blogged concerning the California electoral initiative that would require labeling of genetically modified foods. (We should know the answer on the initiative sometime tomorrow night or early Wednesday morning.) We followed up with this post about genetically modified food labeling requirements across the globe. Now, Brad Plumer has posted this excellent piece on […]
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Richard Cordray gave two speeches last week in Seattle that shed light on the new agency's activities. In the first — remarks at a public hearing — Cordray talked about the agency's joint efforts with the FTC in regulating debt collection, principally under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. He noted, […]
Today, the Obama Administration issued final regulations for its new Pay As You Earn student loan repayment program. 77 Fed. Reg. 66088. The program enhances graduates’ (including law graduates') ability to repay their student loans, and it nudges graduates toward public service work. With minor exceptions, the program will apply to higher-education graduates who graduated […]
Yesterday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued its Fall 2012 Supervisory Report discussing the degree to which financial institutions and service providers it regulates are complying with federal consumer financial laws. Part III of the report surveys significant legal violations detected by the CFPB and what the agency is doing to remedy those violatons and […]
For months now, we have covered the tobacco industry's First Amendment challenge to the FDA's new graphic cigarette package labels. In late August, we told you about a D.C. Circuit panel decision invalidating the labels. We noted that the case was likely on a fast track to the Supreme Court. A couple weeks ago, though, […]
Should government impose workplace health rules? As explained here, laws requiring smoke-free workplaces may significantly improve cardiac health. An excerpt: Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. looked at the number of heart attacks among residents of Olmsted County, Minn. that occurred 18 months before and after implementation of laws banning smoking in restaurants […]