Swaps segregation rule approval, SEC settlement policy change, Supreme Court action on regulation, and more.
- The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) started overseeing non-bank companies that offer home loans, payday loans, and student loans to consumers.
- The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) amended its policy on corporate admissions of guilt, barring companies from “neither-admit-nor-deny” civil settlements with the SEC if they had admitted guilt or been convicted in the same case.
- The Commodities Future Trading Commission (CFTC) adopted a rule to protect the money of investors in swaps.
- The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on whether administrative compliance orders should be subject to judicial review. See related The Regulatory Review essay.
- According to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) newly launched Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, power plants account for 96 of the largest 100 emitters in the U.S., based on just-released data from 2010.
- The Justice Department (DOJ) released a legal memo concluding that President Obama acted within his legal authority in appointing Richard Cordray to lead the CFPB during the recent congressional recess.
- The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) issued guidance calling for a plain-language summary at the beginning of regulatory notices published in the Federal Register.
- Three companies that owned or operated the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig will appeal citations issued by the Department of the Interior (DOI) in the wake of the Gulf Coast oil spill.
- The U.S. Supreme Court held that a religious school can claim a “ministerial exception” to the Americans with Disabilities Act when confronted with discrimination charges filed by a teacher who spent time performing religious and secular duties.
- The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that an employee’s eligibility for federal workers compensation benefits under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act could be established through a “substantial nexus” to the outer Continental Shelf, even though the worker was not offshore at the time of the injury.
- The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on the necessity and constitutionality of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules limiting curse words and nudity on broadcast television.
- The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced its intent to propose a rule that would allow certain undocumented immigrants to remain in America while applying for legal status.
- Belarus banned its citizens from visiting virtually all foreign internet sites.
- The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a consumer update warning patients about stem cell treatment scams.
- In response to reports of traces of fungicide found in orange juice, the FDA paused the importation of orange juice so as to allow testing for fungicide levels.
