July 2015

The federal government has been encouraging employers to adopt best practices to address both external and internal threats to critical business information and infrastructure. These best practices have included an important human resources element, including policies and programs covering current and former employees.

For example, the Obama Administration opened its initiative to combat trade secret

On July 24, 2015, the Defense Information Security Agency (“DISA”) issued three draft documents (available here for download) concerning the adoption of secure cloud computing systems by the Department of Defense (“DoD”).  DISA is tasked with developing DoD’s security requirements guides for cybersecurity policies, standards, architectures, security controls, and validation procedures.  Here, the just-released, draft

Last Friday, Fiat Chrysler announced the recall of 1.4 million vehicles to fix security vulnerabilities, further highlighting the importance of properly addressing cybersecurity issues created by the use of connected devices.  The recall follows an article published last Tuesday by Wired magazine which described methods used by security researchers to remotely access a Jeep Cherokee,

United States ex rel. Hartpence v. Kinetic Concepts, Inc., No. 12-55396 (9th Cir. July 2015) is one of many recent decisions limiting a contractor’s ability to dismiss False Claims Act (“FCA”) lawsuits at an early stage of the litigation.  In Hartpence, the Ninth Circuit resurrected two FCA cases in one sweeping decision by interpreting

The National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (“NCCoE”) has released a draft for public comment of the first guide in a new series of publications “that will show businesses and other organizations how to improve their cybersecurity using standards-based, commercially available or open-source tools.” The guide discusses how to secure electronic health records on mobile devices.

Although executive compensation has been under significant scrutiny for many years, directors’ compensation has flown somewhat under the radar. That may be about to change: in Calma v. Templeton, a Delaware court recently held that the level of compensation granted to non-employee directors should be reviewed under the “entire fairness” standard rather than under

The classification of workers as employees or independent contractors is an ongoing headache for employers.  Different government agencies use different tests to determine a worker’s status.  The one thing the tests have in common is that they are subjective: two people applying the same test to the same worker will often reach different conclusions about

Highway funding remains at an impasse in Congress this week, as the House and Senate continue to debate how to extend funding for the program and for how long that extension should last.  The House already passed a five-month extension, but the Senate is attempting passage of a long-term bill.  Meanwhile, the July 31 expiration