Commercial tenants who are unable to pay their rent as a result of COVID-19 shutdown and capacity-limit orders have, thus far, found little relief from courts, who have by and large rejected their common law defenses seeking a discharge of lease obligations. One recent Massachusetts case, however, sides with a commercial tenant, albeit under narrow circumstances, approving of the often-unsuccessful “frustration of purpose” defense.
In response to industry and consumer demand created by the COVID-19 pandemic, ASTM International (ASTM) has released a new voluntary standard for the design, labeling, testing, and performance of face coverings. The new standard, ASTM F3502-21, is the first voluntary standard directed at face coverings and “is intended to establish a national baseline” to allow consumers to make more informed decisions about the face covering products they use.
During his 2020 campaign, now President Biden promised to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, something progressives have long been proposing. The Democratic-held House of Representatives introduced and passed the Raise the Wage Act in 2019, but the bill never reached a vote in the then-GOP controlled Senate.
Despite the uncertainty of 2020, initial public offerings (IPOs) in the US set records in 2020, recording 407 IPOs that raised a total of $145 billion. The 2020 IPO boom more than doubled the 195 IPOs recorded in 2019 that raised a total of $56 billion. Special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), which made up 230 IPOs, influenced the bulk of the IPO activity in 2020. Although most of the SPACs have not yet completed their mergers, the completed SPAC mergers in 2020 showed a 41 percent return. Excluding SPACs, traditional IPOs raised $83 billion across 203 issuers, again representing the strongest IPO market in two decades.
While the eleven January recalls are summarized below, this first “Roundup” focuses on the evolving use of cashierless technology and what role it may play in the context of product recalls. Broadly speaking, cashierless technology refers to using technology at brick-and-mortar business locations that allows shoppers to enter the location and purchase consumer products without standing in a checkout line or interacting with a cashier. Rather, cameras and sensors track the products selected and charge the shoppers upon exit.
Disputes between restaurants and third-party food delivery services—such as Grubhub and Uber Eats—have made headlines over recent years. This tension has only been compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic. 2020 was a particularly tough year for restaurants across the country and even tougher in cities like New York where rents are high and state-mandated business closures resulted in significant cuts to already narrow profit margins. However, the same has not been true for third-party food delivery services. In 2020, food delivery apps saw substantial increases in revenues. Uber Eats, for example, reported revenues of $2.51 billion in 2019; that number jumped to approximately $3.5 billion for the first nine months of 2020.
For over 30 years, most district courts throughout the country have used a two-step conditional certification process to govern certification of collective actions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). But in its recent and game-changing opinion, Swales v. KLLM Transport Services, LLC, the Fifth Circuit rejected that two-step process and laid out a stricter framework for FLSA collective actions. This is an important decision for the retail industry, a frequent target of FLSA lawsuits, given the industry’s large workforce. Retailers facing putative FLSA collective actions in the Fifth Circuit (Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi federal courts) will benefit from the increased early scrutiny of certification issues mandated by this decision, and retailers across the country should keep a close watch on whether the Fifth Circuit’s opinion is adopted by other federal courts.
This is an extraordinary and unprecedented time for the retail industry. Our 2020 Retail Industry Year in Review provides an in-depth analysis of the issues and challenges that retailers faced in the past year, and a look ahead at what they can expect in 2021.
Search
Recent Posts
- From Produce to Insurance Coverage: What Businesses Concerned About Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) Risks Can Learn From Tony’s Finer Foods
- Federal Court Invalidates NYC Law Requiring Food Delivery Apps to Share Customer Data with Restaurants
- FTC to Hold Workshop on Design Features that “Monopolize” Kids’ Time Online
Categories
- Advertising & Marketing
- Bankruptcy
- Class Action
- Competition/Antitrust
- Consumer Protection
- Corporate Governance
- Environmental
- General
- Health Care
- Insurance
- IP
- Labor and Employment
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Patent Infringement
- Patents
- Privacy & Cybersecurity
- Product Liability
- Real Estate
- Regulatory
- Regulatory
- Technology & E-Commerce
Tags
- 29 C.F.R. § 785.48
- 396-r
- 3D Printer
- 3D Printing
- A. Todd Brown
- A.S. Research (ASR)
- Aaron P. Simpson
- Advertisers
- Advertising
- Advertising Claims
- Advertising Idea
- Agency Guidance
- AI
- AI Interviewing Platforms
- Algorithmic Accountability Act
- Align
- Americans with Disabilities Act
- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
- Andrea DeField
- Ann Marie Buerkle
- Annual Reports
- anti-aging
- Anti-Discrimination
- APEX Agreement
- Arbitration
- Arbitration Agreements
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- Arthritis
- Artificial Intelligence
- Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Asbestos
- Assembly Bill 51 (AB 51)
- ATDS
- Australia
- Auto-renewals
- automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS)
- Automobile
- Automotive Body Parts Association (ABPA)
- Back to Work Emergency Ordinance
- biased endorsements
- Biden Administration
- Biometric Data
- Biometric Information
- Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA)
- BIPA
- Bitcoin
- Blockchain
- Board Diversity Disclosure
- Boards of Directors
- Bonuses
- Braille
- Branding
- Breach
- Breach of Contract
- Business Interruption Loss
- Businessowner’s Insurance
- California
- California Assembly Bill 2011
- California Employment Laws
- California Fair Employment and Housing Act
- California Labor Code
- California Senate Bill 6
- CAMS
- Canada
- Cannabis
- CBD
- CBP
- CCPA
- Celebrity Endorsers
- Center for Disease Control (CDC)
- CFIUS
- CGL
- Chatbot
- Children’s Advertising
- Children’s Advertising Review Unit
- Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)
- China
- Christopher J. Dufek
- Christopher W. Hasbrouck
- Christy Kiely
- Class Action
- Class Actions
- Clawback
- Climate Change
- clinical trials
- Collective Action
- Colorado
- Commercial General Liability
- Commercial Leasing
- Commodity Futures Trading Commission
- Compliance
- Congress
- Connecticut
- Consent
- Consent Order
- Consumer Data
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
- consumer loyalty program
- Consumer Product Safety Act
- Consumer Products
- Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC)
- Consumer Protection
- Consumer Review Fairness Act of 2016 (CRFA)
- Consumer Reviews
- Contamination
- Contract Law
- Controlled Substance Act
- Cookware
- COPPA
- Copyright
- Coronavirus/COVID-19
- Corp Fin
- Corporate Governance
- Corporate Sustainability
- Counterfeit Goods
- Counterfeit Goods Seizure Act of 2019
- CPRA
- CPSA
- CPSC
- Crack House Statute
- CRFA
- Cryptocurrency
- CSPA
- Cuba
- Currency
- Customs and Border Protection
- Cyber Coverage
- Cyber Insurance
- D&O
- D&O policies
- D. Andrew Quigley
- Damages
- Data Breach
- Davidson
- DEI
- Delaware
- DEP
- Department of Justice
- Department of Labor
- Development Impact Fee
- Digital Assets
- digital currency
- Disclosures
- Distribution
- Division of Corporation Finance
- Dodd-Frank
- DOJ
- DOL
- Duty to Defend
- Duty to Indemnify
- e-liquid products
- Eddie Bauer
- EEOC
- Electric Vehicles
- Eleventh Circuit
- Emily Burkhardt Vicente
- Employee Rights
- Endorsement
- Endorsement Guides
- Endorsement Notice
- Endorsements
- endorser monitoring requirements
- Enforcement
- Environmental Protection Agency
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- EPA
- Epidemic
- ESG
- ESG Disclosure
- EU Regulation
- European Union
- European Unitary Patent
- EV Charging
- Exceptions
- Exclusions
- Exercise Machines
- Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)
- FAA
- Fair Labor Standards Act
- Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
- fair use
- False Advertising
- False Claims Act
- Family Leave Policies
- FCC
- FCRA
- FDA
- Federal Arbitration Act (FAA)
- Federal Communications Commission
- Federal District Court
- Federal Trade Commission
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
- FFDCA
- FIFRA
- Fifth Circuit
- Fireworks
- First Amendment
- Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act
- Florida
- Florida House of Representatives (HB 963) and Florida Senate (SB 1670)
- Florida Legislature
- FLSA
- FLSA/Wage & Hour
- food delivery
- Food Safety
- Form 10-K
- Formaldehyde Standards for Composite Wood Products Act of 2010
- fractional interests
- Franchise
- Frederic Chang
- Free Trials
- FTC
- FTC Act
- Gavin Newsom
- GDPR
- General Liability
- Geoffrey B. Fehling
- Georgia
- Gift Cards
- GoodRx
- Gramm-Leach-Bliley (GLB) Act
- Green
- Green Guides
- Greenhouse Gas
- Gun Safety
- Hart-Scott-Rodino
- Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR)
- hashtag
- Hawaii
- Health Care
- Health Claims
- Hedge Fund
- HIPAA
- hoverboards
- human capital
- Human Rights
- Illinois
- Illinois Artificial Intelligence Video Interview Act (the Illinois Act)
- Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA)
- Indiana
- Influencer Marketing
- Infringement
- initial public offerings (IPOs)
- Injury
- Insurance
- Insurance Loss
- Insurance Provider
- Intellectual Property
- Intellectual Property Licenses in Bankruptcy Act
- Interest Rate
- International
- International Trade Commission
- International Trade Commission (ITC)
- INVISALIGN
- Iowa
- IP
- Ireland
- IT
- ITC
- iTERO
- Katherine Miller
- Kurt A. Powell
- Kurt G. Larkin
- Labeling Rules
- Labor
- Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (PAGA)
- Labor Organizing
- Labor Unions
- Land Use
- Landlord
- Latin America
- Lautenberg Act
- Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York (LRANY)
- Lead
- Lease
- Legislation
- Leveraged Loans
- Liability Insurance Policy
- Liberty Insurance Corporation
- Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Company
- LIBOR Discontinuation
- liquidity
- Litigation
- Live Chat
- Louisiana
- M&A
- Made in the USA
- Made in USA
- MagicSleeve
- Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act
- Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (MMWA)
- Maine
- Malcolm C. Weiss
- Manufacturing
- Marketing Claims
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Matthew T. McLellan
- Maya M. Eckstein
- MD&A
- Medtail
- Membership cancellation
- Metaverse
- MeToo Movement
- Mexico
- Michael J. Mueller
- Michael S. Levine
- Minimum Wage
- Minnesota
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA)
- Misclassification
- Mislabeling
- Mission Product Holdings
- Missouri
- Mobile
- Mobile App
- Multi-Level Marketing Program (MLM)
- NAA
- NAD
- NASA
- National Advertising Division
- National Advertising Division (NAD)
- National Advertising Review Board
- National Products Inc.
- National Retail Federation
- Natural Disaster
- Nebraska
- Neil K. Gilman
- Network Outage
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- New York
- NHTSA
- NIL rights
- Ninth Circuit
- NLRA
- NLRB
- no-action request
- non-fungible token (NFT)
- North Carolina
- Obama Administration
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
- Occurrence
- Office of Labor Standards Enforcement
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Online Retailer
- online reviews
- Opioids
- Oregon
- Overboarding
- Overtime
- Overtime Exemptions
- Ownership
- Packaging
- PAGA
- Pandemic
- Patent
- Patent Infringement
- Patents
- Paul T. Moura
- Pay Ratio
- pay-to-play rankings
- Penalty
- Pennsylvania
- Personal and Advertising Injury
- Personal Data
- Personal Information
- Personally Identifiable Information
- Pesticides
- PFAS
- Physical Loss or Damage
- Policy
- price gouging
- Privacy
- Privacy Guidelines
- Privacy Policy
- Privacy Protections
- Prohibition on Sale
- Property Insurance
- Property Rights
- Proposition 65
- Proxy Access
- proxy materials
- Proxy Statements
- Public Companies
- Purdue Pharma
- Randall S. Parks
- Ransomware
- real estate
- Recall
- Recalls
- Regulation
- Regulation S-K
- Restaurants
- Restrictive Covenants
- Retail
- Retail Development
- Retail Industry Leaders Association
- Retail Litigation Center
- Rounding
- rulemaking
- Ryan A. Glasgow
- Sales Tax
- Scott H. Kimpel
- SD8 coins
- SEC
- SEC Disclosure
- Second Circuit
- Section 337
- Section 365
- Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act of 2019 (“SAFE Banking Act”)
- Securities
- Securities and Exchange Commission
- Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
- security checks
- Senate
- Senate Data Handling Report
- Sergio F. Oehninger
- Service Contract Act (SCA)
- Service Provider
- SHARE
- Shareholder
- Shareholder Proposals
- Slogan
- Smart Contracts
- Social Media
- Social Media Influencers
- Software
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs)
- State Attorneys General
- Store Closures
- Subscription services
- Substantiation
- Substantiation Notice
- Supplier
- Supply Chain
- Supply contracts
- Supreme Court
- Sustainability
- Syed S. Ahmad
- Synovia
- Targeted Advertising
- Tax
- TCCWNA
- TCPA
- Technology
- Telemarketing
- Telephone Consumer Protection Act
- Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)
- Tempnology LLC
- Tenant
- Tennessee
- Terms and Conditions
- Texas
- the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
- Thomas R. Waskom
- Title VII
- tokenization
- tokens
- Toxic Chemicals
- Toxic Substances Control Act
- Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
- Trade Dress
- Trademark
- Trademark Infringement
- Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB)
- TransUnion
- Travel
- Trump Administration
- TSCA
- TSCA Title VI
- U.S. Department of Justice
- U.S. Department of Labor
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration
- U.S. House of Representatives
- U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
- Umbrella Liability
- Union
- Union Organizing
- United Specialty Insurance Company
- Unmanned Aircraft
- Unruh Civil Rights Act
- UPSTO
- US Chamber of Commerce
- US Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
- US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- US International Trade Commission (ITC)
- US Origin Claims
- US Patent and Trademark Office
- US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
- US Supreme Court
- USDA
- USPTO
- Utah
- Varidesk
- Vermont
- Virginia
- volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions
- W. Jeffery Edwards
- Wage and Hour
- Walter J. Andrews
- Warranties
- Warranty
- Washington
- Washington DC
- Web Accessibility
- Weight Loss
- Wiretapping
- World Health Organization (WHO)
- Wyoming
- Year In Review
- Zoning Regulations
Authors
- Gary A. Abelev
- Alexander Abramenko
- Yaniel Abreu
- Syed S. Ahmad
- Nancy B. Beck, PhD, DABT
- Brandon Bell
- Fawaz A. Bham
- Michael J. “Jack” Bisceglia
- Jeremy S. Boczko
- Brian J. Bosworth
- Shannon S. Broome
- A. Todd Brown, Sr.
- Samuel L. Brown
- Tyler P. Brown
- Melinda Brunger
- Jimmy Bui
- M. Brett Burns
- Olivia G. Bushman
- Matthew J. Calvert
- Grant H. Cokeley
- Abigail Contreras
- Alexandra B. Cunningham
- Merideth Snow Daly
- Javier De Luna
- Timothy G. Decker
- Andrea DeField
- John J. Delionado
- Stephen P. Demm
- Mayme Donohue
- Nicholas Drews
- Christopher J. Dufek
- Robert T. Dumbacher
- M. Kaylan Dunn
- Frederick R. Eames
- Maya M. Eckstein
- Tara L. Elgie
- Clare Ellis
- Latosha M. Ellis
- Juan C. Enjamio
- Kelly L. Faglioni
- Ozzie A. Farres
- Geoffrey B. Fehling
- Hannah Flint
- Erin F. Fonté
- Kevin E. Gaunt
- Andrew G. Geyer
- Armin Ghiam
- Neil K. Gilman
- Ryan A. Glasgow
- Tonya M. Gray
- Aidan Gross
- Elisabeth R. Gunther
- Steven M. Haas
- Kevin Hahm
- Jason W. Harbour
- Jeffrey L. Harvey
- Christopher W. Hasbrouck
- Eileen Henderson
- Gregory G. Hesse
- Kirk A. Hornbeck
- Rachel E. Hudgins
- Sarah Ingles
- Jamie Zysk Isani
- Nicole R. Johnson
- Roland M. Juarez
- Suzan Kern
- Jason J. Kim
- Scott H. Kimpel
- Andrew S. Koelz
- Leslie W. Kostyshak
- Perie Reiko Koyama
- Torsten M. Kracht
- Brad Kuntz
- Kurt G. Larkin
- Tyler S. Laughinghouse
- Matthew Z. Leopold
- Michael S. Levine
- Ashley Lewis
- Abigail M. Lyle
- Maeve Malik
- Phyllis H. Marcus
- Eric R. Markus
- Brandon Marvisi
- John Gary Maynard, III
- Reilly C. Moore
- Michael D. Morfey
- Ann Marie Mortimer
- Michael J. Mueller
- J. Drei Munar
- Marcus E. Nelson
- Matthew Nigriny
- Justin F. Paget
- Christopher M. Pardo
- Randall S. Parks
- Katherine Pauly
- Katherine C. Pickens
- Gregory L. Porter
- Kurt A. Powell
- Robert T. Quackenboss
- D. Andrew Quigley
- Michael Reed
- Shawn Patrick Regan
- Jonathan D. Reichman
- Kelli Regan Rice
- Patrick L. Robson
- Amber M. Rogers
- Natalia San Juan
- Katherine P. Sandberg
- Arthur E. Schmalz
- Daniel G. Shanley
- Madison W. Sherrill
- Kevin V. Small
- J.R. Smith
- Bennett Sooy
- Daniel Stefany
- Javaneh S. Tarter
- Jessica N. Vara
- Emily Burkhardt Vicente
- Mark R. Vowell
- Gregory R. Wall
- Thomas R. Waskom
- Malcolm C. Weiss
- Holly H. Williamson
- Samuel Wolff
- Steven L. Wood
- Jingyi “Alice” Yao
- Jessica G. Yeshman