Regulatory Radar

On January 19, 2016, Governor Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania announced a plan to reduce emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, from the natural gas extraction and production process.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is proposing new reporting rules for companies with more than 100 employees to disclose earnings and hours data for those employees by race, gender, and ethnicity.

On February 8, 170 international aviation experts unanimously supported new aircraft CO2 emissions standards at UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

The European Commission announced that an agreement on an EU-US Privacy Shield has been reached to replace the Safe Harbor agreement governing the transfer of transatlantic data flows.

A 2015 Associated Press investigation tracked seafood in stores and restaurants in the United States that was caught and processed using forced labor in Thailand has helped lawmakers to close a loophole in the U.S. Tariff Act of 1930.

On July 25,, 2015, the Canadian Government issued a Notice pursuant to section 71 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act regarding the use of nanomaterials in Canadian commerce.

A new one year pilot program from the Department of Justice seeks to clarify the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), and help companies respond to any violations. The program is designed to promote self-reporting, cooperation, and remediation through reductions in penalties faced by firms violating the FCPA.

The European Commission defines a “novel food” as one that has not been consumed at a significant rate by those residing in the European Union (EU) prior to 1997.

In January 2016, the UK government ratified the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) 2014 Protocol to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930. The UK joins Niger and Norway as early adopters of the new rules.

A draft proposal for revisions to China’s Anti-Unfair Competition (“AUCL”) is open for public comment until March 25. The amendments seek to provide clarity, and also increase punishments for violations related to commercial bribery, intellectual property, employer liability, and anti-trust/competition practices.

With the signing of the Clean Electricity & Coal Transition Plan, Oregon becomes the first state in the nation to explicitly phase out coal-fired power generation. Signed into law on March 11, the law requires electric companies to remove the majority of coal-generated electricity from their supply by 2030, and eliminate the remainder by 2035.

Germany’s energy transition—Energiewende—sets goals for the country’s renewable energy production, with the eventual aim of completely eliminating coal, nuclear, and other non-renewable energy sources.