Friday, March 5, 2021
On March 4, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in
United States Fish & Wildlife Service v. Sierra Club, holding that the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) “deliberative process privilege” exemption, protects from public disclosure federal agencies’ draft biological opinions prepared pursuant to the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”) that are “predecisional and deliberative,” regardless of whether such drafts reflect the agency’s last views regarding a proposal. Though the case specifically addressed draft biological opinions prepared pursuant to the ESA, this case may be used to limit the public’s right to access a much broader range of documents where the documents are created prior to an agency’s final decision.
EDPB guidance on data breaches assists companies with identifying situations in which a data security incident may need to be reported to EU supervisory authorities. The guidance addresses the scenario of an employee downloading information of the company’s clients to solicit to his new business.
Friday, March 5, 2021
McDermott+Consulting is pleased to provide the McDermottPlus Check-Up, your regular update on health care policy from Washington, DC.
This Week’s Dose
The Senate is expected to pass its version of coronavirus (COVID-19) relief legislation as early as this weekend after the House passed its package along party lines late last week. The Senate Finance Committee sent the nomination of Xavier Becerra to be Secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to the Senate floor.
Congress
Congress Advanced COVID-19 Relief Package
After the House of Representatives passed the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package, known as the American Rescue Plan, by a largely party-line vote of 219-212 late last week, the Senate quickly released its own version and took up consideration of the bill. The Senate version is substantially similar to the House version, but contains key changes, including an additional $8.5 billion in relief funding
Friday, March 5, 2021
On March 5, 2021, Governor Janet Mills issued Executive Order 35 (FY 20/21) in an effort to prepare Maine’s economy for the upcoming tourism season while also seeking to protect the health and safety of Maine’s residents. The new “Moving Maine Forward Plan” maintains health and safety protocols currently in place, while easing capacity limits on businesses to support economic activity. The plan also eases the test or quarantine requirement for out-of-state visitors. An overview of the Moving Maine Forward Plan follows.
Maintaining Public Health Protocols
The plan maintains the industry-specific health and safety protocols - such as wearing face coverings, keeping physical distance, and conducting enhanced cleaning- throughout the summer, as implemented through the COVID-19 Prevention Checklists .
Friday, March 5, 2021
On February 25, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California denied a motion for preliminary injunction brought by the California Grocers Association (CGA) against the City of Long Beach. In
California Grocers Association v. City of Long Beach, CGA asked the court to stop the city from enforcing its Premium Pay for Grocery Workers Ordinance, one of the many “hero pay” or “hazard pay” ordinances enacted by California localities in the past several weeks.
Long Beach passed its ordinance on January 19, 2021. The ordinance requires that large grocery stores (with at least 300 employees nationwide and 15 employees per store in Long Beach) in the city provide each grocery worker with premium pay of an additional $4.00 per hour for each hour worked for a minimum of 120 days. The next day, CGA filed a lawsuit in federal court to block the city from enforcing the ordinance. The CGA argued that the National Labor Relations A