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Tag Archives: White Collar Defense and Investigation

Client Alerts Update — May 22, 2009 to June 9, 2009

Federal False Claims Act Amended to Significantly Expand Liability

On May 20, 2009, President Obama signed legislation containing a number of significant amendments to the federal False Claims Act (“FCA”), the statute which permits private citizens to bring lawsuits on behalf of the United States against persons or entities accused of defrauding the government and keep a portion of any recovery. These amendments, which are part of the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009, substantially expand the range of conduct subject to liability under the FCA, provide greater protection for “whistleblowers”, and remove certain procedural hurdles that the government and whistleblowers have faced in pursuing FCA investigations and actions, as discussed further below.

For more information, read the client alert published by Bryan Cave LLP’s White Collar Defense and Investigations Client Service Group on May 27, 2009.

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Client Alerts Update — April 20, 2009 to May 4, 2009

H1N1 Flu Concerns: Workplace Privacy and Employee Illnesses

In the wake of the H1N1 Flu outbreak (initially named “swine flu”), many employers will be asked to balance employee privacy rights with public and company health concerns. We have recently issued a client alert that offers a brief checklist of guidelines that may help balance the privacy interests of potentially infected workers and the health interests of co-workers and the public.

For more information, read the client alert published by Bryan Cave LLP’s Labor and Employment Client Service Group and its Pandemic Preparedness Team on May 1, 2009.

H1N1 Virus: Employees in Mexico

In light of the current H1N1 virus outbreak events around the globe, the Mexico Practice of Bryan Cave has prepared a list of issues and recommendations to be taken into consideration by our firm’s clients and friends with employees in Mexico, so as to avoid any improper or unlawful employer conduct under Mexican labor laws.

For more information, read the client alert published by Bryan Cave LLP’s Labor and Employment Client Service Group and its Pandemic Preparedness Team on May 4, 2009.

New Case Clarifies Copyright Protection for Handbooks, Manuals and Training Materials

Although the copyright term “literary works” tends to conjure images of Hemingway and Faulkner, most companies have a different — and often more valuable — set of “literary works”, including training manuals, employee handbooks, how-to booklets, customer pamphlets and the like. Some are in printed form; others are available at the company’s website. Indeed, some companies are in the business of creating such materials — and this spring, a hotly litigated dispute between two such companies has shed new light on the scope of protection for this special category of literary works.

For more information, read the client alert published by Bryan Cave LLP’s Intellectual Property Client Service Group on April 30, 2009.

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