Legal Report Resources November 2016
Warrants. The Stored Communications Act, which allows data held in the United States to be handed over to the U.S. government, does not apply outside of the United States, a federal appeals court ruled. The ruling means Microsoft does not have to comply with a warrant for customers’ emails if the data is not stored within the United States.
Hacking. A federal judge sentenced former St. Louis Cardinals scouting director Christopher Correa to 46 months in prison for hacking into the computers and emails of Houston Astros employees.
Corruption. Chilean commercial airline company LATAM Airlines Group will pay a criminal penalty of $12.75 million for its connection to a scheme to pay bribes to Argentine union officials in violation of the accounting provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) as part of a three-year deferred prosecution agreement.
Passwords. A former employee violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act when he knowingly—and with intent to defraud—accessed a protected work computer without authorization, a federal appeals court ruled in U.S. v. Nosal.
Cybersecurity. President Barack Obama approved a presidential policy directive on U.S. cyber incident coordination that codifies the policy governing the federal government’s response to significant cyber incidents.
Access. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) submitted a legislative proposal that would make it easier for foreign governments to acquire electronic data stored by U.S. companies. The proposal would amend current communications law to make it legal for a U.S. electronic communication service provider to intercept or disclose the contents of a wire or electronic communication in response to an order from a foreign government that is certified by the U.S. attorney general.
Preemployment screening. New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu approved legislation that makes it illegal for city contractors to use consumer credit history for hiring and employment decisions with few exceptions.
Harassment. Dried fruit processor Z Foods, Inc., will pay $1.47 million in damages in a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC alleged that Z Foods let male supervisors sexually harass a class of female employees, and fired male and female employees when they complained about sexual harassment.
