Terms of Use (also known as Terms of Service) play a pivotal role in digital business practices. These online agreements are intended to form a contractual relationship between a website or app and its user. Issues surrounding the enforceability of such agreements have been the subject of many legal articles, including this one written by my colleague. In addition to advising clients on enforceability, another question I am often asked is whether Terms of Use are always necessary, even for small, very basic public websites or apps (and if so, why).

Effective October 1, 2022, Washington, District of Columbia (D.C.) employers will face substantial restrictions on the use of non-compete agreements and policies. Below is a summary of legislative action to date, as well as a review of the law’s key provisions.

As previously shared, California voters approved the California Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”) in November, 2020 in an effort to amend and strengthen the consumer data protections afforded under the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”). Most CPRA provisions will go into effect on January 1, 2023, and enforcement of the CPRA will commence on July 1, 2023. In the meantime, preliminary draft regulations (the “CPRA Regulations”) were released by the newly created California Privacy Protection Agency (the “CPPA”) on May 27, 2022 for public review and comment. Below is an overview of what we can expect to see in the CPRA Regulations:

Pursuing a social mission has become increasingly commonplace for today’s businesses. Once the exclusive domain of non-profit organizations, socially-focused, for-profit companies are flourishing, in large part due to the support of consumers, shareholders, and even venture capital firms, many of which have fund portfolios earmarked for such projects. If you are contemplating a socially-driven business model, there are two distinctive paths to consider: (1) organizing as a public benefit corporation (PBC), or (2) becoming certified as a B corp. Understanding the specific advantages of each one will help you choose the structure best suited for your business.

DPAs (Data Protection Agreements or Exhibits (Addenda)) are common in commercial arrangements involving access to the personal data of end users. When you are the customer in such a transaction and your end users’ data will be accessed by a vendor, it is important that you fully understand the scope of the protections being afforded this data under the DPA, especially when the DPA is drafted by the vendor.

On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, overturning Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey by holding that the U.S. Constitution does not include a federally-protected right to obtain an abortion and that the question of whether to allow, prohibit, or limit abortion is for the states to determine through each of their political and legislative processes.

Recent news has painted a discouraging picture for start-up companies. As the stock market continues to falter and experts warn of an impending downturn in the economy, or worse, a full recession, entrepreneurs are being advised to “plan for the worst” by making some tough decisions right now, including cutting costs to help weather the current environment. Even in better economic times, the most successful new businesses are those which operate with great efficiencies of scale. 

The California Employment Development Department, the agency responsible for administering the state’s Paid Family Leave (PFL) benefits program, recently announced a grant program to help small businesses offset the costs associated with employees taking paid family leave.