Category: Government

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Re-Ranking the Lottery: Statutory Limits on Wage-Weighted H-1B Selection

A Note by Giulnara Khatuaeva

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For more than three decades, the H-1B program has operated within a statutory framework governing eligibility, wage protections, and numerical limits. The Immigration Act of 1990 created the modern H-1B classification for “specialty occupations.” The statute defines a “specialty occupation” in qualitative and educational terms, requiring both the theoretical and practical application of highly specialized knowledge and at least a bachelor’s degree in a specific field. … Read the rest

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Planes, Pardons, and Portraying Watergate: The Reform Needed for Presidential Libraries

A Note by Cal Shaklee

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At the opening of the first Presidential Library, President Franklin D. Roosevelt emphasized the importance of public access to presidential records, saying “[A nation] must, above all, believe in the capacity of its own people so to learn from the past that they can gain in judgment in creating their own future.” The Presidential Library system was founded by President Roosevelt on the belief that the papers he accumulated during his time in office were an important part of the nation’s heritage and therefore should be accessible to the public. … Read the rest

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Weighty Consequences: How GLP-1 Agonist Litigation Highlights the Need for Greater FDA Off-Label Prescription Oversight

A Note by Carson Poupore

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With 42.4 percent of United States adults suffering from clinical obesity and 9.2 percent of adults suffering from it severely, the following archetypical story is far too familiar in recent years. Seeking dietary control and weight loss, a patient consults their physician. The physician, comporting with their standard of care, prescribes Ozempic, which is popularly understood to resolve the patient’s issue. Based on information communicated by Novo Nordisk, Ozempic’s manufacturer, the physician fully informs their patient of Ozempic’s side effect risks. The patient starts the prescription and feels a newfound sense of hopeful control. But this feeling is short-lived. Soon after, the patient constantly feels nauseous, vomits after eating, and suffers from abdominal pain. The patient never expected this. After correlating these unforeseen symptoms with Ozempic prescription, the patient concludes that they would never have taken … Read the rest

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Which Side Are You On: Cemex, Mandatory Bargaining, and the Future of Organized Labor

A Note by Jarrett Krouss

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Under President Joe Biden, the frequency of union elections exploded– election petitions increased by roughly a quarter in 2024 compared to 2022 and 2023, and were double those filed in 2021. While many factors have likely contributed to the rise in union elections, the August 2023 National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) decision in Cemex Construction Materials Pacific, LLC plays a major role. A three-to-one ruling of the NLRB Board, Cemex lowered requirements for the issuance of mandatory bargaining orders. . . .… Read the rest

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Scarcity Does Not Create Value: H-1B Visa Reform that Protects American Workers Without Reducing Immigration

A Note by Justin Fernando

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Amidst rising tensions surrounding immigration, the H-1B visa program has found itself under fire from all sides of the political spectrum. Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, two businessmen who were tapped to lead the proposed Department of Governmental Efficiency, made headlines towards the end of last year for arguing in favor of the H-1B visa system as a way to bring talented workers to the United States. Senator Bernie Sanders directly opposed these comments, criticizing companies for replacing American workers with lower-paid immigrant workers, going as far as to call these workers “indentured servants.” This debate, while not new, presents a false dichotomy. . . .
… Read the rest

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An “Unmanageable” Task: Breach of Warranty Claims in Multi-State Class Action Litigation

An Article by William Beatty

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The crossroads of warranty law and class action litigation pose substantial hurdles for claimants asserting a multi-state class action for breach of express or implied warranty. Not only do they have to satisfy the rigorous Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 23(a) requirements of numerosity, commonality, typicality and adequacy of representation, but also have to fit the cases into one of the three categories outlined in Rule 23(b). Plaintiffs must also deal with widely varying state rules regarding such issues as reliance, pre-suit notice and privity of contract which might destroy the required elements of commonality or typicality. These variables have resulted in several courts deeming multi-state warranty class actions to be “unmanageable,” rendering them unsuitable for class-wide resolution.… Read the rest

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TELEMENTAL HEALTH TAKES CENTER STAGE: HOW PANDEMIC-ERA WAIVERS OPENED THE DOOR TO BETTER MENTAL HEALTH CARE

A Note by Jabari Turner

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Millions of Americans were stuck in their houses during the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] The rising death tolls, financial insecurity, and growing uncertainty increased anxiety, depression, and a surge in emergency department visits for mental health conditions.[2] Federal and state-level licensing alongside permit waivers allowed many Americans needing mental health care, access to telemental health services.[3] As a result, Americans had more options in and out-of-state that were unavailable before the pandemic.[4] During the pandemic, federal agencies waived previous telehealth restrictions.[5] Moreover, in most states, through executive orders, out-of-state mental health providers in good standing were permitted to provide telemental services to patients.[6]

Telehealth gives patients and providers better access, options, and overall healthcare treatment and management without needing to be physically present.[7] In addition, it gives providers more continuity of care, and better … Read the rest

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Toeing the Line: Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner’s Possible Conflicts of Interest as Federal Employees

By Elizabeth Rice

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Federal employees are required to adhere to ethical standards of conduct, including eliminating conflicts of interest that may arise from their business and financial assets.  In their roles as federal employees, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner continue to hold business and financial assets that may result in conflicts of interest in the course of their duties.  This note provides a general background about federal conflicts of interest, including the process of divestiture federal employees must follow.  It then examines more closely the problematic assets of Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, and the ways in which they may manage these assets so as to avoid conflicts of interest.… Read the rest

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Internet Speech as Commerce: Tackling the Violent Left

By Julian Jankowski

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A faction of the left has so increased in boldness in the past few years as to cause violence and an effective reign of terror to any who would dare question the faction’s central tenants.  This faction under the name Antifa gained in strength through the support of college students, academics, university administration, and technological giants that traffic in the dissemination of information.  This constitutes a clear and present threat to the health of the body politic of the United States.  This threat in universities must be met by removing university courses and policies that lend its strength to this violent faction on the left, and by implementing anti-propaganda policies in universities to ensure this threat is not repeated.  Further, technological companies must be given monetary and tax subsidies to create an incentive for affected technological companies to reform their ways, and to … Read the rest

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Disclosure Dilemma: Is Disclosure to the Government Enough to Invoke the False Claims Act’s Public Disclosure Bar?

By Daniel Naydenov

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The federal government has a significant financial interest in the $3 trillion dollar health care industry. Due to limited administrative resources, the government’s biggest allies in the fight against health care fraud are individual whistleblowers who are able to file lawsuits under the False Claims Act’s qui tam provisions and share in the recovery. The Act contains a public disclosure bar to prevent parasitic suits by opportunistic whistleblowers. This Note analyzes two contrasting decisions from the Sixth and Seventh Circuits interpreting who qualifies as the “public.” In both cases, the court was asked to determine whether a health care provider’s self-disclosure of misconduct to the federal government was sufficiently public to bar future suits. Ultimately, this Note argues that the Seventh Circuit’s interpretation is more persuasive and closer to striking the proper balance between incentivizing whistleblowers and inhibiting opportunism.… Read the rest