What's Happening in the News

Red Flags Compliance - Comply Now Or Pay Later

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA), also known as the RED FLAG RULES, is a federal law which contains provisions to help reduce identity theft, and applies to every business and individual who maintains or otherwise possesses consumer information for a business purpose.   It's important to note that the Red Flags Rule definition of "creditors" is broad and includes businesses or organizations that regularly defer payments for goods or services or provide goods or services and bill customers later.

The Federal Trade Commission has delayed enforcement of the "Red Flags" Rule until June 1, 2010, for financial institutions and creditors subject to enforcement by the FTC.  However, businesses who want to limit their exposure to fines should institute proper measures to be implemented before the deadline.

ALL employers are libel under FACTA and penalties for non-compliance include:

  • Up to 10 Years jailtime for executives
  • Fines up to $1,000,000 per occurrence
  • Removal of management
  • Executives within an organization can be held accountable for non-compliance both civilly and criminally

Q: What Are The Penalties For Violating The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act?

The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (commonly called GLB or GLBA) includes provisions to protect all consumers' personal financial information held by both financial and non-financial institutions.

A: Violation of GLBA may result in a civil action brought by the U.S. Attorney General. The penalties can reach $100,000 for each violation. In addition, "the officers and directors of the financial institution shall be subject to, and shall be personally liable for, a civil penalty of not more than $10,000 for each such violation". Criminal penalties may include up to 5 years in prison. Fines of up to $1,000,000 for an individual or the lesser of $1,000,000 or 1% of the total assets of the financial institution

Media & Publishing

Rupert Murdoch Threatens to Sue BBC

News Corp. chief executive Rupert Murdoch threatened to sue the British Broadcasting Corp. for allegedly stealing content from his company's newspapers and said News Corp. is considering pulling its stories from Google news searches.  Read More

Shield Bill Impasse Appears Resolved; Bloggers To Get Protection - Could pave way for a vote on the bill in the Senate Judiciary Committee

A new version of a federal shield law has been released by Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Arlen Specter (D-PA) that apparently breaks the logjam and could pave the way for a vote on the bill in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The bill provides journalists a limited protection from having to give up their sources to the feds. Read More    

Healthcare

Sebelius Announces Release of Recovery Act Funding to Improve Care in Nation's Ambulatory Surgical Centers

To reduce healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in stand-alone or same-day surgical centers, the HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has announced the availability of up to $9 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to state survey agencies in 43 states. HAIs are infections some patients acquire when they are in a health care setting such as a hospital or outpatient clinic.  Read More  

Franchises

President Obama Announces New Efforts to Improve Access to Credit for Small Businesses

Improving access to credit by small businesses is a crucial step in supporting economic recovery and job creation. Since the financial crisis began, small businesses have faced a perfect storm: the pulling back of lending by banks, deterioration in the value of real estate that they often rely on for collateral and weakened sales. Read More  

Small Businesses

Learn how to manage your Small Business - Manage your business from start to finish

Careful planning is fundamental to success.  The Small Business Planner includes information and resources that will help you at any stage of the business lifecycle.  The SBA provides guidance on the tools and resources necessary to write a winning business plan.  Read More

FTC Extends Enforcement Deadline for Identity Theft Red Flags Rule

At the request of Members of Congress, the Federal Trade Commission is delaying enforcement of the "Red Flags" Rule until June 1, 2010, for financial institutions and creditors subject to enforcement by the FTC. The Rule was promulgated under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, in which Congress directed the Commission and other agencies to develop regulations requiring "creditors" and "financial institutions" to address the risk of identity theft. The resulting Red Flags Rule requires all such entities that have "covered accounts" to develop and implement written identity theft prevention programs to help identify, detect, and respond to patterns, practices, or specific activities - known as "red flags" - that could indicate identity theft. Read More