While the 1969 Beatles song Come Together was not intended by Lennon and McCartney to forecast consolidation in the U.S. airline industry some 40 years later, the song and the airline consolidation trend have at least two things in common: they are both very popular, and the meaning of each is subject to much speculation. While we won’t attempt to unravel the meaning of The Beatles hit, we can provide some insight into domestic airline consolidation and the effects it will have on the industry as well as the consumer. Come Together “Legacy” airlines are large U.S. airlines in existence prior… Read more

Customs and Border Protection (CBP), one of the major constituents of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has its origins in revenue collections. Before the income tax, customs duties were the primary source of federal government funding. Now, customs revenues pale in contrast to income tax collections, perhaps $21 billion vs. $1.5 trillion annually. In 2003, CBP was transferred from the U.S. Department of Treasury, its home since 1789. While not quite all about protecting the nation’s borders, border protection is undoubtedly its primary role. As the first element of its mission statement makes clear, We are the guardians of… Read more

In recent years, commercial aviation has grown accustomed to increasing levels of governmental regulation designed to enhance security. Under the auspices of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the flying public has endured shoeless shuffles through metal detectors in airports. It is now the turn of a new group — corporate and other general aviation — to be regulated by TSA. Operators Currently Regulated To date, TSA aviation security rules generally apply only to operators either engaged in common carriage or flying aircraft with a carrying capacity of 20 or more passengers or 6,000 or more… Read more

Unfortunately, terrorism is not new. It has existed for a long time — well before September 11, 2001 — and will exist far into the future. Faced with this reality, many companies are in the business of providing protection against terrorism in the form of products (software and others) and services. However, developers of these technologies face risks. What happens if a product fails to stop the attack it was designed to prevent? What happens if protective software is breached in an attack? How many lawsuits will the product developer face? These liability concerns could deter potential manufacturers or sellers… Read more

Department of Agriculture officials said today that the current quarantine on all beef and pork products will continue for the foreseeable future. Officials continue to destroy hundreds of thousands of cattle and pigs daily. “I have lost everything I own,” said the feedlot owner. “I sure hope they catch the people that did this.” Far-fetched? Not at all. Agroterrorism is a type of bioterrorism used to attack an element of a nation’s or region’s agriculture with the primary goal of causing economic disruption, hardship and fear. A state sponsor of terrorism can use agroterrorism to weaken an enemy’s economy or soften… Read more

In November 2008, the U.S. Department of Treasury issued final regulations (the “Final Regulations”) that implement the Foreign Investment and National Security Act of 2007 (FINSA). FINSA, which overhauled Section 721 (commonly known as the “Exon-Florio” section) of the Defense Production Act of 1950, allows the President, acting through the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States (CFIUS), to review and investigate certain transactions whereby a foreign person acquires control over a U.S. business to determine the effect of such transactions on U.S. national security. The CFIUS review process operates based on a voluntary notification system, allowing parties to… Read more

States have joined the immigration fray out of frustration over our porous borders and lack of federal enforcement of existing laws designed to keep illegal immigrants from being employed. Here’s a survival guide for employers caught in the crossfire of state and federal regulations. Federal Regulation of Employment Eligibility verification The Immigration Reform & Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) prohibits employers from knowingly hiring, or continuing to employ, any person not authorized to work in the United States. Within three business days of the start of employment, an employer must verify a new employee’s identity and authorization to work. To… Read more

What is “homeland security,” and why should it matter to my company? You may ask yourself these very questions when you stop and think about homeland security. Everyone has a general sense of what “homeland security” means but not everyone understands how it affects their daily lives and occupations. We all understand that homeland security became a prominent concept immediately following the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001. And we are all aware of the federal Cabinet-level agency that was created in response. In 2003, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was formed as a combination… Read more

Following September 11, 2001, the American people became painfully aware of the devastation that can result from the misuse of America’s resources. One such resource — the wide array of potentially harmful chemicals used in American industry — drew the immediate attention of Congress because of the high potential for damage. But while the need for regulation was immediately apparent after 9/11, there was no clear consensus on the best manner by which to assure the security of our nation’s chemical facilities. Initial legislation proposed shortly after 9/11 by then-Senator Jon Corzine (D-NJ) focused on encouraging the chemical industry to… Read more

Legal developments over the past year continue to confirm that many of the early technology-law legal battles — such as the validity of electronic contract formation — are pretty well settled, even if those issues periodically arise in isolated cases. While there are many developments in this area at the federal level and a good deal of overlap between state and federal laws affecting technology issues, this overview principally highlights selected state-law trends and developments from the past 12 months or so involving technology-law issues that businesses should take note of as either confirmation of basic principles or matters on… Read more