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PW: bnaweb22 -----Original Message----- From: "BNA Highlights" <bhighlig@bna.com<@ENRON [mailto:IMCEANOTES-+22BNA+20Highlights+22+20+3Cbhighlig+40bna+2Ecom+3E+40ENRON@ENRON.com] Sent: Monday, June 04, 2001 11:28 PM To: BNA Highlights Subject: June 5 -- U.S. Law Week's Legal News ______________________________ THE U.S. LAW WEEK'S LEGAL NEWS Highlights & Table of Contents June 5, 2001 ______________________________ ISSN 1522-4317 Registered Web subscribers can access the full text of these articles by using the URL link supplied. Information about becoming a subscriber or signing up for a FREE Web trial is available at http://web.bna.com or call BNA Customer Relations at 1-800-372-1033, Mon. - Fri. 8:30 am - 7:00 pm (ET). __________ HIGHLIGHTS __________ SENATE BILL WOULD EXCLUDE FROM INCOME TAX AMOUNTS RECEIVED IN PAYMENT OF DISCRIMINATION CLAIMS Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) introduces legislation to exclude from taxable income awards received in judgment or settlement for claims of discrimination or violation of civil rights. The Civil Rights Tax Relief Act of 2001 also would eliminate the double taxation of attorneys' fees under contingency fee agreements and allow income averaging for back pay and front pay awarded for discrimination claims. A companion bill is pending in the House. The legislation would correct an unintended consequence of the 1996 Small Business Job Protection Act, which made damage awards that are not based on physical injury or physical sickness taxable to the plaintiff. "Because most acts of employment discrimination and civil rights violations do not cause physical injuries, this provision has had a direct and negative impact on plaintiffs who successfully prove that they have been subjected to intentional employment discrimination or other intentional violations of their civil rights," Collins explains. . . . Page 2746 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4g1c5d3_ NLRB ADOPTS BRIGHT-LINE RULE FOR DECERTIFICATION ELECTIONS, PROHIBITS INCUMBENT UNIONS FROM USING NONEMPLOYEES AS OBSERVERS The National Labor Relations Board adopts a "bright-line rule" prohibiting incumbent labor organizations from using their nonemployee agents as election observers for decertification elections. The board overturns a decertification election despite the lack of any evidence of misconduct by the union agent, citing neutrality of the election process as the reason for its bright-line rule. The board distinguishes decertification elections from initial representation elections, in which nonemployee union observers are allowed providing the agency does not engage in misconduct and the agent's presence does not interfere with any party's rights. "In our view, it is more likely that an employee would be influenced by the presence of a person who is an agent of a union that "is" his bargaining representative than by a person who is an agent of a union that wishes to "become" the bargaining representative." . . . Page 2745 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4g1m6a3_ FTC CLEARS AMAZON'S REVISED PRIVACY POLICY, APPROVES TRUSTE'S COPPA SAFE HARBOR PROGRAM The Federal Trade Commission concludes that a change in Amazon.com's online privacy policy concerning the circumstances in which the company might disclose personal information about its customers does not violate the FTC Act. The FTC's conclusions are in response to a petition alleging that the electronic retailer deceived consumers in its representations about privacy of personal information. . . . Page 2743 The Federal Trade Commission approves the safe harbor program for children's online data proposed by TRUSTe, an organization that grants privacy seals to Web sites. Firms adhering to guidelines established by TRUSTe will be presumed to be in compliance with regulations implementing the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, which require that Web sites directed at children post comprehensive privacy policies on their sites and obtain parental consent before collecting personal information from children under the age of 13. . . . Page 2744 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4g0q3p0_ http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4g0z7a6_ ________ ANALYSIS ________ TAXATION: The author of this week's "Analysis & Perspective" discusses tax disputes that can arise after a case has been settled, the most common being whether taxes should be withheld from the settlement amount. . . . Page 2739 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4a5n4j8_ __________________ ALSO IN THIS ISSUE __________________ A complete topical index of Legal News. ANTITRUST: The number of countries attempting to oversee and control mergers is on the rise, increasing the filing burden for multinational companies, according an annual survey by the law firm of White & Case"". . . . Page 2741 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4f9r9q7_ ATTORNEYS: The Maryland bar's ethics committee advises a law firm that it may receive fees directly from an out-of-state law firm serving as co-counsel. . . . Page 2741 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4f5z0j7_ BANKING: The Federal Reserve Board is drafting proposed legislation to reduce some of the legal impediments to check handling and encourage digital check processing, according to a Fed official. . . . Page 2742 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4g0q2w1_ COMMERCIAL LAW: An American Bar Association task force outlines a plan for adoption of an online alternative dispute resolution provider trustmark--a common symbol that would ensure a user of ODR services of the provider's adherence to a shared set of guidelines or procedures. . . . Page 2743 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4g0p7r7_ CONSUMER PROTECTION: The Federal Trade Commission finds that Amazon.com's revised privacy policy does not deceive consumers concerning the circumstances in which the company might disclose personal customer data to third parties. . . . Page 2743 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4g0q3p0_ CONSUMER PROTECTION: The Federal Trade Commission approves the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act safe harbor program proposed by TRUSTe. Firms adhering to guidelines established by TRUSTe will be presumed to be in compliance with regulations implementing the COPPA. . . . Page 2744 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4g0z7a6_ LABOR: The National Labor Relations Board adopts a rule for union decertification elections, barring incumbent unions from using as election observers agents who does not work for the employer. . . . Page 2745 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4g1m6a3_ TAXATION: Sen. Susan Collins introduces a bill to exclude from the taxable income of a plaintiff any award received in judgment or settlement of a claim for discrimination or violation of a civil right. . . . Page 2746 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4g1c5d3_ TRADEMARKS: Officials from the World Intellectual Property Organization conduct a consultation to discuss the organization's latest recommendations for protecting against "bad faith, abusive, misleading or unfair" registration of domain names. . . . Page 2746 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4g0p7t6_ TRADEMARKS: The registration of the domain name "aimster.com" for a peer-to-peer file-sharing service that interacts with Internet instant messaging services, in effect, free-rides on America Online Inc.'s trademarked AIM [AOL Instant Messenger] service in bad faith and in violation of the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy, an arbitration panel of the National Arbitration Forum concludes. . . . Page 2748 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4g0p7c2_ UNITED STATES: The House Judiciary Committee approves legislation that would require federal agencies to pay out of their own budgets judgments against them in employment discrimination and whistleblower cases. . . . Page 2749 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4g1c5c3_ NOMINATIONS AND CONFIRMATIONS: . . . Page 2749 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4g1z4v3_ CIRCUIT SPLIT ROUNDUP: This week's edition features cases decided in March that acknowledge and describe disagreements in the federal courts of appeals on various questions. . . . Page 2750 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4e8u3n7_ __________ The U.S. Law Week (ISSN 1522-4317) BNA's Highlights are published weekly by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., 1231 25th St., N.W., Washington, DC 20037. For Customer Service including subscriptions and address changes, call 1-800-372-1033. For retransmission of the Highlights, more information or to order full text of summarized stories, call BNA PLUS at 1-800-452-7773 (202-452-4323 in DC), FAX # 202-822-8092, Internet:bnaplus@bna.com. Copyright © 2001 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. Washington, D.C. 20037. Use of this service is subject to the terms and conditions of the license agreement with BNA. Unauthorized access or distribution is prohibited.
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