It’s Not Easy Being ‘Green’ . . . Or Is It? (Part 1)

This article is the first in a pair of articles related to “Green Policies” and how to implement them.  The second part in this series will be published in the coming weeks.

By M. Gray Styers Jr.

Your corporate General Counsel client calls and says, “Our largest customer (or our largest institutional investor) wants to see our green renewable energy policy and we don’t have one. Draft a ‘Green Policy’ to be considered at our board meeting next week.” Or perhaps your client asks, after-the-fact, “We just passed a ‘Green Policy’ for our company; how can we implement it under applicable laws?” Your first reaction might be “It’s not easy being Green,” but on second thought, “. . . maybe it is.”

The website www.RE100.org contains a long list (over 200) of companies from A (ABInBev) to almost Z (Wells Fargo, Workday and Yoox), that have adopted corporate goals committing to use 100% renewable power. These examples of green policies are readily available; they are not confidential corporate documents. In fact, most are posted on their company websites and promoted prominently so that their customers or investors can see them. E.g. Fifth-third Bankcorp; and Johnson & Johnson.

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e.l.f. Cosmetics Agrees To Pay Nearly $1 Million To Settle Apparent Violations Of U.S. Sanctions Against North Korea

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By Christine Savage, John C. Richter, J. Michael Taylor, Shaswat K. Das, Patrick J. Togni and Clinton R. Long

This enforcement action underscores the risks of sourcing products without comprehensive supply chain due diligence.

On January 31, 2019, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced that e.l.f. Cosmetics, Inc. (“ELF”) agreed to pay a $996,080 settlement arising from 156 apparent violations of OFAC’s North Korea Sanctions Regulations (“NKSR”).  According to OFAC, between 2012 and 2017, ELF imported 156 shipments of false eyelash kits worth a combined total of over $4.4 million into the United States from two Chinese suppliers – importantly, however, those Chinese suppliers sourced materials for the kits from North Korea.  Upon discovering the apparent violations, ELF voluntarily disclosed them to OFAC.  The statutory maximum civil penalty amount for the apparent violations was $40,833,633, but OFAC agreed to settle with ELF for $996,080 as a result of ELF’s immediate disclosure and cooperation, among other mitigating factors.

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What You and Your Employees Need to Know About Phishing Attacks

By Chris Michalec

Phishing is just one of many tools in a cyber hacker’s repertoire and it happens to be one of their most effective.  Through phishing, hackers dangle their bait in front of preoccupied employees who would never dream that their PC could provide an open door for a hacker.  That’s why it is so important that employees understand how phishing works, how costly it can be, and what they can do to avoid letting themselves become an unwitting accomplice to a hacker’s attack on their company.

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Checking In: March 13, 2019

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Smith Anderson announces the hiring of Chandler Spaulding, who will serve as the firm’s director of strategic communications and government relations. Prior to joining Smith Anderson, Chandler worked in a variety of public policy and communications roles, including with the North Carolina General Assembly, Duke University, the White House Office of Communications and NBC Entertainment.

 

 

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Court Puts EEO-1 Pay Data Back In Play. Now What?

By Robin Shea

A federal judge in the District of Columbia has ordered that the pay data collection component of EEO-1 reports, which never took effect, be restored.

Background

The pay data survey, proposed in early 2016 during the Obama Administration, would require employers to report in their annual EEO-1 reports the number of employees in 12 “pay bands” in each of the 10 EEO-1 categories. (That’s a hundred and twenty “bands.”) The federal Office of Management and Budget initially approved the revised EEO-1 Report form that would have allowed employers to provide this information.

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NC COA: TPR Sufficiency Of Pleadings, In the Matter Of I.R.L.

Parental rights, COA18-427, Jan. 15, 2019, In the Matter of I.R.L, Robeson County

After a termination of parental rights hearing, Respondent-Father (“Father”) appealed the termination of his parental rights. The COA reversed and remanded the issue to the trial court.

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NC COA: In the Matter of E.M.

Juvenile Delinquency, COA 18-685, Jan. 15, 2019, In the Matter of E.M., Mecklenburg County

Holding: The trial court must order a mental evaluation of a minor, and thus has no discretion, if evidence is presented that the juvenile is mentally ill or developmentally disabled during a juvenile hearing.  Read more

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Reminder: NCBA EENR Sustainability Essay Contest

Please pass along the following information to any high school students in your contacts that may be interested in writing about North Carolina’s sustainable future.

The North Carolina Bar Association’s Environment, Energy & Natural Resources Law Section is pleased to announce that it is again sponsoring a sustainability essay contest. Essays by last year’s contest winners included Wood Pellets as Biofuel: Is it Sustainable?, Biomass: Helpful or Harmful?, and Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle: Waste.

Access a flyer providing details about the contest here. The deadline for submissions is Friday May 31, 2019. 

Please feel free to forward this information to any of your contacts who might be interested in the contest or who might know folks who are interested.

If you have any questions, please direct them to [email protected], Maria Savasta-Kennedy, North Carolina Bar Association, Environment, Energy & Natural Resources Section, Sustainability Committee Chair.

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How To Track Time With a Tomato

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By Catherine Sanders Reach

Tracking time is the bane of many lawyers’ existence. Few would agree it is an exercise they enjoy. While some excel at it, many factors, including attempting to multitask and daily distractions make accurate time tracking difficult, overwhelming and sometimes loathsome. How can a tomato help you make tracking time easier?

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In the News: ABA Bar Leader Shines Light On NCBA Executive Director Jason Hensley

NCBA Executive Director Jason Hensley

Further solidifying the North Carolina Bar Association’s reputation as one of the most innovative bar associations  in the country, the American Bar Association’s Bar Leader publication featured comments from NCBA Executive Director Jason Hensley in a pair of articles this month.

The article “Right On the Money: Careful Strategy, New Technology Help Bars Move Toward the Future,” focuses on how bar associations across the country are tackling challenges posed by changes in the legal profession. Hensley told the Bar Leader that staff restructuring has been an important part of his approach since becoming executive director two years ago. Those changes include three new staff leadership positions designed to break down silos and encourage more communication among various bar departments.

“We can’t operate in a steady state. The organization really needs to be in a steady state of evolution,” Hensley says. “Is the structure durable, and is it adaptable? Does the underlying structure allow for change? How will we move as everything continues to move? You want to be able to identify and lead that change.”

A second article on executive directors who have replaced long-tenured predecessors, “New Executive Directors Bring Change But Appreciate Continuity,” also spotlights Hensley’s work at the NCBA.

“I had the benefit of knowing it was a strong organization, and the fact that it is a strong organization provides a lot of opportunities,” Hensley says. “This organization has had a tradition of innovation. It’s interesting to put tradition and innovation together, but I think it’s been a tradition here to find new programs and new opportunities and to innovate them.”

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