U.S. Supreme Court
By: Kevin Grimes
From the perspective of the FTC, the POA would appear to be a perfect weapon for quickly bringing about industry-wide change.
The Penalty Offense Authority (POA) allows the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to seek civil penalties against a wrongdoing party where: (1) a final cease and desist order has been entered against a party in an administrative proceeding under Section 5(b) of the FTC Act; (2) the order identifies a specific practice as unfair or deceptive; and (3) a party with actual notice of the order has engaged in that practice after the order became final.
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House responds with bill to restore Commission’s restitution powers
House Bill 2668, which Congressman Cárdenas introduced last week, addresses the two significant judicial limitations to Section 13(b) of the FTC Act.
—Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, Acting Chairwoman, FTC
To the relief of many direct sellers, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling in the closely-followed AMG Capital Management, LLC v. Federal Trade Commission case.
In a April 22 decision authored by Justice Stephen Breyer, the court held that Section 13(b) of the FTC Act does not authorize the Commission to seek “equitable monetary relief such as restitution or disgorgement,” ruling that the “permanent injunction” reference in Section 13(b) only grants the FTC the ability to stop future actions of a targeted individual or company.
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Is the Commission saber-rattling or moving the goalposts?
By: David Bland
The (FTC) is saying ‘we’ve got other tools,’ but what they are hoping for is that Congress will act.
—John Villafranco, Partner, Kelley Drye & Warren LLP
At a time when the FTC should be contrite for having been caught for abusing its power, they’re doubling down.
—Kevin Thompson, Partner, Thompson Burton PLLC
The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) focus on its power to punish continued in recent weeks as it threatened the use of punitive action against its favorite targets. The Commmission’s latest announcement has important implications for industries under its scrutiny, including the direct selling channel.
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Use of the strict ‘ABC’ test for independent contractor status is still a point of contention in proposed U.S. legislation
By: Brian Bennett
Passage of the PRO Act by the full U.S. House of Representatives is the biggest shot across the bow to independent contractor status in recent history.
One of the core issues for the Direct Selling Association (DSA) and direct selling throughout our storied history has been protecting the independent contractor status of the salesforce. When legislation goes to undermine that relationship, it has the potential to throw into disarray our way of doing business. H.R. 842, the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, would do just that.
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