Corruption, Crime & Compliance

Featured Articles:

6 May, 2020

Chipotle Mexican Grill Enters Three-Year DPA and Pays $25 Million Penalty for Food Safety Violations (Part II of II)

In the Chipotle Mexican Grill case, DOJ entered into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement (“DPA”) in exchange for the payment of a $25 million penalty stemming from a string of foodborne-illness cases between 2015 and 2018 involving its restaurants in which more than 1100 people became ill. The charges against Chipotle stem from outbreaks of norovirus, a highly infective pathogen that is easily transmitted by...

General

5 May, 2020

DOJ Resolves Two Important Food Safety Criminal Cases: Blue Bell Creameries and Chipotle Mexican Grill (Part I of II)

In an important set of criminal prosecutions for food safety violations, the Justice Department recently announced resolutions with Blue Bell Creameries and Chipotle Mexican Grill. While these cases were not related to the COVID-19 pandemic, they are indications of DOJ’s aggressive prosecution for food safety issues and are important reminders of the need for organizations to prioritize health and safety issues. Corporate boards and senior...

General

4 May, 2020

DOJ and FBI Fight Back Against Pandemic Fraud

You can always count on cyber-criminals and fraudsters to come out of the woodwork when a national crisis occurs. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a multitude of criminal schemes. Companies that rely on remote employees have to be vigilant in alerting employees to phishing, malware and other scams used by cyber-criminals and fraudsters. DOJ, the FBI and the private sector have been cooperating to...

Podcasts

3 May, 2020

Episode 139 — DOJ Resolves Two Food Safety Criminal Cases: Blue Bell Creameries and Chipotle Mexican Grills

The Justice Department recently resolved two food safety criminal cases involving Blue Bell Ice Cream and Chipotle Mexican Grills. In its largest food safety recovery to date, Chipotle agreed to a three-year deferred prosecution agreement and paid $25 million. In the Blue Bell Ice Cream case, Blue Bell agreed to plead guilty and pay $19.5 million in fines and penalties. Blue Bell’s former CEO, Paul...

General

30 Apr, 2020

Ensuring Employee Reporting in the New COVID-19 Pandemic Era

If there ever was a time that companies need to promote and encourage employee reporting, the time is now. By employee reporting, I do not mean to single out hotline reporting – certainly that is one of many avenues to report concerns. In this era of fear and worry, companies need to recognize that their respective workforces are suffering from trauma (possible loss of family...

General

29 Apr, 2020

The Importance of the Human Resources and Compliance Partnership in the New COVID-19 Pandemic Era

Human Resources and Compliance have always had a natural and tight bond, assuming that there is no territorial or in-fighting political disputes. In this new COVID-19 pandemic era, the HR and Compliance partnership is even more important. HR and Compliance have a critical challenge for moving forward – restoring employee trust in a safe and healthy work environment. Company workforces are shell-shocked and they need...

General

27 Apr, 2020

The Risk of “Price Gouging” in the New COVID-19 Pandemic Marketplace

The COVID-19 pandemic era has transformed the economy with a new emphasis on health and safety related products (e.g., sanitizers, toilet paper, designated medical supplies). Our economy has suffered severe disruptions to demand and supply of goods and services. In this new economy, businesses face extraordinary risks of federal and state prosecution for price gouging. The federal price gouging law applies narrowly to critical items...

Events

27 Apr, 2020

Webinar: COVID-19 — The New Compliance and Risk Framework

COVID-19 — The New Compliance and Risk Framework May 6, 2020, 12 Noon EST SIGN UP HERE The COVID-19 Pandemic has had a devastating impact on everyone around the globe, resulting in over 55,000 deaths in the United States. The global economy has suffered serious disruption and harm. The recovery path appears to be slow and there are increasing risks of a recurrence of the...

General

26 Apr, 2020

Health and Safety in the New COVID-19 Pandemic Era

Let’s face it – we have all suffered (and are continuing to suffer) through an extraordinary time. I know this is just another profound grasp of the obvious but the world is slowly recovering but with lots of changes and the continuing threat of a “relapse” or recurrence of the pandemic. Our economy has been devastated and economic growth will occur slowly. We face significant...

Podcasts

26 Apr, 2020

Episode 138: Employee Relations and Engagement in the New COVID-19 Pandemic Era

Companies face new challenges in employee relations and promoting employee engagement in the COVID-19 pandemic era. Companies have to ensure employee a safe workplace with appropriate modifications to mitigate COVID-19 risks. At the same time, companies have to reinforce the importance of reporting employee concerns, and respond to these concerns in a prompt and reliable manner. In this episode, Michael Volkov discusses the new employee...