Covington is pleased to announce that it has revised and updated its comprehensive 50-state survey of political laws for 2025.
Corporations, trade associations, non-profits, other organizations, and individuals face significant penalties and reputational harm if they violate federal or state laws governing corporate and personal political activities, the registration of
Continue Reading Covington Announces Political Law Survey (2025 Edition)Covington is pleased to announce that it has revised and updated its comprehensive 50-state survey of pay-to-play laws for 2025.
Companies doing business with the federal government or state and local governments and companies operating in regulated industries are subject to a dizzying array of “pay-to-play” rules. These rules effectively
Continue Reading Covington Announces Pay-to-Play Survey (2025 Edition)Important changes to California’s pay-to-play law took effect January 1, 2025, and now the state’s regulations have caught up to the law.
The state’s Fair Political Practices Commission adopted the new regulations late last month, following statutory revisions to California’s complex pay-to-play law found at California Government Code § 84308
Continue Reading California Updates Pay-to-Play Law Regulations to Reflect Recent Law ChangesWith the end of the Biden Administration, the start of the Trump 2.0 Administration, and a change of power in the U.S. House, the steady churn of high-skill professionals moving in and out of government positions has reached an all-time high. Indeed, beyond the typical cadre of newly unemployed political
Continue Reading Don’t Get Stuck in the Revolving Door: A Primer on Federal Post-Government Employment RestrictionsWith a game-changing advisory opinion (AO 2024-01), 2024 started out with a bang at the Federal Election Commission (“FEC”). Other consequential opinions, enforcement actions, and regulations continued in the following months, challenging the notion that the divided Commission cannot find consensus.
In this alert, we highlight the FEC’s major
Continue Reading FEC Year in Review 2024Following the decisive election on November 5, the process of selecting and vetting individuals to fill the second Trump administration’s key appointed positions is quickly shifting into high gear. For those tapped for consideration, the decision to enter the process may be one of the most significant decisions of their
Continue Reading A Primer for Navigating the Presidential Appointee Vetting and Confirmation ProcessOn Friday, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 399, the “California Worker Freedom from Employer Intimidation Act” (the “Act”) that should be of interest to any company with employees in the state. The Act, which takes effect on January 1, 2025, adds a new section to the California Labor Code to prohibit employers from taking or threatening adverse employment action against an employee because the employee refuses to attend employer meetings about, or to participate in, receive, or listen to, any communications about the employer’s opinion on religious or political matters. The law is similar to, but broader than, laws in several other states that attempt to decrease the influence of “captive audience” meetings communicating an employer’s political or religious opinions.
Captive audience laws are frequently promoted by labor organizations that aim to limit employer communications related to unionization. However, the new California law is broader and applies to meetings and communications related to employers’ opinions on “political matters” or “religious matters,” both of which are defined terms in the Act.
“Political matters” are “matters relating to elections for political office, political parties, legislation, regulation, and the decision to join or support any political party or political or labor organization.” While the state will likely sharpen the contours of the law through regulation, as drafted this includes not only electoral and partisan political matters, but also issue-based activity, such as meetings about an employer’s position on proposed regulations or efforts to “activate” employees on a grassroots level to contact legislators about pending legislation. The definition of “political matters” also would cover union organizing.
“Religious matters” are “matters relating to religious affiliation and practice and the decision to join or support any religious organization or association.”Continue Reading California Joins Growing List of States Prohibiting Employer Action Against Employees Who Refuse Political or Religious Communications
With Election Day fast approaching, corporations face increasing pressure from both internal and external forces to make legal decisions about political activities. This can be a fraught area of law, with little understood, highly technical regulatory issues that vary significantly across jurisdictions. Corporate counsel should be mindful of common—and sometimes
Continue Reading Avoiding Pitfalls on the Path to Election Day: Common Political Law Risks for Corporations in Election SeasonCalifornia recently passed a series of new regulations affecting its “pay-to-play” laws that limit political contributions by state and local government contractors and others involved in proceedings on contracts, licenses, permits, and other “entitlements for use” in the state. These regulations implement changes to the law that took effect this
Continue Reading California Passes New Pay-to-Play Regulations for Contributions by Government Contractors and OthersCovington annually publishes a detailed survey of state campaign finance, lobbying, and gift rules. Now, for the first time, Covington is releasing an updated survey that details federal campaign finance, lobbying, and gift rules, in addition to those of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Corporations, trade associations, non-profits, other organizations, and individuals face significant penalties and reputational harm if they violate federal or state laws governing corporate and personal political activities, the registration of lobbyists, lobbying reporting, or the giving of gifts or items of value to government officials or employees. To help organizations and individuals comply with these rules, this detailed survey—now 327 pages—summarizes the campaign finance, lobbying, and gift rules adopted by the federal government, all 50 states, and the District of Columbia.
Newly added federal sections cover the Lobbying Disclosure Act, the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Congressional gift rules, executive branch gift rules, and the Federal Election Campaign Act. Information is provided in a table question and answer format intended to address common questions with practical guidance. Continue Reading Covington Releases Updated Survey of Federal and State Campaign Finance, Lobbying, and Gift Rules (2023 Edition)