Search Results for: USDA

In a unanimous slip opinion, the US Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) waives sovereign immunity and that the federal government can be liable for incorrect debt reporting that damages credit scores. Justice Neil Gorsuch authored the opinion of the court. Gorsuch noted that the FCRA allows consumers to [...]

In September 2023, the US Department of Labor (DOL) launched investigations into possible child labor violations by meat and chicken processors Perdue Farms and Tyson Foods. The investigation, which is to determine whether migrant children are working inside slaughterhouses owned by the poultry-processing giants, follows a New York Times magazine report of minors working at the facilities [...]

The US Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to hear a case concerning whether Congress waived the US’s sovereign immunity in civil lawsuits involving the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). In the case Department of Agriculture Rural Development Rural Housing Service v. Kirtz, Reginald Kirtz argues that the court should hold the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) accountable [...]

US Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Peter Welch (D-VT) Tuesday are to introduce legislation to hold corporations accountable for their child labor practices. The bill, titled the Child Labor Exploitation Act, will prohibit the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) from contracting with companies who are either found guilty of committing labor law violations or contracting [...]

Three wildlife conservation groups Wednesday sued the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Wildlife Services and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in the US District Court for the District of Montana over a predator removal program which the groups argue harms “native wildlife, predator conservation, grizzly bears, and grizzly bear conservation.” The petitioners include [...]

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Tuesday proposed a rule that would require all poultry, particularly egg-laying chickens, labeled as “organic” to have access to the outdoors. Currently, organic chicken farmers are required to provide outdoor spaces for the animals. However, the USDA reports that farming practices for organic layers varies. Some farmers have [...]

The Biden administration launched a plan Monday to combat per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) substances. The plan was implemented after recommendations made by EPA Administrator Michael Regan, satisfying recent calls for regulation standards. According to the EPA, PFAS are a potentially harmful group of manufactured chemicals. There are thousands of different PFAS, and they can be [...]

In the New York Times on May 20, 2021, there was a story about a government program to pay off early loans to black farmers, to compensate for past oppressive lending practices. Bankers were criticizing the program because early payoffs hurt bank profits. Some white farmers sued and won a TRO, the court finding that “Plaintiffs [...]

The Biden administration announced Friday that it intends to restore environmental protections to the Tongass National Forest. This would reverse a Trump administration rule that allowed logging and road construction in over half of the forest. According to the US Forest Service, the Tongass is the “largest intact temperate rainforest in the world.” More than [...]

Last week, the state of Arkansas became the first state in the nation to effectively ban gender-affirming care for transgender and gender diverse youth. The law, H.B. 1570, prohibits youth under the age of 18 from receiving transitional or puberty-blocking hormones and surgery, and allows private insurers to refuse gender-affirming care. The law has no [...]