On The Merits

A government report from 1993 said that the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, would likely have to respond to one to two federally declared disasters per year. In just the first half of 2023, there have been around three dozen disasters.Climate change and the increase in extreme weather is putting immense strain on FEMA. And the agency has been pulled into additional crises, like helping ease the burden at the border and administering Covid testing and vaccine sites. It's not clear that there's the political will in Washington to make the organizational and fiscal fixes FEMA needs to meet the coming deluge of disasters.On this episode of our podcast, On The Merits, Bloomberg Government reporters Kellie Lunney and Ellen M. Gilmer talk about their reporting on what's troubling FEMA and why the agency's mission has ballooned so much since its creation.Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

It's been a year since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, clearing the way for Republican lawmakers to enact long-promised restrictions on abortion.However, in that time, the Republican-controlled House has passed just a handful of minor abortion bills—none of which have any hope of becoming law.On this week's episode of our weekly podcast, On The Merits, Bloomberg Government reporter Zach Cohen explains why abortion legislation has thus far stalled in Congress. Zach says the real fight will come later this year when Congress has to pass its annual spending bill that often attracts lots of legislative riders.Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

The years of breakneck expansion in the legal industry are officially over—firms have now moved into contraction mode. While we're still not seeing Great Recession-style mass layoffs—yet—the downturn is generating plenty of anxiety.On today's episode of our weekly news podcast, On The Merits, we do a Big Law roundup, featuring three Bloomberg Law reporters talking about their corner of the legal industry.First, Meghan Tribe explains why the firm Cooley is offering incoming associates $100,000 to delay their start dates, and what that might mean for their careers.Next, Mahira Dayal talks about the UK's so-called "Magic Circle" firms, and why they're waging—and, mostly, losing—a talent war with their American rivals.Finally, Roy Strom brings us the story of a Big Law titan who got tired of the grind and gave up his enormous salary to become a local traffic court judge.Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

When the PGA announced a plan to merge with its former rival, the Saudi-backed LIV Golf, sources with the league told Bloomberg Government's Kate Ackley they didn't expect to encounter major regulatory roadblocks. However, a week later, that now appears far too optimistic.Lawmakers from across the ideological spectrum have criticized the deal, both for antitrust concerns and for Saudi Arabia's grim history of human rights abuses. On this week's episode of our weekly podcast, On The Merits, Ackley says the kingdom may have to tap its army of lobbyists in Washington to keep the merger alive.Also, Bloomberg Law's Dan Papscun joins us to talk about an obscure government committee that could make or break the merger with its review for national security concerns.Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

We learned earlier this year that President Biden doesn't like it when employers impose noncompete clauses on their employees. In January, his Federal Trade Commission rolled out a proposal that would enact a near total ban on them.Now, a second federal agency has taken action against noncompetes. Last week, the top lawyer at the National Labor Relations Board said she thinks these agreements are illegal because they impinge on workers' ability to organize.On this week's episode of our weekly podcast, On The Merits, we talk to labor reporter Bobby Iafolla about what this all means, and also hear a clip from a new investigative audio series from Bloomberg Law's Matt Schwartz looking into the noncompete issue.Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

New York City may be the next city to enact a total ban on facial recognition technology.The technology, which uses surveillance cameras to identify people in public, has been garnering headlines for years, but there are few regulations on how it can be used. Some cities have taken action by enacting partial bans or moratoriums. One city, Portland, Oregon, has a total ban.A bill introduced in the the New York City Council would make it illegal for private businesses to use face scans to identify customers. This move comes after venues controlled by James Dolan's company, including Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, and the Beacon Theater, denied entrance to ticket buying patrons who happened to be lawyers who worked at law firms involved in litigation against Dolan's company.Is an all-out ban the best response to this technology? Are there less restrictive rules that could allow uses that benefit society, or is this technology such a threat to privacy and civil liberties that bans are the best option?On this episode of On The Merits, we look at how to regulate this emerging technology. We hear from tech execs, a city administrator, a law professor, and a privacy advocate.Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

Generative AI models like ChatGPT aren't sophisticated enough to write a Hollywood-level screenplay, at least not yet. But if and when that changes, Hollywood writers want to make sure they're prepared.The Writers Guild of America is on strike, and a big reason is they want to insert language into a new bargaining agreement that gives the union a say in when and how algorithms can be used.Bloomberg Law labor reporter Ian Kullgren has been following the strike, and he joins our weekly news podcast, On The Merits, to explain how labor law factors into the negotiations. He also talks about why generative AI is a big issue for Hollywood writers today, and why it could become an even bigger issue for other trades as the technology advances.Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

For decades now, both parties in Washington have been unhappy with the status quo at the U.S.-Mexico border. But finding a congressional solution to our border problem has never seemed more out of reach.House Republicans are moving forward on a comprehensive immigration bill that few, if any, believe can pass the Democratic Senate, much less earn President Biden's signature. Meanwhile, despite Biden's campaign promises that he would start fresh, many Trump-era border policies are still in effect.Bloomberg Government reporter Ellen M. Gilmer just returned from a trip to the border where she witnessed multiple groups of migrants being apprehended. She joins On The Merits, our weekly news podcast, to talk about what she saw and whether there is any hope for improvement.Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

The chief judge of one of the 13 federal appeals courts has filed a formal complaint against one of her colleagues. Her beef? That her nonagenarian fellow judge is cognitively impaired and unfit to serve.How did we get here? That's the topic of the latest episode of our weekly news podcast, On The Merits. We discuss the near-unprecedented move to remove 95-year-old Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman from the bench.Bloomberg Law reporters Kelcee Griffis and Kaustuv Basu explain who Newman is, what the complaint about her says, and what this whole affair says about the practice of granting federal judges lifetime appointments.Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

When Geraldine Tyler didn't pay her tax bill, her county sold her home and kept the profits—more than twice what she actually owed. Tyler, a Minnesotan who's now in her 90s, sued. Next week she'll be appearing before the U.S. Supreme Court.Numerous states have laws allowing tax authorities to take all of the value of a property when it forecloses. But Tyler is asking the Supreme Court to declare these laws unconstitutional.Bloomberg Law reporter Perry Cooper is covering the case. She joins our weekly news podcast, On The Merits, to talk about it. Perry says Tyler's argument that her property rights have been violated may appeal to the court's ruling conservative majority.Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.