Risk Channel delivers the latest, most relevant and useful business intelligence to key decision makers and influencers, each weekday morning.
North American Edition
7th October 2024
 
THE HOT STORY
Disney faces class action over data breach
Walt Disney Co. is facing a class action lawsuit filed by Scott Margel in Los Angeles County Superior Court, alleging negligence and breach of contract related to a significant data breach earlier this year. The lawsuit claims that Disney failed to adequately protect sensitive personal information of thousands of employees, which was compromised in the breach. According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, a hacking group named NullBulge leaked over 1.2 trn bytes of data, including sensitive employee details and customer information. The complaint observes that “class members remain, even today, in the dark regarding which particular data was stolen.” Margel is seeking damages and demands that Disney enhance its security measures and inform affected individuals about the breach's risks.
CYBERSECURITY
Organizations urged to improve implementation of cyber resilience measures
A PwC poll of 4,042 business and technology executives from 77 countries has found that just 2% of organizations have fully implemented cyber resilience actions across all areas surveyed. The 2025 Global Digital Trust Insights survey found that critical areas lacking implementation include the establishment of a resilience team; the development of a cyber recovery playbook for IT-loss scenarios; and the mapping-out of technology dependencies. Only 15% are measuring the financial impact of cyber risks to a significant extent. Another significant issue highlighted in the report is the limited involvement of chief information security officers (CISOs) in key business activities. Less than 50% of CISOs are involved to a large extent in strategic planning on cyber investments, board reporting, and overseeing tech deployments. The findings underscore the need for a more strategic, enterprise-wide approach to cybersecurity. Organizations are urged to address the identified gaps in resilience, CISO involvement, and risk quantification to better position themselves to face the evolving threat landscape.
LEGAL
Law firm parental leave bias claims must go to jury
Law firm Jones Day will have to defend its family leave policy at trial against claims from married ex-associates who say it is discriminatory and violates District of Columbia law, a federal court has said. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia modified the docket in the suit by Mark Savignac and Julia Sheketoff. It said that Jones Day’s bid for summary judgment was denied on the husband's interference claim under D.C.'s Family and Medical Leave Act. The original order issued last month, and a related docket entry for the court's temporarily sealed opinion, had indicated that the leave interference claim couldn't advance to trial. Savignac and Sheketoff sued Jones Day in 2019, alleging that the firm's parental leave policy for newborns discriminated against biological fathers by affording male employees eight weeks less time off for the birth of a child than female employees could use. They couple also said Jones Day retaliated for complaining about the gender inequity, including by dismissing Savignac two weeks after the birth of their son and three business days after the couple emailed the firm to  complain about its policy.
Law firms move to respond to anti-DEI backlash
Employers have been left wondering whether their affinity group or hiring initiative will see them end up in court after the Supreme Court issued its June 2023 ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, and law firms are now mobilizing to advise clients who are worried about litigation risk. "[Conservative activists] been highly organized and very effective so far in their litigation. But I also think that the story has yet to be written. The law is still very much in flux. They filed their early cases in jurisdictions where they thought they would be more successful. This law is going to develop in courts throughout the country, and so I think it's important for folks not to overreact to it," says Jason Schwartz, co-chair of the labor and employment group at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. 
Supreme Court to hear woman's claim that she lost out on jobs because she is straight
The Supreme Court is set to review the case of Marlean Ames, an Ohio woman who alleges sex discrimination in her employment due to her heterosexuality. Ames claims she was denied a promotion and subsequently demoted in favor of LGBTQ individuals. Despite Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibiting workplace discrimination, both a trial court and the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against her, requiring a higher standard of proof for majority group discrimination claims. Arguments are expected to take place early next year.
WORKFORCE
Procter & Gamble shareholders seek pay disclosures by gender and race
Arjuna Capital, a Massachusetts investment firm, is advocating for Procter & Gamble (P&G) to disclose pay gaps at its upcoming annual shareholder meeting. Following a successful proposal at Kroger, Arjuna seeks to have P&G report median pay differences between non-minority males and women, as well as between white men and minority workers. The firm argues that “pay inequities persist across race and gender and pose substantial risks to companies and society at large.” While P&G has agreed to disclose some pay gaps on an adjusted basis, it maintains that further reporting could distract from its long-term goals. The shareholder meeting will be held virtually on Tuesday at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
OPERATIONAL
Bank of America outage leaves customers in the dark
On Wednesday, Bank of America customers experienced significant issues accessing their accounts, with reports peaking around 1 p.m. ET, when Downdetector recorded over 20,266 outages. Many users reported that their account balances were either missing or displayed as $0. One frustrated customer noted, “App not working and online banking shows yesterday's balance.” Although the bank has since resolved the outage, the disruption caused considerable frustration among users who struggled to access their financial information.
ECONOMY
Canada's households hit hard by inflation and interest rates
High inflation and interest rates are significantly impacting Canadian households, leading to a 9% increase in bankruptcy filings and consumer proposals year-over-year. Over the past year, more than 134,000 individuals faced financial difficulties, nearing levels seen during the Great Recession. Despite this, on a per-capita basis, consumer financial stress remains below pre-pandemic levels. However, provinces like Ontario, B.C., and Alberta, with high household debt, are experiencing insolvencies at or above pre-pandemic levels. Charles St-Arnaud, chief economist with Alberta Central, noted, “So far, the labour market's resilience has meant that borrowers have been able to weather the shock”. The future of consumer debt repayment hinges on the job market, with unemployment rising to 6.6%, the highest since May 2017.
California reports two bird flu cases from cows
California has confirmed two human cases of bird flu in people who had contact with infected dairy cattle, bringing the total U.S. bird flu infections to 15. The virus has spread to cattle in 14 states and farm workers, raising concerns about the risks to humans from further spread. There is no known link or contact between the two human cases in California, suggesting only animal-to-human spread of the virus. Pasteurized milk and dairy products remain safe to consume, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration plans to begin testing raw cow's milk intended for pasteurization at dairy plants to better understand the prevalence of the bird flu virus in milk.
REGULATORY
SEC enforcement chief to leave agency
SEC enforcement director Gurbir Grewal is to leave the agency for an attorney position in private practice, after helping to lead a crackdown on the cryptocurrency industry and Wall Street’s use of off-channel communications. “Every day, he has thought about how to best protect investors and help ensure market participants comply with our time-tested securities laws,” SEC Chair Gary Gensler said in a statement. “He has led a division that has acted without fear or favor, following the facts and the law wherever they may lead.” During Mr. Grewal’s tenure, which ends on October 11th, the SEC authorized more than 2,400 enforcement actions, leading to more than $20bn in disgorgement, prejudgment interest and civil penalties. It also awarded more than $1bn to whistleblowers. Sanjay Wadhwa, the division’s deputy director, will serve as acting director on Mr. Grewal's departure.
TAX
Amazon faces $12.5m tax challenge
The South Carolina Supreme Court is set to review Amazon Services LLC's challenge regarding a $12.5m tax bill related to third-party sales on its marketplace. The e-commerce giant is contesting a January appeals court ruling that mandates it to pay taxes on “Fulfillment by Amazon” sales for three months in 2016, prior to the enactment of a law imposing tax obligations on online marketplaces. The court's order has narrowed the review to specific issues, indicating that the $12.5m represents only a fraction of Amazon's potential tax liability.
TIGTA says IRS is missing out on sports betting cash
The surge in sports betting has generated substantial revenue for gaming operators, yet the IRS is reportedly overlooking significant tax income, according to a recent TIGTA review. The analysis of approximately 43m tax forms from 2018 to 2020 revealed around 150,000 individuals who won over $15,000 failed to file tax returns on those earnings. The IRS estimates that by addressing these issues, it could potentially recover an additional $1.4bn in tax revenue.


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