The Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House review lobbying filings for completeness, notify filers in writing of apparent defects, and refer unresolved noncompliance for enforcement. Civil penalties are available for a failure to remedy a defective filing or otherwise to comply, assessed per violation. A knowing and corrupt failure carries criminal penalties, and false statements on a filing are separately punishable under the general false statements statute.
Federal contribution limits apply per election and per contributor, with the primary and the general treated as separate elections. Certain limits are adjusted for inflation by reference to a price index; others are fixed by statute and do not move. Attribution rules assign a payment to the individuals behind an entity account, to the signer of a joint account absent written instruction, and to a single limit shared across affiliated committees.
State public work bond statutes, commonly called little Miller Acts, require payment and performance security on state and local construction. They vary from the federal scheme in the contract value that triggers bonding, the amount of the bond, which claimants must give notice, what the notice must contain, how it must be served and the period within which suit must be brought. Some also require notice from claimants who would owe none under the federal statute.
A continuing disclosure undertaking obliges the obligated person to give notice of listed events to the municipal repository in a timely manner not in excess of ten business days after the occurrence. Some entries are absolute, such as payment delinquencies, defeasances and rating changes. Others apply only if the event is material, which requires a judgment recorded before the period expires rather than after it.
Federal law bars several categories of money from campaigns regardless of amount. Foreign nationals may not contribute or donate, directly or indirectly, in connection with any federal, state or local election. Federal contractors may not contribute from their own funds during the contract period. National banks, corporations and labor organizations may not make contributions from treasury funds, though separate segregated funds and certain independent spending stand outside that bar.
A proceeding to assess penalties begins with a notice of intent to fine setting out the charges, the provisions alleged to have been violated, and the penalty. The employer must file a written request for a hearing within thirty days of service, with five days added where service was by ordinary mail. A timely request permits settlement discussion before any complaint is filed with the hearing office; no request produces a final and unappealable order.
For a class certified under the damages category, or on ordering notice of a proposed settlement of such a class, the court must direct the best notice practicable under the circumstances, including individual notice to all members identifiable through reasonable effort. Notice may be given by mail, electronic means or other appropriate means, and must state seven specified matters in plain, easily understood language.
Any class member may object to a proposal requiring court approval, and the objection must state whether it applies to the objector alone, to a subset, or to the entire class, and must state its grounds with specificity. An objector who appeared may appeal from approval without intervening. No payment may be provided in connection with forgoing or withdrawing an objection, or abandoning an appeal, unless the court approves it after a hearing.
Privately funded travel by a legislative branch official ordinarily requires written approval from the chamber's ethics committee before the trip, supported by a certification from the sponsor about who is paying, who will attend and whether a registered lobbyist is involved. A disclosure form follows the trip. Executive branch agencies operate under a separate statutory authority permitting acceptance of travel payments for attendance at meetings, subject to conditions and reporting.
Certification of a damages class requires findings that common questions predominate over individual ones and that a class action is superior to other available methods of adjudication. Predominance is a qualitative weighing of the issues that would be tried, not a count of them. Superiority considers members' interests in separate control, litigation already begun, the desirability of the forum, and the manageability of a class trial.
It is an unfair practice to discriminate in hiring, recruitment or referral for a fee, or in discharge, against a protected individual because of citizenship status, or against any individual because of national origin. Protected individuals include citizens and nationals, lawful permanent residents, certain temporary residents, refugees and asylees, subject to naturalization timing conditions. An employer may prefer a citizen over an alien only where the two are equally qualified.
A production consists of the retained verification forms, the supporting schedules named in the subpoena, and an index tying the two together. The forms are produced in their original medium or a permitted equivalent, the payroll and roster schedules define the population, and nothing is altered in the course of assembly. Where forms are held at another location, the employer identifies that location and arranges access.
