Wherefore Software In Analyzing Substantial Transformation
Client Alert | 1 min read | 08.10.10
On August 6, 2010, Customs & Border Protection (CBP) published a final determination (75 Fed. Reg. 47609) that Avaya’s Unified Communication Solution was substantially transformed in the United States based upon the totality of the circumstances including installation of the Communication Manager software and the extensive effort at the installation site to integrate the largely foreign hardware components into a working system. CBP rejected Avaya’s assertion that the installation location of software that provides the functionality of a system or hardware could be the sole determinant of substantial transformation under CBP’s prior precedent, as the origin of the software has also been an important factor, and noted here that most of the software development had occurred at Avaya’s Colorado facility, although some ongoing software development now occurs abroad.
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Client Alert | 3 min read | 06.12.26
DOJ Guidance Backs Away From Disparate Impact Liability
On June 9, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a formal opinion concluding that the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission’s (EEOC) existing interpretations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) disparate-impact liability, including the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (UGESP), are unconstitutional. According to the opinion, EEOC’s prior interpretations contemplate liability based on disproportionately adverse effects alone, without regard to an employer’s likely intent, rather than treating disparate impact as an evidentiary mechanism to “smoke out” intentional discrimination. DOJ found that this approach functions as a “qualified racial-proportionality mandate” that places “a racial thumb on the scales, often requiring employers to evaluate the racial outcomes of their policies, and to make decisions based on (because of) those racial outcomes.” The opinion fulfills one mandate of Executive Order 14281, which rejected disparate-impact liability insofar as it “creates a near insurmountable presumption that unlawful discrimination exists wherever there are any differences in outcomes among different [demographic groups].”
Client Alert | 4 min read | 06.12.26
Auto Dealers: The FTC Is Back in the Driver’s Seat — Warning Letters Signal Renewed Federal Scrutiny
Client Alert | 13 min read | 06.12.26
Client Alert | 4 min read | 06.12.26
