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Cleveland Compliance Lawyers

Serving as the primary point of contact for governmental regulators and auditors

Federal, state and local government regulations are constantly changing, forcing corporations and companies to continually work to stay ahead of the compliance curve. Just identifying the statutes and rules that govern businesses is not enough. Business owners also need to understand the requirements of each regulation, put in place strategies to comply with the regulation, and be prepared to defend charges of noncompliance. Failure to comply with a regulation can mean huge damages, fines and penalties, large costs to fix the problem, and may even force the business to cease operations altogether.

Our lawyers understand the alphabet soup of federal and state acts that govern discrimination in the workplace, safety, privacy, environmental protection, disability, and the other laws that must be obeyed. Whether its compliance with the FMLA, the AEDA, ADA, HIPAA, OSHA, or any other law, our Cleveland compliance lawyers have the experience to explain proactively what each company must do. We prepare guidelines and procedures to satisfy these laws. Businesses in Northeast Ohio trust Gertsburg Licata to conduct internal reviews and compliance audits across a broad range of business sectors. We are committed to helping businesses master regulatory compliance issues so they can work on making their company grow.

Some of the many regulations that apply to businesses in the United States

Many private companies, and most public companies, cannot discriminate based on race, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, age, disability, pregnancy, or other character traits. Some of the laws that regulate discrimination include Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Equal Pay Act (EPA), the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), and various Ohio laws.

Other acts on which our compliance audit attorneys counsel businesses include:

  • Dodd-Frank Act.The Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was enacted with the aim of preventing another financial crisis. Among its financial regulations are rules for accountability, transparency, and consumer protection from financial abuses.
  • HIPAA.The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 is a federal law that aims to protect electronic medical information from being used or sold without the consent of the patient. A second goal is to protect workers who lost their job from losing their medical insurance.
  • FISMA.The Federal Information Security Management Act provides a framework for protecting governmental data from man-made or natural threats.
  • SOX.The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was passed as a response to several large accounting scandals such as Enron and WorldCom. It directly covers the conduct of a company’s board of directors. Its aim is to protect shareholders and the general public from fraudulent practices and accounting errors.
  • PCI DSS.Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards is a set of standards and rules intended to reduce credit card fraud and protect credit card data. Companies that handle large volumes of credit card information are required to pass a yearly compliance review. The reviewer is either an external or internal Qualified Security Assessor (QSA).
  • The “Do Not Call” List.This list, maintained by the Federal Trade Commission, prohibits telemarketers from calling phone numbers that are on the list. Companies who use telemarketers need to make sure their telemarketers comply with the Do Not Call list.

The list of regulations seems never-ending. We counsel our clients on the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which controls private financial information, and the Can-Spam Act of 2003, which requires that IT departments install software and safeguards to satisfy the law. There are laws that are aimed at protecting the environment, that cover specific business sectors such as the food industry and the automotive industry, and that govern safety in the workplace. Many private and public companies must also comply with affirmative action laws.

Get help with compliance regulations today

The list of regulations seems never-ending. At Gertsburg Licata, our aim is to work with in-house counsel to prepare the business for all possible compliance issues. For professional guidance about company compliance requirements, please call us at (216) 573-6000 or complete our online form to schedule an appointment.