Civil rights and health enforcement action where Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, joined by 11 other states, sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) over a policy that conditions federal health, education, and research funding on states' agreement to discriminate
In-house legal teams should review all federal grant agreements, cooperative agreements, and memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and its sub-agencies. Specifically scrutinize clauses related to: (1) funding conditions and certifications of compliance, particularly any language requiring adherence to external executive orders or agency interpretations of statutes like Title IX; (2) termination, suspension, or repayment provisions triggered by non-compliance; (3) representations and warranties regarding adherence to non-discrimination laws; and (4) clauses that incorporate by reference external policies or definitions. Changes may be needed to challenge vague or overbroad certification requirements, assert state law protections against discrimination, and seek injunctive relief to prevent termination of existing funding based on retroactive or unauthorized conditions.
Entity
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Also known as: HHS
Industry
OtherAttorney General Weiser joined a coalition of attorneys general in suing to block new unlawful conditions on Title X funding imposed by HHS, which would penalize states and providers that refuse to abandon nondiscrimination initiatives or conform to the administration's ideological vision of family planning. The lawsuit argues the conditions conflict with federal law, violate the Administrative Procedure Act, and are unconstitutionally vague.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services opposing a proposed rule that would eliminate model card requirements for AI tools in healthcare, warning that such rollbacks could lead to biased and unsafe healthcare decisions by reducing transparency.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, alongside attorneys general from New York, Colorado, Illinois, and Minnesota, filed a motion for preliminary injunction to continue blocking the Trump Administration's unlawful freeze of $10 billion in federal funding for child care and family assistance programs and to prevent broad data requests for personally identifiable information of millions of residents. The funding freeze targets five Democratic-led states without evidence of fraud, and the data requests are part of the challenged unlawful actions. A temporary restraining order was previously granted blocking these measures.
Attorney General Dan Rayfield and a coalition of 21 attorneys general and Pennsylvania filed lawsuits against the U.S. Department of Transportation, FMCSA, and AAMVA to block demands for a database containing personal information of 17 million commercial drivers. The federal government threatened to withhold $10 million in funding unless the data was turned over, which the coalition argues violates privacy law.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield co-led a coalition of 10 states in a federal lawsuit against the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to block a rule that invalidates state laws requiring mortgage lenders to pay interest on escrow accounts. The lawsuit argues the OCC's rule oversteps federal authority, gives national banks a competitive advantage over state-chartered banks, and takes money away from homeowners.
A federal judge ruled that Nexstar Media Group violated a court order requiring it to keep TEGNA Inc. operating as an independent company while a multistate antitrust lawsuit challenging the merger proceeds. The court found that Nexstar installed its own executives on TEGNA's board, failed to disclose the appointments, and lacked candor with the court. The court ordered Nexstar to comply immediately, file status reports, respond to discovery, and turn over board and financial documents, with a special master to oversee compliance.