DROPLETS
Grade 3 — worth a glance, not the full analysis.
- Apple Applies Unified EU Business Terms to App Store Developer Contracts
Perkins Coie reports that from October 1, 2026 Apple will apply unified business terms to apps developers distribute in the EU, a template shift affecting app-store, platform-contract and digital-market compliance work.
- New York Construction Reporting Pay Act Adds Cancellation and Reporting Pay Duties
Effective December 8, 2026, New York's new statute requires construction employers to pay two hours for shifts cancelled with under 12 hours' notice and a four-hour minimum for short reported shifts, with no weather exceptions in the text.
- California's AB 1883 Bans AI Emotion Recognition at Work
Per one Jackson Lewis alert, Newsom signed AB 1883, barring California employers from AI surveillance tools that infer emotional state or collect neural data; $500 per violation, with aerospace and defense carve-outs.
- England's Building Safety Levy takes effect 1 October 2026
A new statutory levy on certain residential developments in England came into force on 1 October 2026, adding a cost developers and lenders must price into new-build viability and financing.
- SEC Seeks Comment on Credentials Qualifying as Accredited Investor Status
On September 30, 2026 the SEC issued notices requesting comment on whether professional credentials could give holders accredited investor status under Regulation D, potentially widening private-placement access.
- CFTC sends OIRA proposals treating event contracts as swaps, excluding gambling
A law-firm digest reports the CFTC has submitted two rule proposals to OIRA that would define event contracts as swaps while carving out traditional gambling, a framing that would shape how prediction markets are regulated.
- AI Meeting Note-Takers Bring Privilege and Disclosure Risk
Perkins Coie warns that fast adoption of AI transcription and note-taking tools in virtual meetings creates privilege-waiver, confidentiality and discovery exposure.
- OIRA Reviews DOL Contractor Rule; Sonderling Confirmed as Labor Secretary
OIRA took in the DOL's final worker-classification rule on September 28 and the Senate confirmed Keith Sonderling 47-41, putting IC and joint-employment rules on the Department's fall agenda as Congress exits for the November 3 midterms.