On May 15, 2025, the New York General Assembly introduced the Fostering Affordability and Integrity through Reasonable Business Practices Act (FAIR Act), which will strengthen New York’s consumer protection law to “protect New Yorkers from unfair, deceptive and abusive business practices.” With the federal government rolling back protections for consumers and small businesses, the FAIR Act authorizes the New York Attorney General and individual consumers to seek civil penalties and restitution against businesses. Trying to fill the enforcement void left by inactive federal regulators, the FAIR Act endeavors to align with Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) guidance to states to strengthen their consumer protection regimes and strongly suggests that states and private litigants will become increasingly active in enforcing consumer protection laws.

On March 14, 2025, in a late Friday decision, a panel of judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that, for the time being, the Trump Administration is permitted to enforce Executive Orders (EOs) 14151 (Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing) and 14173 (Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity), which prohibit Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) (also referred to as Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility, or DEIA in the EOs) efforts within the federal government and by federal contractors, respectively.