The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has sent letters to 20 law firms -- including Cooley, Perkins Coie and Hogan Lovells -- about their diversity policies, said an EEOC release Monday. The letters from EEOC acting Chair Andrea Lucas point to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts mentioned on the firms' websites and public releases, accusing them of discrimination. The White House previously targeted Perkins Coie and Covington & Burling in an executive order and memo (see 2503120049). “It appears likely that Cooley disparately provides access to certain privileges of employment (training and leadership development) based on its employees’ race or other protected characteristics,” says the EEOC letter to Cooley.

Ligado defended its proposal to reallocate the 1675-1680 MHz band for 5G, as it urged previously in 2019 (see 1905090041). The company filed reply comments posted Tuesday in docket 19-116. The FCC in January sought to refresh the record on the future of the band for shared use between federal incumbents and nonfederal fixed or mobile operations. Other parties continue to raise questions, as they did in the initial comment round (see 2503030045).

The FCC will likely take an "all or nothing" approach toward its proposed $4.5 million fine against Telnyx, rather than settle with the firm somewhere in between, Telephone Consumer Protection Act lawyers told us. The notice of apparent liability issued last month (see 2503050026) faces strong pushback from Telnyx and parts of the voice service provider industry (see 2503110023). The NAL also netted Free State Foundation criticism (see 2503120071). Many said the Telnyx fine fight shows the need for FCC clarity about the "know your customer" (KYC) process.

FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks’ announcement Tuesday that he plans to resign from the commission in the spring (see 2503180009) is already prompting speculation about potential successors, despite there not being an obvious front-runner. Some officials voiced renewed concerns about whether President Donald Trump will use the upcoming vacancy as an opportunity to erode FCC norms, either by not filling Starks’ role or picking a Democratic nominee who hews more closely to the administration’s telecom policy priorities.

While companies are making fewer customer calls, 86% of business executives “across a wide range of industries agree the phone” remains “the most important outbound channel for meeting customer service goals and increasing revenues,” Forrester Consulting said Monday. “Key pain points” in calling include “inaccurate customer contact data and the threat of call spoofing,” Forrester said. The executives reported that their companies are making 26% fewer calls than three years ago “while increasing use of other digital channels.” The report stressed the importance of branded calling: “Three in four decision-makers say accurate caller information displayed on outbound calls is important for improving customer engagement and increasing answer rates.” Protections against call spoofing were listed as important features by 67% of respondents.

The White House executive order asserting control over executive branch agencies (see 2502280048) looks “dramatic” but “changes little,” said a blog post Monday from American Enterprise Institute nonresident Senior Fellow Mark Jamison, a former member of President Donald Trump’s transition team. “Independent agencies have long been subject to political influence, and their supposed autonomy is more myth than reality,” Jamison wrote. “For decades, presidents and lawmakers have found ways to steer their agendas.” The order “can be seen as simply formalizing what has already been happening.” Critics “are reacting to an idealized version of regulatory independence that doesn’t exist in practice,” he said. “The real issue isn’t whether presidents exert influence over these agencies -- it’s that agency leaders have often ceded their independence voluntarily, undermining confidence in regulatory neutrality.”

The FCC’s outage reporting rules and its history of assessing large penalties for violations are leading to public safety answering points (PSAPs) being heavily burdened by notifications, said attorneys, trade groups and public safety associations. New rules that go into effect April 15 are likely to exacerbate the issue, they said during an FCBA virtual panel discussion Monday.

House Communications and Technology Subcommittee names Parul Desai, formerly NTIA, chief minority counsel … Connecticut’s Executive and Legislative Nominations Committee approves nomination of David Arconti Jr., ex-Avangrid, as a commissioner of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, subject to General Assembly approval.

CPB wants a federal court to force the Federal Emergency Management Agency to remove a hold on paying reimbursement requests from public broadcasting stations connected to upgrades to emergency alerting, according to CPB filings in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (docket 1:25-cv-00740-TJK). CPB administers grant funds from FEMA marked by Congress to help station upgrades connected with the Next Generation Warning System, but FEMA ceased paying the reimbursements to 42 stations after a White House executive order was issued to freeze grants, the filing said. “Not just future reimbursements for expenses not-yet-incurred, but also for reimbursements of expenses already incurred by these stations in reliance on the grant’s terms,” CPB said. FEMA didn’t inform CPB that the funds were on hold and is “refusing to provide any communications as to why the funds have been placed on hold, placing new restrictions on the grant, and refusing to provide any mechanism through which CPB can make any submissions in compliance with the grant,” CPB said. CPB can’t reimburse the stations but also faces potential liability over the unpaid funds, the filing said. The court should “enter a very focused and very feasible Temporary Restraining Order simply requiring FEMA to re-open the grant submission portal” and “return to timely processing and promptly paying requests to reimburse,” CPB said. FEMA didn't comment.

Intel appoints Lip-Bu Tan, ex-Walden International, as CEO, succeeding David Zinsner, now executive vice president and CFO, and Michelle Johnston Holthaus, CEO-Intel Products; Tan also becomes executive board chair, replacing Frank Yeary, Darwin Capital, now independent chair … Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) reappoints Benjamin Barkley as chief executive and public counsel, Office of Public Utility Counsel, pending Senate confirmation … Government satellite network Rivada Select Services names to board Joe Maguire, University of Texas; John O'Connor, J.H. Whitney Investment Management; and Allen Parker, ex-Wells Fargo … TechNet taps Robert Boykin, formerly California Association of Health Plans, as executive director-California and the Southwest region.