Company: HOUS
Filing Date: 2025-02-25
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001398987-25-000020
Chunk: 151

Company: Anywhere Real Estate Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-02-25
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1
Chunk 151
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PA including assertions that any provision of a thing of value in a separate but contemporaneous transaction with a referral constitutes a breach of RESPA on the basis that all things of value exchanged should be deemed in exchange for the referral. Violations of RESPA or similar state statutes can lead to claims of substantial damages, which may include (but are not limited to) fines, treble damages and attorneys' fees.

We are also subject to state laws limiting or prohibiting inducements, cash rebates and gifts to consumers, which impacts our lead generation business.

Worker Classification. Although the legal relationship between residential real estate brokers and licensed sales agents throughout most of the real estate industry historically has been that of independent contractor, newer rules and interpretations of state and federal employment laws and regulations, including those governing employee classification and wage and hour regulations in our and other industries, may impact industry practices, our company owned brokerage operations and our affiliated franchisees by seeking to reclassify licensed sales agents as employees.

Real estate laws generally permit brokers to engage sales agents as independent contractors. Federal and state agencies have their own rules and tests for classification of independent contractors as well as to determine whether employees meet exemptions from minimum wages and overtime laws. These tests consider many factors that also vary from state to state. The tests continue to evolve based on state case law decisions, regulations and legislative changes.

Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Regulations. To run our business, it is essential for us to collect, store and transmit sensitive personal information about our customers, prospects, employees, independent agents, and relocation transferees in 

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our systems and networks. At the same time, we are subject to numerous laws, regulations, and other requirements, domestically and globally, that require businesses like ours to protect the security of personal information, notify customers and other individuals about our privacy practices, and limit the use, disclosure, sale, or transfer of personal data. Regulators in the U.S. and abroad continue to enact comprehensive new laws or legislative reforms imposing significant privacy and cybersecurity restrictions. The result is that we are subject to increased regulatory scrutiny, additional contractual requirements from corporate customers, and heightened compliance costs. For example, in the U.S., we are required to comply with the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which governs the disclosure and safeguarding of consumer financial information, as well as state statutes governing privacy and cybersecurity matters like the California Consumer Privacy Act ("CCPA") and the New York Department of Financial Services ("NYDFS") Cybersecurity Regulation.

The CCPA imposes