On October 21, 2020, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) published a new guidance for use by contact tracers that clarifies what had been a somewhat fuzzy definition of “close contact.” The new definition increases the number of individuals presumed to have an exposure to COVID-19, and will significantly affect schools and workplaces since those presumptively exposed individuals will be asked to isolate for a period of 14 days ...
Months of working from home have made at least one thing clear – the “Freshman 15” has nothing on the COVID-19. Boredom, stress, and ease of access to the refrigerator has caused many employees to trade in their suits for sweatpants and their heels for flip-flops. As offices see more and more employees return to work, employers may want to consider taking proactive steps to curtail such casual attire in the workplace. Can employers require a dress code? Yes ...
On July 10, 2020, the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) released a Risk Alert highlighting the dangers of ransomware to SEC-registered entities, including investment advisers. The Risk Alert is a response to a marked uptick in both the prevalence and sophistication of ransomware attacks in recent months. Ransomware is a type of malware used by criminals to gain control of your or your firm’s confidential information and customer data ...
In response to the ongoing disruption caused by COVID-19, OCIE issued a Risk Alert on Aug. 12, 2020. In the Risk Alert, OCIE makes various observations and recommendations which fall into six different categories: (1) protection of investors’ assets; (2) supervision of personnel; (3) practices relating to fees, expenses, and financial transactions; (4) investment fraud; (5) business continuity; and (6) the protection of investor and other sensitive information ...
On July 28, 2020, the SEC announced a pair of settled administrative actions against Houston-based VALIC Financial Advisors (VFA). In the first action, the SEC charged VFA with failing to disclose that its parent company paid a for-profit entity owned by a Florida teacher’s union to promote VFA to Florida teachers. The second action involved VFA’s wrap fee arrangements with clients ...
As a result of the unprecedented circumstances we are currently facing, a number of measures were adopted to ease the challenges that various businesses are facing. In this regard, the European Commission adopted the State aid Temporary Framework (the "Framework") on 19th March, 2020, which has subsequently been amended a number of times to reflect the ever-changing nature of how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting the economy ...
Michigan’s Open Meetings Act (“OMA”) was officially amended this past Friday when Governor Whitmer signed SB 1108 (now Public Act 228 of 2020). The new law permits public bodies to conduct electronic meetings under certain circumstances and for a set period of time. The amendments to the OMA were prompted by a recent Michigan Supreme Court decision that effectively eliminated emergency executive orders issued by Governor Whitmer after April 30, 2020 ...
Key Points In ADA Title III cases, the plaintiff has the initial burden to show removing a barrier is readily achievable. The Court has yet to consider the complexities of naval architecture and the unique safety and seaworthiness issues on ships. If barrier removal is not readily achievable, alternative methods to barrier removal —or other facilitation for access to the service— should be considered. In Lopez v. Catalina Channel Express, Inc. (9th Cir ...
INTRODUCTION There are several government agencies regulating various sectors of the Nigerian economy. Most of these regulatory agencies are creation of statutes which usually specify their functions, powers and general mode of operations. While some of these agencies are responsible for sensitising the citizens about government policies,[1]a good number are charged with the task of enforcing policies, programmes and laws enacted by the Government ...
The current crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has already caused, and will continue to cause, significant liquidity problems for some businesses. Companies whose financial difficulties threaten their very existence will have to restructure in order to avoid bankruptcy, either by availing themselves of the protection of the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act1 (the "CCAA") or by using the proposal mechanism of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act2 (the "BIA") ...
This digest is a curated list of Bradley content regarding the coronavirus. In an effort to provide our clients with the easiest way to find information that may be beneficial in responding to the impact of COVID-19, we have provided links to our most recent blog posts, news alerts, webinar recordings and more. Additionally, this digest will now be deployed on a weekly basis in an effort to reduce the number of emails our clients receive ...
Effective Oct. 15, 2020[1], the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States’ (CFIUS) mandatory filing requirement will shift from a critical technology[2], industry-specific focus to one focused on export controls. It will focus on whether the U.S. regulatory authorization would be required to export the target U.S. business’ critical technology to the foreign person party to the transaction, including certain parties in the foreign person’s ownership chain ...
On Oct. 8, 2020 the SEC issued a joint statement on additional Form CRS guidance regarding firms’ disciplinary history. The statement was released in tandem with several new FAQs, which help clarify firms’ disclosure obligations as they relate to disciplinary history. The update guidance comes in response to the SEC’s early review of firms’ Form CRS filings ...
Law 58/2020 of 31 August implements into Portuguese law Directive (EU) 2018/843 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing. It enshrines in the Portuguese legal framework a first approach to the regulation of entities that engage in activities with virtual assets ...
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Fed”), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the “OCC”), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the “FDIC”) each have regulations implementing the Change in Bank Control Act (12 U.S.C ...
Join us for a special opportunity to hear directly from the CFPB about mortgage servicing in the COVID-19 era. On October 14 from 2:00-3:00 p.m. ET, Bradley hosted a Q&A session with Allison Brown of the CFPB's Office of Supervision Policy to discuss the CFPB’s supervisory expectations as the industry grapples with CARES implementation and other challenges arising from the coronavirus crisis ...
Since the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, municipalities in Michigan have met virtually under the authority of a series of executive orders issued by Governor Whitmer permitting public bodies, except the state legislature, to meet by virtual means. These executive orders, including most recently Executive Order No ...
On October 8, Treasury issued a new Interim Final Rule Re Additional Revisions to Loan Forgiveness and Loan Review Procedures Interim Final Rules (new IFR), along with a new Loan Forgiveness Application Form 3508S and Instructions for the new Form, addressing applications for forgiveness of PPP loans of $50,000 or less. Links to the new IFR, the new Form 3508S, and the new Instructions for Form 3508S are set out below ...
Since the 1960s, the United Stated Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) has implemented several “Guides” for business disclosure by certain SEC registrants involved in banking, oil and gas, real estate, insurance, and mining activities ...
The electronic commerce industry is expected to expand by five to seven percent in the coming years while the streaming services business is also expected to exponentially grow, with more and more Filipinos opting to do their transactions online, as well as accessing Internet-based content and entertainment. Philippine authorities are inevitably focusing their regulatory gaze on these enterprises. A ...
The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) has issued the rules for the implementation of Section 4(eee) of Republic Act No. 11494, the “Bayanihan to Recover as One Act” (Bayanihan 2)1 on October 5, 2020 and these rules (PCC Rules on Bayanihan 2) 2 were published, and thus became effective, from the same date ...
The Arendt Weekly Update is a newsletter designed to give you the insight you need without overloading your mailbox. It lists the latest news, topical webinars, training courses and more ...
A recent decision in Germany has resulted in a hefty fine being imposed on an employer for violations of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulations (“GDPR”). The decision is a strong warning to South African employers to not overprocess their employees’ information ...
