On June 1, 2023, the United States Supreme Court issued an important decision addressing the intent element of the False Claims Act (“FCA”) in United States ex rel. Tracy Schutte v. SuperValu Inc. and United States ex rel. Thomas Proctor v. Safeway, Inc. The FCA imposes liability on anyone who “knowingly” submits a false claim to the federal government and defines “knowingly” to include actual knowledge, deliberate ignorance, or recklessness ...
Less than a month to go! Our Tax Team wishes to remind you of the fast-approaching deadline for the submission of your annual corporate tax returns for the financial year ended 31 March 2023 (“FY 2022-2023”). All Myanmar taxpayers (corporate entities, non-profit organizations, and individuals) should file their annual tax returns on or before 30 June 2023 ...
I. INTRODUCTION The post-Soviet states, including the Russian Federation, are mired in corruption across all levels of government-the judiciary, parliament, executive and executive agencies.' Naturally, a "culture of corruption" within government distorts several necessary components that make up the rule of law. Corrupt parliament members will not be responsive to the citizenry ...
On May 30, 2023, National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo took yet another step to ban restrictive covenants in the employment context. In a memo issued to all regional offices, she set forth her view that nearly all non-compete provisions, with very limited exceptions, violate the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) ...
May 31, 2023 By: Stephanie Shea The California Unruh Act (specifically, California Civil Code § 51) prohibits “all business establishments of every kind whatsoever” from discriminating based on citizenship or immigration status, among other things. That protection applies to all persons within the jurisdiction of California. At the federal level, (simply put,) the federal civil rights statute (specifically, 42 U.S.C. § 1981), prohibits alienage discrimination ...
On May 30, 2023, the Expert Commission concluded the vote on the preliminary draft of the New Constitution, sending it to the Constitutional Council for discussion. After having reached cross-party agreements on most of the proposed amendments to the first draft, the Expert Commission approved in Plenary Session the text of the preliminary draft, which consists of 14 permanent Chapters, with their respective transitory provisions. The structure of the draft would be the following: Chapter I ...
In November 2021, the New York City Council passed a bill requiring that artificial intelligence (“AI”) tools used by employers to make or assist in hiring decisions or internal promotions undergo bias audits to screen for discriminatory effects. Under the City Charter, the bill became law a month later after it was returned unsigned to the Council by then-mayor Bill DeBlasio ...
Introduction Last week, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced that American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO) had concluded the negotiation of the first trade agreement under the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade.1 This is the first bilateral trade agreement since the promulgation of the Taiwan Relations Act in 1979 ...
The Crowdfunding Service Providers Bill reached First Reading stage in Parliament on the 17th of May, 2023. This proposed Act aims to implement provisions of Regulation (EU) 2020/1503 on European crowdfunding service providers for business and it provides for the establishment of a regulatory framework for crowdfunding service providers (hereinafter referred to as “CSPs”) for business, including the organisation, authorisation and supervision of CSPs ...
“The building has to earn the commute. There has to be a reason for people to come into an office building, and that’s why you’re seeing this bifurcation between the best and the rest,” said Steven Mew, customer experience and flex director at GPE, during Shoosmiths’ recent roundtable on the UK’s flexible office space sector ...
The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (“Clery Act”) is a federal consumer protection law that provides campus members and the public with information about campus safety ...
May 26, 2023 By: Stephanie Shea The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act of 2018 amended TILA to require the CFPB to issue rulemaking addressing Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) loans. Specifically, the Act required the CFPB to apply TILA’s ability-to-repay (ATR) requirements to PACE loans and to apply TILA’s civil liability provisions to a PACE lender’s violation of those ATR requirements ...
Contents Please click on the links below to jump to the relevant section: Overview Guarantees Collateral Security Financial assistance Syndicated Lending/Agency/Trustee/Transfers Withholding, stamp and other taxes; notarial and other costs Judicial enforcement Bankruptcy proceedings Jurisdiction and waiver of Immunity Licensing LIBOR replacement Other matters Overview What are the main trends/significant developments in the lending markets in your jurisdiction? As in o
Anecdotally, we are hearing that interim relief applications are on the rise. In this article we give employers the low down on what an application for interim relief actually is and why they should be on the lookout for them ...
The Charities Act 2022 is being introduced in phases. From June 2023 trustees will have greater flexibility over how they procure advice to ensure the terms on which they dispose of a charity’s interests in land are the best that can reasonably be obtained. Voluntary Service Overseas is one of the latest major charities to scale down its office space as it responds to the long-term changes resulting from Covid-19 ...
BT announced earlier this week that it plans to cut between 40,000 and 55,000 jobs by 2030. It expects around 10,000 of these roles to be replaced by AI, particularly in customer services. BT’s recent announcement is a reminder that increased use of AI is now a key board agenda item, with businesses exploring whether they can increase efficiency and improve operations by investing in generative AI ...
Employment and immigration specialists Emma Morgan and Amy Leech look at the immigration considerations that arise in redundancy situations, acquisitions and insolvency procedures. A recording of the webinar is below along with a summary of key takeaways. In current economic conditions, with the cost of living rising and the effects of the pandemic still lingering, businesses are having to look at ways to make cuts and reduce costs ...
As we gear up for the UK Covid-19 Inquiry’s first full public hearing on 13 June, here is a reminder of what has been covered to date, followed by a list of issues to be covered within the scope of the first (Module 1) investigation. Inquiry to date the Inquiry was formally established by the Chair (Baroness Heather Hallett) on 28 June 2022, at which time the final Terms of Reference were published by the Government (UK COVID-19 Inquiry: terms of reference - GOV.UK (www.gov ...
We recently reported1 on the Government Accountability Office's (GAO) decision in AttainX ...
Open Finance is becoming a pivotal element in the evolution of the European Union’s regulatory framework for payment services, most notably embodied in the anticipated Third Payment Services Directive (“PSD3”) ...
By: Christopher M. Mason "Amongst the flurry of other recent executive orders and administrative directives during his first 30 days in office, President Joseph R. Biden signed an executive order seeking to eliminate gender identity and sexual orientation discrimination, and various overlapping forms of discrimination on the basis of multiple protected classes, in federal government departments and agencies ...
