On 21 February 2023, Government published its much-anticipated response to its consultation on biodiversity net gain (BNG) regulations and implementation from January 2022 - Government response and summary of responses - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) (“the Response”). This was accompanied by refreshed government guidance to developers and local authorities - Biodiversity net gain - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) (“the Guidance”) ...
On 16 June 2022, the Vietnamese National Assembly officially approved the amended Intellectual Property Law (“Amended IP Law”). This marks the third time the Vietnamese IP Law has been amended and supplemented since its promulgation in 2005. Its latest update contains revisions and supplements more than 100 articles, marking the most expansive overhaul of this law to date ...
On February 22, 2023, the United States Supreme Court affirmed the importance of long-standing U.S. Department of Labor salary pay regulations. In Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc. et al. v. Michael J. Hewitt, (Case No. 21-984), the Court, in a 6-2-1 opinion, held that high-earning professionals can only be overtime-exempt if they are paid on salary basis. The case involved Michael Hewitt, a former offshore oil rig worker for Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc ...
From television commercials to naming rights for arenas, the topic of cryptocurrency has been hard to avoid. While cryptocurrency may be virtual, its creation or ’mining’ occurs in the real world. This mining poses a credit risk for utility companies, given the incredible amount of electricity required to operate a “mining” facility. For example, crypto mining company Core Scientific, Inc ...
On December 29, 2022, the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act (“MoCRA”) was signed into law.[1] MoCRA is the first federal cosmetics law since 1938 and will impose a number of new requirements on cosmetic products and the facilities where they are manufactured. Specifically, MoCRA requires the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to implement enhanced oversight and regulation of cosmetic manufacturing facilities and products by December 29, 2023 ...
Construction continues to be one of the deadliest industries in the United States, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) is heavily targeting construction workplaces. In 2022, OSHA inspected construction workplaces more than any other industry, and OSHA’s focus on construction employers is expected to continue this year ...
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) plans to prioritize its efforts to correct discrimination and harassment in the construction industry following a review of data that revealed the construction sector to be one of the most challenging areas in terms of discrimination and harassment cases ...
If the draft EU regulation on Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) titled ‘Proposal for a Regulation laying down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence’ (the “draft EU AI Act”) becomes law, investment funds could have an additional risk which would need consideration, namely, the AI risk ...
Introduction Recent years have seen the UAE making regular updates to its laws in order to guarantee a legal regime that is forward-looking, and consistent with international standards and principles. The leaders of the UAE have been particularly cognizant of the need to have a robust criminal law regime to encourage legitimacy in business, and dissuade any unscrupulous activities that could reflect negatively on the UAE as a determined and fast-developing economy ...
In the latest report published in December 2022 by the Fraud Advisory Panel in conjunction with BDO LLP, 100 UK based charities were surveyed. 69% said that they had experienced financial loss due to fraud. 58% said they believed that the risk of fraud will increase over the next 12 months ...
Employer Checking Service (ECS) checks are a vital step in the right to work check process. Positive Verification Notice (PVN) from the ECS can ensure that an employer maintains a statutory excuse against liability for a civil penalty for illegal working in situations where an employee’s visa expires during the course of their employment. ECS checks are required in situations where an employee is on a time limited visa that expires during employment ...
Due to changes to the migration law that took effect on 29 December 2021 and have been modified several times since then, ALRUD has updated the checklist below. This checklist will be useful for foreign nationals, company managers, HR directors, compliance officers, as well as heads of legal departments and other persons interested in or responsible for hiring foreign workers in Russia ...
In recent years, there has been a surge in new union organizing efforts and tactics to unionize and organize employers around the country. From Amazon workers in Jacksonville to Starbucks employees in 280 stores and counting, unions are imploring workers to turn to unions to help address issues like low wages, lack of benefits, and poor working conditions. Unionizing has become more heavily publicized, even romanticized, in the media and many employees have bought in to the movement ...
As a starting point, money in a bank account is nothing more than a contract with a promise to pay (the bank being the debtor/payer and the account holder the creditor/payee); it is a claim against the bank (an IOU issued by the bank, Norwegian: enkelt krav) held by the account holder ...
The direct overseas offering and listing by domestic entities refers to the overseas offering and listing by joint-stock companies registered and incorporated domestically in China (the "Direct Overseas Listings"), which is currently one of the main ways for domestic entities to be listed overseas. Prior to the implementation of the New Filing Rules, the Direct Overseas Listings are subject to the examination and approval by both the CSRC and the overseas securities regulatory authorities ...
On February 17, 2023, the New Filing Rules was released by the China Securities Regulatory Commission ("CSRC"), which will come into force on March 31, 2023. In the meantime, the Notice of the State Council on Further Strengthening the Administration of Overseas Stock Issuance and Listing (State Council Announcement [1997] No. 21) (the "97 Red Chip Guidelines") will be repealed on the effective date of the New Filing Rules ...
In recent years, there has been a surge in new union organizing efforts and tactics to unionize and organize employers in the state of Florida. From Amazon workers in Jacksonville to farmworkers in Immokalee, unions are imploring Floridian workers to turn to unions to help address issues like low wages, lack of benefits, and poor working conditions. Unionizing has become more heavily publicized, even romanticized, in the media and many employees have bought in to the movement ...
Lite-Netics, LLC v. Nu Tsai Capital LLC, Appeal No. 2023-1146 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 17, 2023) In an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska, the Federal Circuit addressed whether the district court properly granted a preliminary injunction restricting Lite-Netics, LLC’s patent-related speech ...
This has been driven by a rise in flexible working arrangements and the so-called 'gig economy' as well as by employers seeking creative ways to reduce costs in a restrained economic environment. With this in mind, the Employment Act 2000 was amended in 2021 to allow the Ministry of Economy and Labour to publish guidance to assist in determining whether a person is an employee or an independent contractor ...
The registered fund regime offers a significantly faster approval process than that of authorised funds (other than QIFs): three days for RCIS Funds and one day for PIFs, relying in each case upon increased due diligence obligations on the part of the fund’s administrator ...
The window for low-income service providers to take advantage of funds available through the Oregon Solar+ Storage Rebate Program is closing. Each year, 25 percent of the program’s budget is allocated to low-income and moderate-income homeowners and service providers. This year, the non-income-restricted funds have already been disbursed, and only low-income and moderate-income restricted funds remain ...
On the 14th of February 2023, the General Department of Taxation (“GDT”) issued Notification 5367 (“Notification 5367”), which provides the 2022 market interest rates for Employee Loans in accordance with Article 15 of Prakas 543 on Tax on Salary and Instruction No. 7015 GDT dated 13 March 2020. The market interest rates for 2022, based on the average of eleven (11) commercial Cambodian banks, are as follows: USD – 8.35% per annum Khmer Riel – 8 ...
