As part of our series of continuing updates1 on different aspects of The Setting Every Community Up For Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the “SECURE Act”) and related legislation that may impact (or provide opportunities for) employers that sponsor retirement plans, this alert provides an overview of changes to rules related to nondiscrimination testing where defined benefit plans have been frozen or closed to new participants under the SECURE Act, and a reduction in the m
Changes to the Chilean Labor Code require employers to adopt measures that facilitate the inclusion of disabled employees Law No.21,275 was added to the Labor Code and published in the Official Gazette on October 21, 2020. The new law is intended to facilitate the inclusion of disabled employees in the labor force. Companies to which the law applies The Law is applicable to those companies that, in accordance with article 157 bis of the Labor Code, have 100 or more employees ...
In this newsletter you will find a selection of the main legal news related to the fintech and digital banking market in Argentina. 3.0 transfers New open and interoperable model for instant payments As we anticipated in previous bulletins, the Central Bank (BCRA) completely updated the system of immediate electronic payments existing until now, taking it to a much more ambitious, interoperable and open model, which aims to interconnect bank accounts and accounts on an equal footing ...
Dykema’s M&A transaction volume was up sharply in the third quarter with 25 deals closing during that three-month period. The transactions involved a wide variety of industries including Dental Service Organizations (DSOs) and Medical Service Organizations (MSOs), alcoholic beverages, precious metals, automotive, waste management, health & fitness and cloud services ...
The London Interbank Offered Rate («LIBOR«) is arguably the financial world’s most important number; it is a proxy for banks’ marginal funding costs and serves as benchmark rate in millions of loans, floating-rate debt, and financial contracts. The publication of the LIBOR will in all likelihood, cease by the end of 2021. The shift from LIBOR is an immense change to global finance and will have far-reaching impacts on the financial services industry ...
A temporary work agency had, over a period of four years, hired out workers to an oil company that had a bonus scheme at company level for its employees. The Supreme Court found that the bonus scheme was a form of performance-related pay and thus covered by the term «pay» in section 14-12 a subsection 1 (f) of the Working Environment Act. The temporary work agency was thus obliged to pay a bonus to the two workers as if they had been permanently employed in the oil company ...
The CFPB finalized its long-awaited debt collection rule. Join us this Thursday to learn about what is in the final rule, how the final rule is different from what the CFPB proposed in May 2019, and how the final rule might impact your business. The rule will become effective one year after it is published in the Federal Register ...
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in March 2020 Israel imposed significant restrictions on foreign nationals' entry into Israel. As a general rule, the entry of foreigners into Israel is prohibited, except for a limited list of exceptional cases (for further details please see "COVID-19: exceptional cases in which Population and Immigration Authority will allow foreigners to enter Israel") ...
Decree-Law 94-A/2020 of 3 November amends, among others, Decree-Law 79-A/2020 of 30 September, which established “exceptional, transitional arrangements for reorganisation of work”. Its aim was to minimise the spread of COVID-19. The Decree-Law makes remote working mandatory for all workers whose place of work is located in a geographical area where the epidemiological situation justifies it ...
The supply of undeveloped (bare) land is exempt from value added tax (VAT) pursuant to Article 46 (3) of UAE Law No 8 of 2017. Bare land (as opposed to covered land) is defined as ‘land that is not covered by completed, partially completed buildings or civil engineering works’ pursuant to Article 44 of Cabinet Decision 52 of 2017 ...
The Setting Every Community Up For Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the “SECURE Act”), made sweeping changes to retirement plan rules ...
The Russian insurance market is facing fundamental changes that will reshape the industry, by creating new opportunities for foreign insurance companies to operate in Russia. Within the framework of its obligations as a WTO member state, Russia must allow access of branches of foreign insurers, from WTO countries, to the Russian insurance market, by August 2021 ...
In Brown v. Morehouse College, a False Claims Act (FCA) retaliation action, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the case’s dismissal, agreeing with the district court that while the plaintiff’s ethics complaints may have led to retaliation against him by the College, the complaints did not allege FCA fraud and therefore were not protected by the statute. No. 19-13773, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 33444 (11th Cir. Oct. 23, 2020) ...
On Oct. 26, 2020, the IRS announced in Notice 2020-79 cost of living adjustments (COLAS) to the qualified plan dollar limits for 2021. Below is a summary of the limits that are generally relevant for most retirement plans. Effective Jan. 1, 2021: The elective deferral limit for 401(k), 403(b), and eligible 457(b) plans is unchanged at $19,500. The catch-up contribution limit for those aged 50 or older remains stable at $6,500 ...
On October 20, 2020, San Francisco County was upgraded to the “minimal” tier within the California COVID-19 tracking system, meaning it has the fewest restrictions on reopening all businesses as promulgated by the State of California. In order to qualify for the “minimal” tier, a county must have an infection rate of less than one daily new positive COVID case per 100,000 residents and have a positive test rate of less than 2% for two consecutive weeks ...
Belgium is, for the second time, in lockdown. The new Ministerial Decree of 1 November 2020 stipulates that, as from today until 13 December 2020, all workers are obliged to telework. However, an exception applies when either the employee’s role or the continuity of business operations, activities and services does not allow for teleworking ...
Balance has been tipping over from creditors to shareholders and the pandemic is only bringing this deepening fault line to the fore. Covid-19 slammed into the global consciousness this March and, as expected, immediately torpedoed the markets. But despite the worsening economic data hogging news headlines, exacerbated by intensifying US-China tensions, the markets have paradoxically strengthened since ...
On 30 September 2020, the Royal Government of Cambodia (“RGC”) issued a press release and rolled out ‘Round 6’ of measures aimed at mitigating the impacts of COVID-19 on businesses and workers in Cambodia. These represent a combination of new and existing measures (that have been extended) ...
SC and Bursa extend temporary margin financing flexibilitiesOn 28 September 2020, the Securities Commission Malaysia (“SC”) and Bursa Malaysia Berhad (“Bursa”) extended the temporary relief measures relating to margin financing to 31 December 2020. The relief measures, which took effect on 27 March 2020 via Participating Organisations’ Circular No. R/R 6 of 2020, were initially due to expire on 30 September 2020 ...
Michigan has joined the majority of jurisdictions in holding that a general liability policy may provide coverage for claims for property damage allegedly caused by the defective work of a subcontractor ...
The Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (the “Board”) recently held the government liable for design delays where the government prematurely required details in design submissions and failed to provide comments on design submissions within the 14-day period allotted for government comments in the contract. In Appeal of RBC Construction Corp., the contract contemplated the use of fast track design methods ...
It is rare for the holding in a single criminal case to have such far-reaching implications that it affects nearly every industry in a particular state. But that is what happened on July 9, 2020, when the United States Supreme Court overturned Jimcy McGirt’s criminal conviction in Oklahoma state court by holding that Oklahoma did not have jurisdiction to prosecute McGirt (a citizen of the Creek tribe) for a crime committed within the boundaries of the Creek Nation ...
In Appeal of Watts Constructors, LLC, the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (the “Board”) held that a contractor was not excused from following contract plans and specifications despite the observation by government quality assurance inspectors of non-compliant electrical work during installation ...
When crafting a liquidation or “pass-through” agreement for a subcontractor claim against the government, the key provision from the prime contractor’s perspective is a release from liability for the subcontractor’s claim with the exception of amounts recovered from the government related to that claim. If the release language is too broad, however, the agreement may provide the government a legal defense to the pass-through claim known as the Severin doctrine ...
On Sept. 3, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued its final rule on the implementation of the Fair Housing Act’s disparate impact standard. The Fair Housing Act (FHA) prohibits discrimination in many housing-related activities on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, and national origin ...
