In a prior issue, we discussed how blockchain technology is poised to change the way various industries work. Many have theorized this technology is a game-changer that threatens to usher in a new way of conducting business worldwide. Those industries have continued to invest in blockchain technology at an ever-increasing rate. Banks and other financial institutions have not been left out of this as several have joined large consortiums that aim to study and implement this technology ...
Near the end of 2007, the United States was hit by the subprime mortgage market meltdown. For years before, the public had experienced a steady increase in home prices and a seemingly never-ending supply of mortgage lending. Homeowners were able to enjoy ever-increasing home equity and mortgage products, virtually guaranteeing that anyone who wanted to get financed could ...
In last quarter’s issue, we discussed the rise of digital currencies and the blockchain, or distributed ledger, technology that supports them. We now turn our focus to how the financial industry and governments have embraced this technology and are working to adapt it to traditional banking services and applications as far ranging as recording property transfers and safeguarding nuclear missiles ...
Freezing orders are one of the most important weapons inacourt’s arsenal to prevent parties from disposing of or dissipating assetsto ensure they will be available to satisfy a potential future money judgment. In the British Virgin Islands, the court is empowered to grant a freezing order under the provisions of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court and the Civil Procedure Rules ...
Mauritius started the year on a high note in the area of anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (“AML/CFT”) by issuing two complementary documents: the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Handbook: 2020 (the “Handbook”) and the Guideline on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation (the “Guideline”) ...
Effective Oct. 1, 2017, Ohio Revised Code 4123.84 was amended to shorten the statute of limitations for the filing a traditional workers’ compensation claim (a standard physical injury resulting in either a lost-time, medical-only, or death claim) from two years following the alleged date of injury to one year. The amendment does not apply to either occupational disease claims or VSSR filings, which maintain the two-year statute ...
Effective January 2020, U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) increased the salary thresholds for several of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) exemptions. The salary threshold levels for the white-collar exemptions and the highly compensated employee exemption have increased, making it more difficult for an employee to be classified as exempt under the FLSA. As a result, an estimated additional 1.3 million workers now qualify for overtime premiums ...
he President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, signed the Finance Bill, 2019 into law on 13 January 2020. The amendments announced by the Finance Act, 2020 (the “Act”) intend to increase revenue collection to fund public expenditure; ensure that tax laws are consistent with national tax policy objectives; and incentivise investment in infrastructure and capital markets ...
According to Panamanian law, all employees must have an employment contract with some mandatory content which cannot be replaced by a job offer. Salary and working hours, must be agreed in this employment contract. The salary could be paid by month, fortnight, week, day or hour, but the practice is to negotiate a monthly salary, which must be at least equal to the minimum wage established by law ...
On 14 January 2020, the Employment Law Amendment Law (DIFC Law 4 of 2020) and the Employment Regulations (the Amendment) were enacted. The Amendment introduces a new mandatory workplace savings scheme, which replaces the current end-of-service gratuity regime. The new scheme commences on 1 February 2020 ...
Pursuant to Israeli employment law, an employer cannot employ workers on their weekly rest day unless it obtains a special permit from the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. A weekly rest is 36 consecutive hours. Under certain circumstances, it is possible to shorten shift workers' weekly rest to 25 consecutive hours. For Jewish workers, the weekly rest day is Saturday (ie, from the beginning of the Sabbath on Friday evening until Saturday evening) ...
On 1 January 2020 the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) implemented various revised rules primarily targeting small banks (the so-called 'small banks regime'). Among other aspects, this will result in a relaxation of IT outsourcing requirements for financial institutions. In this respect, a revised FINMA Outsourcing Circular is available in English and German, French ...
Why is H-1B Filing Season Important? This is the only time of year (with minor exceptions indicated below) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) accepts H-1B specialty worker petitions for the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, 2020 ...
With the UK currently due to leave the EU at the end of this month, Brexit may cause the construction industry a continuing period of uncertainty in 2020 but the government’s agenda may also provide increased opportunities. We look ahead at what this year may have in store. Brexit The top priority for the government is delivering the UK’s departure from the EU on 31 January. How Brexit will affect the construction industry remains open to speculation ...
With the year 2019 now behind us, it is a good time to remind ourselves of the changes that took place in the field of employment law over the past year. It is also time to prepare for the reforms that will happen in 2020. LEGISLATIVE REFORMS, AMENDMENTS AND SIGNIFICANT PRECEDENTS IN 2019 In 2019, there were some amendments to Finnish employment legislation ...
New California laws could make it more difficult for employers to enforce employment arbitration agreements and now prohibit “no rehire” language in settlement agreements involving employment disputes. Arbitration Agreements The enforceability of employment arbitration agreements has long been under attack in California ...
The labor shortage that affects all of Quebec and many other provinces has been a well-known problem for several years. Almost every week brings its share of companies that have to close their doors or limit their activities due to a lack of staff in positions of all kinds. To work within our borders, foreign employees must first obtain the necessary authorizations ...
As part of Paraguay's commitment to the International Financial Action Task Force of Latin America (GAFILAT), in November 2019, the Executive Power enacted Law No. 6446 that creates a “General Directorate of People and Legal Structures and Final Beneficiaries ” Under the Ministry of Finance (hereinafter the Law), which will have the following functions: Acting as the authority of application, replacing the Treasury Law, of Law No ...
On May 23, 2019, by a vote of 417-3, the United States House of Representatives passed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement (SECURE) Act. Notwithstanding broad bipartisan support, the bill stalled in the United States Senate until Dec. 19, 2019, when it passed a budget reconciliation bill (H.R. 1865, the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020 [the “Act”]), which contains the provisions from the SECURE Act. The president signed the Act on Dec. 20 ...
On December 16, 2019, in Caesars Entertainment d/b/a Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino, the National Labor Relations Board (Board) returned to the standard outlined in Register Guard, which announced that employees have no statutory right to use employer equipment, including IT equipment, for activity protected under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act.1 The decision expressly overrules the Board’s decision in Purple Communications, Inc ...
In a long-anticipated decision on Dec. 16, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) scuttled a 2015 agency decision that presumptively prohibited employers from requiring confidentiality of investigative reports. In Apogee Retail, 368 NLRB No. 144 (2019), the NLRB returned to its previous standard that presumes the legality of the maintenance of work rules requiring confidentiality of investigative interviews between an employer and employee ...
On December 19, 2019, the U.S. Treasury Department and the IRS issued final regulations (T.D. 9889), which provide much-anticipated guidance on tax-favored qualified opportunity zone investments. The 544-page regulation package generally retains the same approach and structure of the proposed regulations issued in October 2018 and April 2019 (prior Hanson Bridgett analysis available) ...
This week, Congress passed and President Trump is expected to sign a domestic spending package that includes significant changes affecting retirement plans in the SECURE (Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement) Act, and a permanent repeal of the “Cadillac tax” on high-cost employer-sponsored health coverage that was enacted with the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The SECURE Act is the most comprehensive set of changes to retirement plan rules in many years ...
In the modern era, most construction contracts incorporate insurance requirements as a primary means to address the risk of unexpected occurrences that are inherent to the construction industry. Some insurance, like workers’ compensation coverage, may be required by law. Other insurance coverage may be required by a lender or other financing party in order to close on the construction loan for a project ...
