Financial pressures often prompt an employer to review the benefits provided to employees and former employees in order to determine whether changes can be made that would decrease the cost of those benefits. Other times an employer will make changes to the benefits it offers in order to attract new employees or to better respond to the demographics of its workforce ...
New Off-shore Loan Reporting Regulations – Bank Indonesia is to commence imposing fines as of July 2011, for the June 2011 reporting period. Note that for corporations, there is no minimum loan reporting limitation, whereas for individuals, only loans or groups of loans which together exceed US$200,000 or its equivalent must be reported.Bank Indonesia keeps track of foreign loan obligations for statistical purposes and to assist it in formulating monetary policy ...
On 30 March 2011, Bank of Italy published a set of supervisory provisions concerning banks’ remuneration and incentive policies and practices (the “New Regulations”) with the purpose to implement the European Directive 2010/76/EC of 24 November 2010 (“Capital Requirements Directive III” or “CRD III Directive”) ...
The Royal Decree of 3 March 2011 regarding the evolution of the supervisory architecture of the financial sector (“Koninklijk besluit betreffende de evolutie van de toezichtsarchitectuur voor de financiële sector” / “Arrêté royal mettant en oeuvre l'évolution des structures de contrôle du secteur financier”) (the “Royal Decree”) entered into force ...
The Memorandum of Understanding entered into between the Portuguese State and the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and the European Commission (“the Troika”) sets forth a range of goals and measures that shall be implemented by the Portuguese State in order to promote competition in the markets as a means to improve economic growth ...
Starting April 6, 2011 the Social Security Administration (SSA) resumed sending its “no-match” letters (or “decentralized correspondence (DECOR) letters”) to advise employers of reported social security numbers that do not coincide with SSA’s records. In 2007, SSA stopped sending DECOR letters due to federal litigation focused on an insert that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) wanted to include with the letters ...
On March 22, 2011, the Fifth Circuit ruled that the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (“USERRA”) does not support a cause of action for hostile work environment. This is the first ruling from any Circuit Court regarding the issue. USERRA, a federal statute that establishes rights for members of the National Guard and Reserve, applies to all public and private employers, regardless of size ...
On September 25, 2008, former President George W. Bush signed the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (the “ADAAA” or the “Act”) into law, broadening the definition of “disability” under the Americans with Disability Act (“ADA”). The ADAAA makes it easier for people to establish that they are protected by the ADA and overturns holdings in several well-known Supreme Court decisions, which had previously narrowed the “disability” definition ...
The Autorité des marchés financiers (the “AMF”) published a draft Commercial Practices Guideline, which is available for public consultation on the website of the AMF until April 22, 2011. This Guideline constitutes a statement of principle on the expectations of the AMF concerning the sound commercial practices of insurers and financial institutions ...
1 Collateral What types of collateral are available? Collateral used in secured financings can also be used in project financings ...
As expected, the FDIC moved against the former key officers of Washington Mutual Bank, namely its former President/CEO, COO and Home Loans President in March. The FDIC believes that these three people are responsible for WaMu’s higher risk lending program, which accounted for the bank’s huge losses. It is reported that the damages being sought against the defendants may be in excess of $900 million, which should grab anyone’s attention ...
In March 2011, the Fourth Circuit issued a decision that has potentially substantial impact on the banking community at large, especially as it relates to decisions on whether to extend credit to a debtor after he or she receives a discharge in bankruptcy. In Maryland v. Ciotti (In re Ciotti), 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 4492 (4th Cir. Mar ...
Last Thursday and Friday, I was in Charlotte for the UNC School of Law Banking Institute. The conference is very deserving of its great reputation; it was very informative (Albeit after almost 6 hours of Dodd-Frank analysis on Thursday, I was just glad to be able to stand.) ...
Introduction The Great Recession is producing unprecedented levels of foreclosures1¡ªdeeds©/in©/lieu of foreclosure, bankruptcies, receiverships and other transactions in which financial institutions acquire control of real estate assets that must then be managed and sold ...
According to an old Russian Proverb, “A spoken word is not a sparrow. Once it flies out, you can’t catch it.” Applying this to the employment context, if an employee verbally complains that his employer is violating the FLSA, is the employee protected from retaliation? Deciding a split among the circuit courts, the Supreme Court answered the question affirmatively, eliminating the need for a net: the FLSA protects employees who file oral complaints. Kasten v ...
st1/:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } The long-awaited Royal Decree of 7 December 2010 on Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) (vastgoedbevaks/sicafi)(the “Decree”) entered into force. The new legislation brings major changes. This article gives an overview of the most important legal changes, which can broadly be categorized into four topic areas. First, the Decree establishes a moreflexible procedure for raising capital ...
In its most basic form, the guaranty is an agreement (importantly it is the guarantor’s separate contract with lender) by one party to be responsible for the debt or obligations of someone else. We all know it and love it – it is the lender’s friend. But like so many friendships, when it is built on a fundamental misunderstanding or problem, a train wreck ensues and we feel the pain ...
In the past several years, there has been an increase in cases asserting claimsunder the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act, W. Va. Code§ 46A-1-101, et seq. (“WVCCPA”) relating to illegal debt collection. The success of early suits has lead to an increased number of these lawsuits ...
Employers across the country are encountering problems with successful completion of the I-9 Form, a one-page form required to verify employment eligibility of workers in the United States. Despite internal audits and I-9 training, employers continue to identify errors on their I-9 Forms. Each I-9 error is treated as a separate violation resulting in a hefty fine ...
with the assistance of Robert La Rosa, student-at-lawOn October 28, 2010, Justice Yves Poirier of the Quebec Superior Court rendered a decision, which enforced the application of new section 54.1 of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (hereinafter the “BIA”). The case, Aliments Möpure inc. (Avis d’intention et de proposition de) (“Möpure”), addressed the question of whether a creditor advancing an equity claim has the right to vote at creditors’ meetings ...
In a case decided last week, Staub v. Proctor Hospital, a unanimous United States Supreme Court finally addressed the application of the “cat’s paw” theory of liability to employment discrimination claims, holding that an employer can be liable for an employment action motivated by a non-decision maker’s discriminatory animus ...
The decision by an employer to offer a pension plan to its employees is an important one. Various types of pension plans may be offered, and the financial risk of the employer depends on the type of plan chosen.While unions and employees generally prefer defined benefit pension plans,(1) employers are now very reluctant to implement such plans because of the financial liability they entail ...
The facts of the case In 1987, the Hudson’s Bay Company (“HBC”) sold one of its divisions to the North West Company (“NWC ”). In the context of that transaction, some 1,200 HBC employees were transferred to NWC (the “Transferred Employees”). On October 7, 2010, the Supreme Court of Canada rendered its judgment in the Burke v. Hudson’s Bay Co. case ...
The business community has been placed on notice. OSHA has been actively pursuing its regulatory agenda, while also arming its arsenal to enforce compliance. This alert explores the highlights of OSHA’s initiatives in 2010 and what companies can expect in 2011. OSHA 2010: Expanded Enforcement and an Active Commission OSHA’s efforts throughout 2010 included expanded enforcement, a negative publicity campaign, and clearance of several legacy cases from the OSHA Review Commission (“OSHRC”) docket ...
OSHA is implementing several changes to its administrative penalty calculation system. Many of the agency's current penalty adjustment factors have been in place since the early 1970's, resulting in penalties which are often too low to have an adequate deterrent effect. Administrative penalty adjustments will therefore be made to several factors which impact the final penalty issued to employers. These factors include: 1 ...
