In the ‘Proposal for a Regulation laying down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence’ (the “draft EU AI Act”), transparency is regulated by Article 13 and Article 52 thereof. The former applies to systems of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) which are classified as high-risk and the latter applies to limited-risk AI systems ...
Although admittedly still in its early phase, the metaverse, a virtual world where users can interact with each other and digital objects in a 3D environment, provides exciting new opportunities with a multitude of implications for rights management and the Fintech sector. Facebook’s head-first charge into this new landscape attests to the importance of the metaverse. Last year, the tech giant rebranded its corporate identity to Meta to signal its commitment to the metaverse ...
Today (1 March 2023) is Zero Discrimination Day. The aim of the day is to promote equality and end all forms of discrimination. The day should serve as a reminder to employers on how they can identify, prevent and tackle discrimination. It is true that change within an organisation starts from the top and employers should be keen to build a culture of trust where employees feel comfortable raising concerns ...
Blockchain litigation lead, Matt Green will be hosting our latest podcast series, 'In Early - The Crypto Podcast' - Listen to episode 8. This week is about Bitcoin and the Tulip Trading case (recently in the Court of Appeal), in which a claimant seeks to transfer his Bitcoin without a private key, looking for the blockchain’s software developers to transfer them for him ...
In the second of our HR Improve articles we consider the importance of effective workforce planning and the options available to employers to help meet the current challenges in recruitment and building a workforce with the right skills for the future. Effective workforce planning enables employers to align their staffing requirements with their strategic direction for the business. In other words, it involves planning ahead to make sure you have the right people in place when you need them ...
Green tech presents a growth area and one in which the UK could flourish, but to do so requires capital investment and a clear strategy alongside developing the necessary skillset of the UK workforce. So how realistic is this in the current climate? Experience to date would suggest that the UK is lagging behind other countries in this sector and that unless more is done, we will miss out on the opportunity green tech offers ...
The Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (“PUMP Act”), enacted by Congress in late December 2022, provides more nursing mothers with reasonable break time to express breast milk after childbirth and requires employers to designate private locations (other than bathrooms) that are free from intrusion and shielded from view for this purpose ...
On Tuesday, February 21, 2023, the three-member Democratic majority of the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) issued a decision in McLauren Macomb, reverting back to pre-Trump era standards and ruling that non-disparagement and confidentiality provisions in a separation agreement violated the concerted right activity provisions of Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”). Section 7 of the NLRA applies to most U.S ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
1. The legislative regime In conjunction with the VASP Act, the FSC also published Guidance on the Application for Registration of a Virtual Assets Service Provider (the “VASP Registration Guidance”) (available to view here), and the Virtual Assets Service Providers Guide to the Prevention of Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Proliferation Financing (available to view here) ...
Below, we will seek to explain the basic features of the technology underlying Bitcoin and other crypto tokens and clarify what crypto assets actually are. Blockchain basics Blockchains can be defined as shared, immutable ledger databases that are stored as «blocks» of data. In these blocks of data, assets and transactions in a business network can be tracked. All of the participants in a blockchain will have access to the last and updated «block» of data at all times ...
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 ...
