The United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued an order that will take effect on January 26, 2021, requiring all arriving international airline passengers to provide proof of a negative COVID test taken within three days of the flight’s foreign departure. For those who have had it, the CDC will require proof of recovery ...
As promised, the CFPB released the second part of its FDCPA rulemaking covering debt validation notices, collection of time-barred debts, and certain credit reporting restrictions. As with the first rulemaking, these changes could require significant changes to a company’s policies and procedures as well as significant technology upgrades ...
This is a summary of the Annual Report. Click here to access the full guide. The 2020 proxy season shareholder proposals were already submitted before the COVID-19 shadow loomed large over the season; however, such shadow likely impacted how shareholders voted on the proposals themselves, impacted business throughout 2020, and continues to jolt 2021 and the forthcoming 2021 proxy season ...
On Dec. 22, the Ohio Senate passed the Employment Law Uniformity Act – HB 352. Governor Mike DeWine signed the bill into law on Jan. 12, 2021. The bill is the culmination of 20 years of work by the Ohio Chamber of Commerce to address expansion of Ohio’s anti-discrimination statute resulting from Ohio Supreme Court decisions that interpreted Ohio Revised Code Section 4112 expansively ...
In order to reduce community transmission and preserve everyone's safety and that of our healthcare system, the government requires everyone to make extra efforts, both in their private lives and at work. The closure of retail businesses, save for some exceptions, is maintained, the lockdown to prevent gatherings continues and a curfew was added on January 9, 2021, to remain in effect until the currently announced date of February 8, 2021 1 ...
Lockdown 3.0 is upon us and once again schools are closed and working parents find themselves having to balance childcare and home-schooling whilst trying to manage their own work and responsibilities. For those who cannot reasonably work from home, or who may struggle with having to provide childcare at the same time as meeting the demands of their role, employers are able to consider offering furlough leave as an option ...
This article forms part of our ‘New How: Perspectives’ report: ‘Can real estate help solve the productivity puzzle?’. To access this free report, please click on the download link to the right of this page. Contrary to popular belief, the Covid pandemic has not destroyed real estate as an investment class; rather it has accelerated the rate at which it was already evolving ...
As employers adapt to the impacts of COVID-19, wage and hour compliance continues to present unique challenges. To help employers navigate these uncertain times, government enforcement agencies and legislatures have continued to issue new laws, opinion letters, and guidance all employers should understand and act upon ...
The State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy (OBP) is required to adopt a resolution specifying the required types of credentials for the responsible person of each business type of (i) terminal distributors of dangerous drugs and (ii) distributor of dangerous drugs. Only individuals who meet the credentials specified may be the responsible person for that type of business. On Jan ...
The Unemployment Insurance Fund (“UIF”) has shed some light on what will happen to existing and outstanding COVID-19 Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme (“TERS”) applications and payments, particularly over the festive season. We discuss the must-knows for employers below ...
General Since the European System of Financial Supervision (ESFS) was introduced in 2010, several legislative acts have been adopted in the EU without being incorporated into the EEA-agreement. This is mainly due to Norwegian constitutional issues. These constitutional issues were resolved in 2018, and as result, a huge backlog of EU legislative acts needs to be incorporated into the EEA-agreement and transposed into Norwegian law ...
European regulations applied in the United Kingdom until 31 December 2020. Insurers could make use of their European Passports until that time. Since 1 January 2021, the European Passports are no longer valid for European insurers that offer their services in the United Kingdom. British insurers lost their European Passports on 1 January 2021. The 27 EU Member States and the United Kingdom reached agreement on a Brexit deal on 24 December 2020 ...
As from 31 December 2020 British sanctions will apply through UK Law. The UK has implemented several sanctions regimes under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 (the British Sanctions Act). This act provides the legal basis for the UK to impose and update sanctions after Brexit. This Sanctions Act has enabled the UK to transition existing sanction regimes of the European Union (EU) into UK law. These apply in the whole of the UK, including in Northern Ireland ...
As we face a new period of lockdown, the memories of March come flooding back. However, it is useful to remember that, as a nation, we are better prepared this time, and our shared experiences of the last ten months will help to ensure we tackle the challenge ahead positively, constructively and from a more informed position than before ...
On Dec. 9, Congressional Democrats, including Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), proposed sweeping legislation that would overhaul consumer bankruptcy law. The proposed changes, if adopted, generally would make it easier for consumers to access the bankruptcy system and discharge their debts. Below is a discussion of ten critical changes proposed in the Consumer Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2020 (CBRA). 1 ...
On December 28, 2020, New York passed a new law entitled the “COVID-19 Emergency Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2020.” The act places a moratorium on COVID-19-related residential real property mortgage foreclosure actions and residential eviction proceedings until May 1, 2021, where a tenant or homeowner has submitted a “hardship declaration” to the foreclosing party, landlord, and/or the court ...
The March 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) contains a number of provisions that help borrowers with federally backed mortgage loans. Among these are forbearance protections for borrowers with single-family loans and multifamily loans. However, only one of the forbearance provisions has a clearly defined period when the rights are available ...
The president has signed into law the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020, which includes several temporary special rules aimed at minimizing forfeitures and increasing the utility of health and dependent care flexible spending accounts (FSAs). Plans providing for one or both accounts can take advantage of these participant-friendly rules immediately ...
The Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act, recently passed as part of the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021,” has significantly extended the tax exclusions for employer-paid student loan repayment assistance introduced under the CARES Act. With this extension, employers can provide employees with student loan repayment assistance of up to $5,250 per year for 2021 through 2025 (up to $26,250 total) ...
On January 6, 2021, Treasury issued two new Interim Final Rules (IFRs) addressing the new Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act’s (Act) creation of PPP Second Draw Loans, and the Act’s various changes to PPP requirements generally. The major PPP components of the Act are set forth in detail in Buchalter’s COVID Alert of December 28, 2020 (Buchalter PPP Changes Alert), which can be found here ...
In the recently-passed Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the “Act”), Congress provided much-needed cover for landlords that enter into forbearance agreements with their tenants during the COVID-19 pandemic by protecting landlords from exposure to preference litigation arising out of the deferred rent payments if the tenant were to later file bankruptcy ...
Several new employment laws have taken effect as of January 1, 2021 in both Oregon and Washington. Below is a brief overview of the new laws impacting employers in the Pacific Northwest. Washington Increased Minimum Salary Threshold for Exempt Employees As of January 1, 2021, the state salary threshold for many exempt employees in Washington is higher than the federal salary threshold ...
In this article, Goh Hui Wen examines the proposed regulatory framework for digital banks in Malaysia. INTRODUCTION The global financial services industry has seen a momentous evolution over the past decades driven by new technology innovations. As customers gravitate towards digital experiences and products, the transformation of the traditional banking system has become inevitable ...