On 8 February 2017, the Luxembourg Parliament voted a new law on immigration (hereafter the “Law”) which aims at increasing Luxembourg’s attractiveness as a host country for foreign talents. The main innovation of the Law is to implement a new category of residence permit in Luxembourg for investors. Immigration represents a major pillar of Luxembourg’s economy which has always relied on foreign labour and investments ...
Upon reconsideration in Gerard v. Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center, Case No. G048039 (March 21, 2017) (Gerard II), the Fourth Appellate District decided that IWC Wage Order 5 is valid and that healthcare employees may waive one of their two required meal periods on shifts longer than 8 hours ...
All non-exempt employees are required to be paid separately for rest breaks and other non-productive work time. This may come as a surprise to businesses that employ commissioned or piece rate employees, who may have assumed (incorrectly) that the commission or piece rate compensation earned by their employees – often very high amounts – is sufficient to cover the pay to which those employees are entitled for rest breaks or other non-productive work hours ...
On February 23, 2017, the IRS issued a memorandum to its employee plan auditors to provide guidelines for substantiating 401(k) plan safe harbor hardship distributions. Although directed to employee plan auditors for audit purposes, the memorandum provides guidance on the steps that plan administrators should take to substantiate safe harbor hardship distributions ...
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) (the Philippine Central Bank) has issued two new circulars that will be of interest to companies engaged in remittance services, e-money, digital currency, and other fintech businesses. Both circulars amend portions of the BSP Manual of Regulations for Non-Bank Financial Institutions. BSP Circular No ...
In February 2017, Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly issued two memoranda providing guidance on the recent Executive Order entitled "Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements." This Executive Order established new policies regarding effective border security and immigration enforcement ...
On Wednesday, March 1, 2017, the Department of Labor ("DOL") proposed a 60-day extension of the applicability date of the ERISA Fiduciary Rule. President Trump's administration has openly criticized the Fiduciary Rule, and on February 3, 2017, directed the DOL to further analyze the legal and economic impact of the rule before its implementation ...
On January 1, 2017, AB 1661 went into effect, requiring local agency officials, including board members, to receive sexual harassment prevention training and education. This training requirement is similar to the sexual harassment and prevention training already required for supervisory employees every two (2) years under AB 1825. Local agencies should expand their sexual harassment prevention training programs to include agency officials who are covered under the new law ...
After months of phone calls, loan modifications and discussions with borrowers, one finally receives the dreaded bankruptcy notice in the mail. A chapter 7, no-asset case, with the loan listed on the bankruptcy schedules as a secured claim. After a few short months, one is notified that the debtors have received their discharge in the bankruptcy case. Since the bank hasn’t been paid in months, one discusses internally and decides to initiate foreclosure proceedings ...
Imagine you are a materialman, selling indoor carpet to the contractors. You are approached by a West Virginia developer that wants you to supply carpet and flooring for several houses in a new development. The contract represents $50,000 in new business for your company – and you hope it marks the establishment of a productive relationship with the developer ...
With everything from alpacas, pigs and turkeys, to even a snake being claimed as service animals, it is not surprising that many business owners are asking what truly qualifies as a “service animal” under the law. Just last fall, a Wisconsin McDonald’s encountered a situation where a patron wanted to dine with her service kangaroo ...
The September 23, 2013 deadline for covered entities, business associates and their subcontractors to implement the new HIPAA rules is approaching quickly. In case you missed it, on January 25, 2013, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued an omnibus final rule modifying the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ...
Recognizing that our country -- our “team,” if you will -- is stronger when all our players are on the field and playing to their full potential, our federal and some state governments have developed programs to help disadvantaged entrepreneurs get started on the path of business ownership. In the last issue of The Construct we talked about the Historically Underutilized Business (“HUBZone”) Program ...
Since 1965, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals has consistently held that defective workmanship that caused bodily injury or property damage did not constitute an “occurrence” under a policy of commercial general liability insurance, and therefore the insurer was not obligated to pay for the damage or tender a defense. See McGann v. Hobbs Lumber Co., 150 W. Va. 364, 145 S.E.2d 476 (1965) ...
Many community bankers have looked surprised at the “internationalization” of our banking rules. Standards coming out of the Basel Committee, particularly the Basel III Capital Rules, do not seem to fit community banks. The Basel Committee focuses primarily on the European banking system, which is dominated by very large banks. The rules have seemed to be a bad match for the U.S. economy, in which small community banks play such a large role ...
The morning news reports flashes a report that your customer was actually a Ponzi scheme and defrauded numerous people. Of course, this is terrible news for the innocent victims, but, you ask yourself, could my bank be somehow liable…why would anyone want to sue us… we did not defraud anyone, did we? To paraphrase the infamous bank robber Willie Sutton on why they would sue your bank: “Ms. Plaintiff’s Lawyer, why do you sue banks?.. ...
As consumer bankruptcy filings remain an all-too-common occurrence, many lenders continue to find themselves in the often murky world of bankruptcy. As a result, on top of ensuring adherence to the numerous confusing regulations applicable to commercial loan transactions, lenders must navigate the federal bankruptcy laws. This article sheds some light on one bankruptcy process lenders are often faced with: reaffirmation agreements ...
Good news! The murkiness surrounding declarant rights in North Carolina became a little clearer this summer. On July 7, 2014, Governor McCrory signed an amendment to the Planned Community Act addressing the transfer of declarant rights. This article only addresses lender’s rights or liability surrounding declarant rights if that lender were in acquiring ownership of that collateral in the context of foreclosure or “deed in lieu ...
It is undeniable that technology and globalization are changing the way lawyers practice law. Technology has not just made people, places, and things much more accessible to us – it has impacted the way we store information and documents, the way we communicate with and advise clients, how we conduct investigations, and how we participate in discovery ...
A debtor files for bankruptcy protection, and his or her creditors are sent notice of the filing. Despite having received the notice, due to a breakdown in internal procedures one of the creditors, a bank, accidentally takes action to collect on the debt after the filing of the bankruptcy case – thus violating the automatic stay. Since the violation was unintentional, surely the bank cannot be sanctioned, right? Wrong ...
by Eric E. Kinder President Bush signed the ADA Amendments Act into law. The ADAAA significantly increases the scope of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 as it has been interpreted by federal courts by overturning several United States Supreme Court decisions regarding the Act. According to the Congressional Committees that oversaw the passage of the ADAAA, these amendments will restore the original Congressional intent behind the ADA ...
Originally published in the West Virginia Law Review ...
At the time of this interview, Adam O'Daniel was the Finance Editor at the Charlotte Business Journal. Mr. O'Daniel served in this role for more than four years affording him a front row seat in the country’s second largest financial city to cover banking, finance, small business, and economic development. We asked Adam about his thoughts on the state of community banks now, and in the future. His responses were honest and quite intuitive ...
Q: What do you think sets a community bank apart from other banks? A: I think you know you’re in a community bank when you walk through the door. The people working in a community bank greet you with a smile and say hello. That’s because the people working there have usually been there for a while. They are your friends, your neighbors and your family ...
Larry Mazza is Chief Executive Officer of MVB Financial Corp., the parent of West Virginia-based MVB Bank, Inc. Mr. Mazza also serves on the MVB Financial Corp. Board of Directors. He is a recognized name in West Virginia banking with over 25 years of experience in both large banks and community banks. Mr. Mazza is a member of the West Virginia Board of Banking and Financial Institutions, part of the State’s banking regulatory and oversight agency ...
