The Treasury Department has issued a form application to be used for SBA Payroll Protection Program (PPP) borrowers to seek loan forgiveness, along with instructions for completing the form and an accompanying worksheet. The application form, instructions and worksheet may be located by clicking on this link: https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/3245-0407-SBA-Form-3508-PPP-Forgiveness-Application ...
Dykema’s Labor & Employment Practice Group created a Q&A overview addressing best practices for employers to consider when businesses return to work. The document discusses frequently asked questions concerning employer recalls, pay and benefits, medical documentation, personal protective equipment (PPE) requirements, and more ...
Preface Artificial intelligence[1](AI) is widely recognised as one of the defining industrial phenomena of the 21stcentury. In today’s technology-dependent world, its potential impact on business and economic development can hardly be understated ...
COVID-19 Although the first big wave of requests for repayment deferrals of banking and non-banking loans may seem to be over, a further one is likely just to come once some debtors realise the actual effects of COVID-19 crisis on their economic situation and the pandemic time frame for filing the requests for repayment deferrals will start approaching its end ...
Despite the restrictions on activity affecting Hong Kong since the beginning of the year, there have been several enforcement cases reported which can provide some useful lessons or reminders for intermediaries. Approvals involve due diligence A requirement for approval for a transaction indicates that the transaction is unusual or involves material risk ...
On 16 March 2020, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) published its 2019 Financial Review of the Securities Industry. This is an annual review which contains statistical information about the financial situation of firms licensed for type 1 (dealing in securities) or type 8 (securities margin financing) regulated activities ...
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued a circular on 27 March 2020 reminding the industry of the importance of compliance with the suitability obligation. Deacons’ client alert, which you can access here provides a succinct summary of the sources of the suitability obligation and the SFC’s FAQs on the subject. The alert also drew attention to the sampling and monitoring obligations under FAQ 10, which are frequently overlooked ...
In a recent enforcement action, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued a public reprimand and a HK$19.6 million fine to a licensed corporation (LC) for a range of breaches and internal control shortcomings, including failures relating to: 1. AML 2. Authorisation for transactions 3. Record keeping 4. Handling of client complaints 5. Telephone recording 6. Margin lending 7 ...
On 7 May 2020, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) jointly issued the Regulations on Funds of Securities and Futures Investment by Foreign Institutional Investors (PBOC & SAFE Announcement [2020] No. 2, the New Regulations available here in Chinese), and the Policy Q&A No.1 clarifying certain details in the New Regulations (available here in Chinese). The official implementation date for the New Regulations is 6 June 2020 ...
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people have been forced to work from home and this has created new opportunities and very fertile ground for the emergence of cyber threats. Accordingly, on 29 April 2020, the Intermediaries Supervision Department of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued a circular (Circular) containing examples of controls and procedures firms can put in place to manage their cybersecurity risks ...
On 28 April 2020, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and the Competition Commission entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the intention to enhance their cooperation and exchange of information, so as to allow each regulator to perform their respective functions more effectively. This is the second MoU entered into by the Competition Commission with a Hong Kong regulator, and is the first MoU the Competition Commission entered into with a financial regulator ...
On May 18, 2020, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed Executive Order 2020-91 (“Order”) into effect, which details the requirements on employers reopening for business in Michigan. The Order reaffirms and builds upon previous directives for employers permitted to reopen business ...
In accordance with the publications by the Ministry of Health on May 14 and 15, 2020, the morning of Monday 18, the technical guidelines for health safety in the workplace were published so that micro, small and medium-sized companies can restart activities without compromising the health of its employees ...
The USCIS on Friday, May 15, sent a request to Congress for $1.2 billion in emergency funding, proposing to pay it back with a 10% surcharge on application filing fees. The immigration service is entirely funded by these filing fees and has seen a significant drop in applications due to the coronavirus pandemic. It said in the statement it expects a 61% drop in revenue through the end of the fiscal year ...
Special Report "COVID-19 in Central America" on special measures taken in each country of our region prepared by the multidisciplinary team of Consortium Legal. The information contained in this publication is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The information is constantly updated and is subject to change ...
The 50th Earth Day has passed this year under the shadow of a global pandemic, where the immediacy of human health has eclipsed, for now, the focus on the long-term health of the planet and humanity’s place within it that had begun to preoccupy businesses and investors. From a corporate governance perspective, that is reasonable, as risks to short-term survival take precedence over the long-term planning and risk mitigation demanded by more epochal trends like climate change ...
Is Coronavirus the Great Leveller? When the novel coronavirus first started spreading like wildfire, people called it the “great leveller”. No respecter of status or economic background, Covid-19 affected people at all strata, from housemaids to Hollywood royalty; peons to prime ministers. Tom Hanks, Boris Johnson and an aide to US Vice President Mike Pence all contracted it ...
In a unanimous opinion authored by Justice Sotomayor, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to redefine preclusion, reversing the Second Circuit’s decision in trademark dispute Lucky Brand Dungarees Inc. v. Marcel Fashion Group Inc. The Second Circuit’s opinion had attempted to expand res judicata beyond the well-recognized issue preclusion and claim preclusion, creating a new category it called “defense preclusion ...
This briefing takes a deeper dive into the labor and employment aspect of COVID-19 issuances. Some of the guidelines here are covered in our The Return-to-Work-Checklist for Philippine Companies. A. Operating establishments have been directed to comply with public health standards prescribed by the Department of Health (DOH), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) 1. The DTI issued DTI Memorandum Circular No ...
The COVID-19 pandemic hit employers hard and fast, causing employers to deal with loss of revenue, tough decisions in regard to workforce and pay issues, and new laws and other guidelines that had to be analyzed and implemented quickly, with little time for planning or preparation ...
In planning for the post-quarantine return to business activities, the Ministry of Labor (MITRADEL, for its initials in Spanish) based on Executive Decree No. 78 of March 16, 2020, has required business to create Special Committees on Health and Hygiene for the Prevention and Care of COVID-19. These committees must include representatives for both management and labor ...
In today's Federation's Official Gazette (May 15th, 2020), the Ministry of Health issued modifications to the publication dated May 14th, 2020 in relation to the strategy for the reopening of social, education and economic activities in Mexico. Modifications are related to the activities that were added to the list of essential activities, namely those in the mining, construction and manufacturing in the transportation industries ...
The DMCC Authority recently passed DMCC Guidelines 1 of 2020 (DMCC Guidelines) setting out what actions DMCC employers can take with respect to their employees during the COVID-19 Precautionary Measures Period. DMCC entities can: • Request employees to work remotely and implement means to monitor them (without infringing their privacy). Working remotely does not however apply to key employees working in Vital Industries ...
