In last quarter’s issue, we discussed the rise of digital currencies and the blockchain, or distributed ledger, technology that supports them. We now turn our focus to how the financial industry and governments have embraced this technology and are working to adapt it to traditional banking services and applications as far ranging as recording property transfers and safeguarding nuclear missiles ...
On Jan. 15, 2019, the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Civil Rights (OCR) shared a bulletin published by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Critical Infrastructure Protection Public-Private Partnership (ASPR CIP) regarding a number of vulnerabilities identified in Microsoft Windows operating systems, which if not addressed, pose significant a threat to the environment. On Jan ...
On Jan. 14, 2020, Microsoft ended support for its Windows 2007 operating system. This means Microsoft will no longer issue regular security updates for users of Window 2007. The process of issuing security updates for computer systems is commonly referred to as “patching.” Similar to fabric patches that repair holes in clothing, software patches repair holes in computer programs ...
Mauritius started the year on a high note in the area of anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (“AML/CFT”) by issuing two complementary documents: the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Handbook: 2020 (the “Handbook”) and the Guideline on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation (the “Guideline”) ...
Effective Oct. 1, 2017, Ohio Revised Code 4123.84 was amended to shorten the statute of limitations for the filing a traditional workers’ compensation claim (a standard physical injury resulting in either a lost-time, medical-only, or death claim) from two years following the alleged date of injury to one year. The amendment does not apply to either occupational disease claims or VSSR filings, which maintain the two-year statute ...
Effective January 2020, U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) increased the salary thresholds for several of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) exemptions. The salary threshold levels for the white-collar exemptions and the highly compensated employee exemption have increased, making it more difficult for an employee to be classified as exempt under the FLSA. As a result, an estimated additional 1.3 million workers now qualify for overtime premiums ...
he President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, signed the Finance Bill, 2019 into law on 13 January 2020. The amendments announced by the Finance Act, 2020 (the “Act”) intend to increase revenue collection to fund public expenditure; ensure that tax laws are consistent with national tax policy objectives; and incentivise investment in infrastructure and capital markets ...
According to Panamanian law, all employees must have an employment contract with some mandatory content which cannot be replaced by a job offer. Salary and working hours, must be agreed in this employment contract. The salary could be paid by month, fortnight, week, day or hour, but the practice is to negotiate a monthly salary, which must be at least equal to the minimum wage established by law ...
This article updates information published in "Is Your Online Business Accessible To Persons With Disabilities?" In 2018, practitioners scouring nationwide federal court records identified more than 2,250 lawsuits filed alleging website inaccessibility under Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)1 ...
Pursuant to Israeli employment law, an employer cannot employ workers on their weekly rest day unless it obtains a special permit from the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. A weekly rest is 36 consecutive hours. Under certain circumstances, it is possible to shorten shift workers' weekly rest to 25 consecutive hours. For Jewish workers, the weekly rest day is Saturday (ie, from the beginning of the Sabbath on Friday evening until Saturday evening) ...
On 14 January 2020, the Employment Law Amendment Law (DIFC Law 4 of 2020) and the Employment Regulations (the Amendment) were enacted. The Amendment introduces a new mandatory workplace savings scheme, which replaces the current end-of-service gratuity regime. The new scheme commences on 1 February 2020 ...
Why is H-1B Filing Season Important? This is the only time of year (with minor exceptions indicated below) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) accepts H-1B specialty worker petitions for the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, 2020 ...
On 1 January 2020 the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) implemented various revised rules primarily targeting small banks (the so-called 'small banks regime'). Among other aspects, this will result in a relaxation of IT outsourcing requirements for financial institutions. In this respect, a revised FINMA Outsourcing Circular is available in English and German, French ...
With the year 2019 now behind us, it is a good time to remind ourselves of the changes that took place in the field of employment law over the past year. It is also time to prepare for the reforms that will happen in 2020. LEGISLATIVE REFORMS, AMENDMENTS AND SIGNIFICANT PRECEDENTS IN 2019 In 2019, there were some amendments to Finnish employment legislation ...
New California laws could make it more difficult for employers to enforce employment arbitration agreements and now prohibit “no rehire” language in settlement agreements involving employment disputes. Arbitration Agreements The enforceability of employment arbitration agreements has long been under attack in California ...
Oh what a year it has been. 2019 has been a rollercoaster ride: Trump accelerates and then suddenly slams on the brakes on his tit-for-tat trade war with China. Hong Kong, hitherto the paradigm of pragmatism, lies smouldering as months of pro-democracy protests see no end. A Swedish girl (celebrating her 17th birthday just last Friday) becomes the unlikely face of environmentalism, shaming Boomers for doing nothing about climate change in front of the UN ...
The labor shortage that affects all of Quebec and many other provinces has been a well-known problem for several years. Almost every week brings its share of companies that have to close their doors or limit their activities due to a lack of staff in positions of all kinds. To work within our borders, foreign employees must first obtain the necessary authorizations ...
As part of Paraguay's commitment to the International Financial Action Task Force of Latin America (GAFILAT), in November 2019, the Executive Power enacted Law No. 6446 that creates a “General Directorate of People and Legal Structures and Final Beneficiaries ” Under the Ministry of Finance (hereinafter the Law), which will have the following functions: Acting as the authority of application, replacing the Treasury Law, of Law No ...
On May 23, 2019, by a vote of 417-3, the United States House of Representatives passed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement (SECURE) Act. Notwithstanding broad bipartisan support, the bill stalled in the United States Senate until Dec. 19, 2019, when it passed a budget reconciliation bill (H.R. 1865, the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020 [the “Act”]), which contains the provisions from the SECURE Act. The president signed the Act on Dec. 20 ...
On December 16, 2019, in Caesars Entertainment d/b/a Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino, the National Labor Relations Board (Board) returned to the standard outlined in Register Guard, which announced that employees have no statutory right to use employer equipment, including IT equipment, for activity protected under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act.1 The decision expressly overrules the Board’s decision in Purple Communications, Inc ...
In a long-anticipated decision on Dec. 16, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) scuttled a 2015 agency decision that presumptively prohibited employers from requiring confidentiality of investigative reports. In Apogee Retail, 368 NLRB No. 144 (2019), the NLRB returned to its previous standard that presumes the legality of the maintenance of work rules requiring confidentiality of investigative interviews between an employer and employee ...
While many countries have introduced far-reaching obligations to report cyber incidents, Switzerland has not yet followed this lead. However, on 13 December 2019 the Federal Council adopted a report which considers key issues with regard to the introduction of a general reporting obligation for operators of critical infrastructure. The report also discusses possible implementation models. A decision is expected by the end of 2020 ...
This week, Congress passed and President Trump is expected to sign a domestic spending package that includes significant changes affecting retirement plans in the SECURE (Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement) Act, and a permanent repeal of the “Cadillac tax” on high-cost employer-sponsored health coverage that was enacted with the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The SECURE Act is the most comprehensive set of changes to retirement plan rules in many years ...
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), in Valley Hospital Medical Center, 368 N.L.R.B. 139 (Dec. 16, 2019), ruled an employer’s obligation to check off union dues expires along with the underlying collective bargaining agreement. This overrules a 2015 board decision and reestablishes a longstanding rule first articulated in 1962. Reasoning Employers and unions must negotiate in good faith over workers’ terms and conditions of employment ...
Data protection in the United States is about to undergo a major change, and everyone needs to be ready. The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), signed into law June 28, 2018, enters into effect Jan. 1, 2020. It creates several new obligations for many United States-based businesses with regard to the collection, treatment, and sale of personal information ...
