South Africa is a party to a number of international environmental agreements, including the UN Framework Convention on Climate Control (“UNFCCC”), 1992, the Kyoto Protocol, 1997 and the Paris Agreement. In terms of the Paris Agreement, governments have made a commitment to ensure that global average temperatures remain below 2°C above pre-industrial levels. For South Africa, a country that relies heavily on fossil fuels to generate energy, this is a mammoth task ...
Integrated projects are pointing to the future of land use in increasingly crowded Singapore, but will they become white elephants as technology brings us (virtually) closer together than before? As an Alpha+ world city, Singapore sits alongside commercial powerhouses like Beijing, Paris and Sydney as one of the world’s most globalised cities ...
In our previous legal alert we informed that Act on Employment Services[1]was amended so that allowances to maintain job positions and to maintain employees during the emergency situation, state of emergency and state of distress (the “State of Crisis”) can be provided to a broader group of employers compared to the currently available options under the Act on Employment Services ...
As employers try to comply with the new Families First Coronavirus Response Act’s (FFCRA) paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave requirements, the Department of Labor has thrown them a curveball by quietly changing the answers to some of its Guidance about the FFCRA as well as adding 19 more FAQs to its prior compendium ...
In an apparent attempt to further reduce the spread of COVID-19 in Michigan, on Friday, April 3, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued Executive Order 2020-36, which provides protection to all employees who stay home when they are at “particular risk” of infecting others with COVID-19 ...
In its continuing efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19, on April 3, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) recommended that the general public wear, on a voluntary basis, “cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies) especially in areas of significant community-based transmission” of coronavirus ...
With most of the country working from home, many are wondering how to get their documents notarized. Thankfully, several states, including Texas, have authorized online notarization ceremonies. Under the new telecommunications statutes, individuals can have documents notarized from a healthy distance. Historically, Texas required both in-person notarization and the filing of the original notarized document, which precluded any possibility of a telecommuting notary ...
Introduction: The new reality As a result of the sudden and dramatic fall in the oil price that had occurred between June 2014, when oil had been trading at prices of around US$115 per barrel of Brent crude, to January 2015 by which time it had fallen to around US$35 per barrel, I was prompted to prepare a “Guide for Contractors”. Parties in the offshore oil and gas sector, and in particular contractors in the industry, were facing turbulent and unpredictable times ...
On April 1, the DOL provided employers with further clarity on the FFCRA by publishing temporary regulations. These regulations will be effective from April 1, 2020, until December 31, 2020—the same effective period of the FFCRA. Also relevant to employers, the IRS issued guidance regarding the FFCRA tax credit ...
On April 1, the DOL provided employers with further clarity on the FFCRA by publishing temporary regulations. These regulations will be effective from April 1, 2020, until December 31, 2020—the same effective period of the FFCRA. Also relevant to employers, the IRS issued guidance regarding the FFCRA tax credit ...
I. Superintendence of Environment orders the extension of the terms suspension in sanctioning proceedings and other actions. On March 30, 2020 the Superintendence of Environment (“SMA”) issued Exempt Resolution No. 548 (“Res. 548”), which extended the term suspension measures ordered by means of Exempt Resolution No ...
The Ministry of Mines and Energy, through Resolution 40115 of 2020, extended until December 31, 2020 the delegation of the inspection function carried out by the department of Antioquia. On the other hand, the Secretary of Mines of Antioquia extended the suspension of some administrative actions until April 13, 2020 ...
Employers, contracting companies, enterprises and individuals who use employees, contractors, or people in arrangements of phone or cellphone orders, website orders, mobile apps, digital platform, gig economy, and freelancers, for delivery service or the purchase and delivery of goods and merchandise, must comply with the following prevention and promotional measures: Set appropriate communication channels for notifying suspected cases of Covid-19 to the District, Department or Munici
1. What measures can be implemented by employers in relation to employees who have returned from the territories affected by the virus? Estonia Save for limited exceptions that apply to diplomats, health care employees and a few other categories, persons who have entered in Estonia on March 17, 2020 or later are required to stay in their place of residence for 14 days after crossing the Estonian border under the order of the Government of the Republic ...
It has now been announced that from Monday, 6 April 2020 employers will be able to apply for compensation payment from the state budget for March. The Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund has explained by now the technical aspects of filing applications and responded to the more frequent questions asked by employers about applying for compensation. Below you will find a brief overview of how to apply for compensation as well as some practical explanations and suggestions ...
As a growing number of the workforce is being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, governmental employers are raising benefit-related questions. The Employee Benefits Group at Hanson Bridgett will be providing updated information on possible issues arising in the benefits area through Benefits Alerts and postings on Hanson Bridgett's Online COVID-19 Resource Center ...
You’ve read the qualifying language before: across the country, construction projects are being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. We thought it important to prepare guidelines to assist contractors in navigating the situation from a risk management perspective. The situation is dynamic and will change quickly. A one-size-fits-all solution does not exist, and this global challenge continues to evolve. What works today may not address tomorrow’s needs ...
A state of emergency, in order to combat the Coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic, has been imposed in Mozambique, with effect from 1 April 2020. This follows the Presidential Decree issued by President Filipe Nyusi on 30 March 2020 and ratified by the Mozambican Parliament. This unprecedented state of emergency is intended to last until 30 April 2020 ...
Following the issuing of what has colloquially been called the “Lockdown Regulations” to reduce the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in South Africa, there has been a hasty scramble for essential services to comply with the provisions of the Regulations and to register on the Essential Services Portal ...
Human resource professionals all know of the obligation to complete a Form I-9 to verify the identity and employment authorization of a newly hired employee. To verify a newly hired employee’s identity, the employee must present the employer with acceptable documents, which the employer must then examine to determine whether the documents reasonably appear to be genuine and relate to the employee ...
Compliance with environmental regulations is challenging under the best of circumstances, but the COVID-19 crisis and measures taken in response add a new layer of complexity. The lack of a consistent message from elected officials and health officers, on the one hand, and from federal and state environmental regulators, on the other, creates a quandary for the business community ...
