From the end of January to the beginning of February of this year, the Republic of El Salvador declared an emergency due to a coronavirus, not because any case has been detected in the country, but precisely to prevent the entry of people infected with it ...
Construction is a highly competitive industry and the days when clients are willing to accept a trade-off among low price, fast project turnaround and high-quality workmanship are gone. The expectation to design and build projects within constrained budget and schedule limitations while providing uncompromised workmanship amplifies the importance of effective contractor quality control programs ...
On February 26, 2020, the Supreme Court ruled in Intel Corp. Investment Policy Committee v. Sulyma, 589 U.S. ___ (2020) (Sulyma) that an ERISA1 plaintiff’s admitted receipt of disclosures about his retirement plan investments was insufficient to prove he had “actual knowledge” of the information therein — the effect of which would have been to trigger a shorter three-year statute of limitations period that would have barred his lawsuit altogether ...
On February 13, 2020, in Frlekin v. Apple, Inc., No. S243805 (Cal. 2/13/2020), the California Supreme Court determined that Apple employees must be paid for time spent waiting for and undergoing exit bag searches. Although Apple does not require its employees to bring bags to work, the Court concluded that the search time amounts to time under which the employees are under Apple's "control," as that term is defined in the California Wage Orders ...
Long considered “emerging contaminants,” per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have now emerged. And water agencies throughout California must take heed. As we last reported, in November 2017, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) added two widely used PFAS compounds to the Proposition 65 list of chemicals known to cause reproductive toxicity: perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) ...
Several recent reports claim that the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic in China is beginning to slow down and generally under control, prompting businesses in China to resume operations. In order to minimise further spreading of the virus as employees return to work, the PRC government has issued different local rules and guidelines to ensure enterprises are adequately prepared ...
Flu season is in full swing. with the Center for Disease Control (CDC) confirming over 155,000 positive U.S. cases of influenza since Sept. 29, 2019. Simultaneously, the coronavirus COVID-19 has spread rapidly across China, with at least 70,000 confirmed cases, including 15 confirmed cases in the United States. In response, employers need to be prepared to assist employees in staying safe and complying with potential quarantines. Beginning Feb ...
Enterprises in most regions of China resumed work and production on February 10, 2020 ...
Thailand is at a powerful crossroads in its economic development. After several decades of consistent growth, it is now preparing to finally break through and become a high-income nation. To do this, it is focusing on smart industry. A high-income Thailand is one driven by technological progress, so the government has begun pouring money into robotics and automation ...
In Thailand, economic development, technological progress and energy transition go hand-in-hand. The government is continuing to pursue Thailand 4.0, the ambitious economic model designed to propel the country into high-income status. This transition hinges on Thailand moving from its agrarian and labour-intensive roots to a value-based economy where smart industry is king ...
On 11th August, Federal Law dated 31.07.2020, No. 305-FZ, introducing a new type of visa for entering Russia, came into force. This unified electronic visa is a single-entry visa for the following purposes: guest, business, tourism, scientific, cultural, social and political, economic, and sports, or corresponding ties and contacts ...
Following our previous general Q&As on labor management issues that may arise during the novel coronavirus pneumonia (“2019-nCOV”) epidemic prevention and control period, we have compiled for your reference additional issues that are of interest to enterprises and prepared interpretations of the policies newly promulgated by the local governments ...
In another step in President Trump's ongoing efforts to relax environmental restrictions impacting economic development, on January 10, 2020, the Council on Environmental Quality published its proposed rulemaking to update its regulations for implementing procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA") ("Proposed Rule"). The deadline for filing comments on the Proposed Rule is March 10, 2020 ...
The 15thedition of the World Economic Forum’s (“WEF’s”)The Global Risk’s Report 2020(the “Report”) was recently published. The top five global risks identified by the WEF in terms of likelihood are, for the first time in the Report’s existence, all of an environmental nature (namely extreme weather, climate action failure, natural disasters, biodiversity loss, and human-made environmental disasters) ...
Majoritarianism, South African courts have acknowledged, is the concept that the will of the majority is favoured over the will of the minority in serving the legislative purpose of advancing labour peace, orderly collective bargaining and the democratisation of the workplace. But a fundamental pitfall of majoritarianism is the possibility that the rights of the minority could be infringed pursuant to the will of the majority ...
In 2000, Jennifer Lopez debuted the much-publicised and spoken about Versace jungle pattern dress at the Grammy Awards. The dress offered surprisingly little coverage for a garment that comprised so much material. Some 20 years on, Versace is suing a company called Fashion Nova for selling a jungle pattern look-a-like. Versace’s complaint is that Fashion Nova’s dress will cause confusion, in the sense that the public will assume that it is connected with Versace ...
In South Africa, copyright judgments are few and far between, especially judgments of the Supreme Court of Appeal (“SCA”). This makes the recent case of Tellytrack v Marshalls World of Sport (Pty) Ltd and others, worth noting, even if it does deal with a somewhat esoteric issue. The case concerned the world of horse racing ...
You know what it’s like – you have a cushy job, you’re earning well, you’re travelling the world. Yet, you’re still not happy. The head honcho stubbornly refuses to retire, the designated successor clearly isn’t right for the job, and you have this somewhat awkward relationship with the next-in-line ...
Following our previous general Q&As on labor management issues that may arise during the novel coronavirus (“2019-nCoV”) epidemic prevention and control period, we have compiled for your reference additional issues identified in the regulatory documents promulgated by central and local governments and human resources and social security bureaus ...
The Governor's Office of Planning and Research (OPR) has recently issued two technical advisories with helpful California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) guidance on two prominent California land use topics. The first advisory outlines potential CEQA exemptions for immediate-term disaster recovery, with the goal of helping communities and public agencies prepare their climate change adaptation and resilience strategies ...
A flurry of regulatory documents has been promulgated in response to the recent large-scale spread of the novel coronavirus (“2019-nCoV”), many of which substantially impact the rights and interests of enterprises and their employees ...
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 ...
