To implement the changes to the PPP program contained in the recently enacted PPP Flexibility Act, Treasury has issued a new Interim Final Rule (IFR). It has also issued a revised forgiveness application form, worksheet and instructions, and a new expedited (EZ) forgiveness application form and instructions that can be used by certain borrowers. Links to those documents can be found below ...
In its notice published on May 18, 2020, the National Employment Service (Nemzeti Foglalkoztatási Szolgálat) laid down the fundamental criteria that must be met by an applicant to be eligible for the new EU-supported wage subsidy intended to help create new jobs in Hungary in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is an enormous difference between the Kurzarbeitwage subsidy and this job-creating wage subsidy ...
The Guide for the Identification of Labor Risks by Covid-19 and Preventive Measures in Workplaces was published by the Guatemalan Social Security Institute ...
On 17 June 2020, the Occupational Retirement Schemes (Amendment) Bill 2019 (Bill) was passed at the Legislative Council. The Bill introduces amendments to the Occupational Retirement Schemes Ordinance (ORSO) with a view to preventing the misuse of schemes for purposes unrelated to employment and improving the governance of ORSO schemes ...
As employers continue to implement and maintain the current health and safety guidance to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace, they should also be mindful not to forget their other safety obligations. On June 15, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) issued a News Release specifically reminding employers that workers need to be protected from both coronavirus and common workplace hazards ...
The controversial issue of whether employers can check their employees' temperatures has been much debated. Both the Employment Ministry and the Data Protection Authority (DPA) have recently changed their positions in this respect ...
On 11 June 2020, the Discrimination Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2018 (Bill) was passed at the Legislative Council. The Bill introduced amendments to Hong Kong’s four anti-discrimination legislations, namely the Sex Discrimination Ordinance (SDO), the Disability Discrimination Ordinance (DDO), the Family Status Discrimination Ordinance (FSDO), and the Race Discrimination Ordinance (RDO) (Amendments) ...
Following the Chancellor’s announcement on 29 May 2020 regarding further changes to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, we now have more detailed guidance about how the new flexibility under the scheme will work from 1 July. Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) Flexibility As we know, from 1 July 2020, employers will be able to bring furloughed workers back to work on a part time basis if appropriate while still being able to claim under the CJRS for hours not worked ...
Unexpectedly siding with the liberal wing of the Court, Justice Neil Gorsuch penned a 6-3 decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, holding that Title VII’s prohibition on sex-based discrimination also covers sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination. The Court’s decision dealt a historic victory for proponents of expanding gay and trans protections for workers under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ...
Up until now, there has been no suspension of a notice period served upon an employee who has been made temporarily unemployed under the ‘corona’ regime. Such a notice period started during the corona temporary unemployment and continued to run during this period. Given, as a consequence, employers would be able to dismiss employees 'cheaply', a draft bill was submitted in Parliament to have the notice period suspended in the event of corona temporary unemployment ...
In a landmark decision issued today, the Supreme Court of the Unites States ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits workplace discrimination against gay, lesbian, and transgender people. The case involved consolidated lawsuits filed by two gay persons fired due to their sexual orientation and a transgender woman fired after revealing plans to transition from male to female ...
The General Data Protection Regulation (the "GDPR") came into force a little over two years ago, on 25 May 2018 and the first administrative fines were imposed in Finland in late May 2020. What is noteworthy is that in two out of the four decisions, the fines concerned violations of processing of personal data of employees and job applicants ...
With COVID-19 taking its toll on some businesses, employees may find themselves placed at risk of redundancy. This article looks at the practical steps an employer should take when carrying out an individual redundancy consultation. Individual consultation is fundamental to the fairness of any dismissal for redundancy ...
On June 10, 2020, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released new guidance, in the form of frequently asked questions and answers, regarding the use of masks in the workplace.[1] The new guidance serves to help employers ensure employees know how to properly wear masks and which type of mask is appropriate. OSHA explains the difference between cloth face coverings, surgical masks, and respirators ...
Key Points New legislation allows longer 24-week period for payroll costs that will be forgiven under Paycheck Protection Program loans Maximum forgiveness of loan can be achieved if 60% of the proceeds are used on payroll costs New broader safe harbor to avoid FTE-based reduction in forgiveness amount New legislation signed into effect on June 5, 2020, received bi-partisan support to address complaints about the current Paycheck Protection Program ("PPP") loans for small busines
As dealer networks in the automotive sector re-open for business following the COVID-19 lockdown, we share below our main competition law watch outs for suppliers over the coming weeks and months. We know that current market conditions are tempting some people to reach out to their competitors – any competitor contact needs to be managed carefully from a competition law perspective ...
As the saying goes “when the wind blows, some people build walls, while others build windmills". We know that we’re facing a crisis unlike any other, but what’s been illustrated clearly is that a lot of our old assumptions on how we work can be challenged. We can be working smarter, faster, better. We want to emerge from lockdown with something positive to show for it: a new normal better than the old one. We need a new how ...
Preparation of financial statements and corporate income tax, recommencement of time periods, remote trials, gradual return to workplaces, insolvency proceedings and compliance with criminal law In a new edition of our COVID-19 Special Newsletter, we examine the key new legislation approved over the past two weeks in all areas of business law ...
ALRUD’s Labor experts have prepared the material that is useful for each employer in the current situation: Checklist: Reopening of business after lifting restrictions. The checklist includes the main steps that must be taken to return the company and employees usual work activities after lifting the restrictions. Most interesting for company managers, HR directors, Compliance officers, heads of legal departments ...
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 ...
It is astonishing that in the same week that we’ve read about astronauts going into space in a reusable rocket, we have also experienced the horrors of humanity reading about the killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor ...
In our earlier two blog posts, Returning the Workplace to Safe Operation: Part 1, Part 2, we addressed the occupational health and safety issues surrounding returning the workplace to safe operation. This blog post addresses the employment issues related to managing the return of employees to the workplace from temporary layoff or working from home ...
On May 23, 2020, the notice related to the Employment Protection Fund was jointly published by the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare and the Ministry of Economy, through which a new electronic procedure was implemented for the registration, control and authorization of total suspensions (individual or collective) of employment contracts ...
The Ministry of Public Health has published changes in the strategy to be followed for the eventual de-escalation of the confinement measures to be followed, repealing agreement 144-2020 ...
Even though OSHA has advised that no specific standard covers the novel coronavirus, human resource and safety personnel must be mindful of the generally-applicable standards that might apply. OSHA has issued several guidelines that, while not the rule of law, do offer guidance on addressing COVID-19 issues, including recordkeeping and 300 log reporting obligations. On April 10, OSHA issued guidance that appeared to limit what cases would be required to be reported on OSHA 300 logs ...
