On 18 December 2020, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued a public consultation paper (Consultation) on proposed amendments to the Code on Pooled Retirement Funds (PRF Code). The proposals are part of the SFC’s holistic review of the PRF Code following the revision of the Code on Unit Trusts and Mutual Funds (UT Code) which was implemented in 2019 ...
All indications are that the evolution of privacy laws and their impact will continue to evolve, perhaps even at a greater pace, in 2021. In celebrating Privacy Day, January 28, 2021, we would like to share four things businesses should be keeping their eyes on, and planning for, in 2021. 1. Significant changes to privacy legislation in Canada. Canadian federal and provincial governments have tabled and proposed sweeping changes to privacy laws in Canada ...
In response to ongoing pleas for guidance, the Department of Labor (DOL) has published an informal outline expressing its views on how retirement plan administrators should be addressing missing or unresponsive participants. Through contrasting lists of "red flags" and "best practices," the publication reveals the DOL's expectations of plan administrators and provides helpful guideposts for them to follow ...
CONGRESS PASSES TRADEMARK MODERNIZATION ACT LEGISLATION In December 2020, the U.S. Congress took action that will have a significant effect on brand holders. At the end of the year, Congress passed the Trademark Modernization Act (“TMA”) that, inter alia, provides additional tools to the USPTO to respond to the rise in improper behavior in trademark filings including filing fraudulent claims of use ...
The requirement for businesses to publish gender pay gap reports was cancelled in 2020 as a result of COVID-19. Gender pay reporting is, however, back on the agenda for 2021 so is there anything new that you need to know? In short, yes. There has been a lot of commentary over the last nine months about the impact of Covid-19, and particularly furlough, on gender pay statistics (see our previous article here https://www.shoosmiths.co ...
Over the last several years, banks of all sizes have successfully partnered with emerging fintech companies to offer innovative loan products to a broader range of customers. Under a typical form of this partnership, a fintech, which is subject to the policies of the partner bank, will market loan products, take and process loan applications, and will service those loans once they are funded ...
This article forms part of our ‘New How: Perspectives’ report: ‘Can real estate help solve the productivity puzzle?. To access this free report, please click on the download link to the right of this page. The Covid pandemic has clearly had a significant impact on our society, the economy and everyday life, with numerous sectors having found life in lockdown incredibly challenging ...
On January 20, 2021, Supreme Decree No. 8/2019 of the Ministry of the Environment was published in the Official Gazette, setting forth collection and valorization goals and other associated obligations for tires in order to prevent the generation of such wastes and to promote their reuse, recycling or other types of recovery, in the context of Law 20,920 on Extended Producer Responsibility. Regulated object: tires This decree is applicable to tires introduced into the market ...
This is the first in our series of articles in which we will look at how Brexit and the EU-UK trade deal impacts research and development. In July 2020, the Government published its Research and Development Roadmap, which sets out the UK’s ambitious long-term objectives for investment in science and research to deliver economic growth and societal benefits across the UK ...
At the beginning of the pandemic, businesses had to rapidly adopt new ways of working and enable staff to work from home as much as possible. Nine months on, the threats posed by the virus remain, and ways of working have changed beyond recognition. We consider below the longer term impact of COVID-19 on flexible working, and the extent to which employees are willing (or not) to return to their ‘normal’ place of work ...
Safe at Home Address Confidentiality Programs (ACPs) have been adopted in many states to protect domestic violence victims’ addresses and other personal information from collection and disclosure. Financial services institutions are taking strides to protect the data of participants in ACPs, but the financial services industry also faces some of the most complex issues with ACP compliance ...
As we all know by now, the U.S. Capitol was stormed by a mob of President Trump’s supporters on Wednesday January 6, 2021. A great deal of the mob, as well as police officers who appeared to stand aside as rioters streamed inside, were captured on video and replayed repeatedly over the news. This includes two Canadian nurses who allegedly travelled to Washington D.C. to participate in an anti-lockdown event which preceded the Capitol Hill riot ...
In the state of Ohio, a light-duty job offer is a strategic way to either bring an injured worker back to the workforce or bar temporary total compensation, should the injured worker reject a valid offer. Either way, it can aid employers in eliminating, minimizing, and/or stopping temporary total disability compensation from being paid in a claim ...
This article forms part of our ‘New How: Perspectives’ report: ‘Home Working not the Panacea’. To access this free report, please click on the download link to the right of this page. Home. Noun. Meaning: “The place where one lives permanently, especially as a member of a family or household.” Not any longer. Home is now also where many of us work ...
The United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued an order that will take effect on January 26, 2021, requiring all arriving international airline passengers to provide proof of a negative COVID test taken within three days of the flight’s foreign departure. For those who have had it, the CDC will require proof of recovery ...
The year 2020 will have been difficult for the vast majority of industries, and in particular for the arts, entertainment and recreation industry. The video game industry, however, is growing in leaps and bounds. For example, Nintendo and PlayStation have each set record sales for their games released in 2020, including Animal Crossing:New Horizons and The Last of UsPart II. Over the past few decades, the number of video game players has never stopped increasing ...
Although the start of 2020 also shook up the M&A world, the market recovered especially in the second half of the year. At Van Doorne, the M&A specialists experienced this in the number of transactions: 32 of them. This puts the firm in 8th place in the Mergermarket Benelux League Table, based on the number of deals. In 2020, in Europe almost $850 billion was spent on a total of 6,658 transactions. This is an increase of 5.6% compared to 2019 ...
On Dec. 22, the Ohio Senate passed the Employment Law Uniformity Act – HB 352. Governor Mike DeWine signed the bill into law on Jan. 12, 2021. The bill is the culmination of 20 years of work by the Ohio Chamber of Commerce to address expansion of Ohio’s anti-discrimination statute resulting from Ohio Supreme Court decisions that interpreted Ohio Revised Code Section 4112 expansively ...
In order to reduce community transmission and preserve everyone's safety and that of our healthcare system, the government requires everyone to make extra efforts, both in their private lives and at work. The closure of retail businesses, save for some exceptions, is maintained, the lockdown to prevent gatherings continues and a curfew was added on January 9, 2021, to remain in effect until the currently announced date of February 8, 2021 1 ...
Lockdown 3.0 is upon us and once again schools are closed and working parents find themselves having to balance childcare and home-schooling whilst trying to manage their own work and responsibilities. For those who cannot reasonably work from home, or who may struggle with having to provide childcare at the same time as meeting the demands of their role, employers are able to consider offering furlough leave as an option ...
This article forms part of our ‘New How: Perspectives’ report: ‘Can real estate help solve the productivity puzzle?’. To access this free report, please click on the download link to the right of this page. Contrary to popular belief, the Covid pandemic has not destroyed real estate as an investment class; rather it has accelerated the rate at which it was already evolving ...
As employers adapt to the impacts of COVID-19, wage and hour compliance continues to present unique challenges. To help employers navigate these uncertain times, government enforcement agencies and legislatures have continued to issue new laws, opinion letters, and guidance all employers should understand and act upon ...
The State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy (OBP) is required to adopt a resolution specifying the required types of credentials for the responsible person of each business type of (i) terminal distributors of dangerous drugs and (ii) distributor of dangerous drugs. Only individuals who meet the credentials specified may be the responsible person for that type of business. On Jan ...
The president has signed into law the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020, which includes several temporary special rules aimed at minimizing forfeitures and increasing the utility of health and dependent care flexible spending accounts (FSAs). Plans providing for one or both accounts can take advantage of these participant-friendly rules immediately ...
