Equal pay claims have been on the increase in recent years, highlighting the importance of employers paying men and women equally for undertaking the same work or work that is rated equal value. But what are the unintended consequences of such claims? There has been much media coverage over the last week about Birmingham City Council (BCC) being effectively declared bankrupt[1] resulting in the Council being forced to apply rigorous spending cuts as a result ...
The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has published its policy recommendations for decentralised finance (DeFi) as a consultation paper. Responses are due by 19 October 2023 ...
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) represents an emerging financial model that utilises distributed ledger technologies to provide functions like borrowing, investing, or trading digital assets, all without the need for conventional centralised intermediaries. Here is a quick update with what is occurring on the international stage ...
The SEC Division of Examinations (the “Division”) issued a Risk Alert on September 6, 2023 that describes the Division’s risk-based approach for selecting advisers to examine and outlines the scope of areas to be examined ...
On Tuesday September 12, Patterson Belknap Partner Bill Cavanaugh delivered the opening statement on behalf of a coalition of the Attorney Generals from 38 states and other jurisdictions in the trial of a historic monopoly antitrust lawsuit against Google involving its search engine. Bill was appointed by the Attorney Generals of Colorado and Nebraska, the lead plaintiffs in the states' case, to serve as lead trial counsel ...
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A government report on Shared Parental Leave (SPL) reveals a low take-up by eligible parents, with only 1% of eligible mothers and 5% of eligible fathers or partners taking it. What is SPL? SPL is a type of paid family leave that enables eligible employees to take flexible leave during the first year of their child’s life or the first year after adoption ...
The conversation around Artificial intelligence (AI) regulation is set to go into a “supercharged” phase globally. At least, that’s the conclusion one can’t help drawing from the hype around the UK’s AI Safety Summit, which takes place in early November, and from comments this week by Senate Leader Chuck Schumer around upping the pace of AI regulation in the US ...
Rail firms have announced proposals to close hundreds of ticket offices across England and Wales over the next three years, potentially creating redundancy situations. Could the offer of alternative roles provide a way of avoiding redundancy dismissals? When does a redundancy situation arise and what obligations does an employer have? Redundancy is one of a limited number of potentially fair reasons for which an employer can dismiss an employee ...
Battery as a Service (BaaS) allows customers to keep their vehicles charged up and running, without recharging the drained-out batteries. The concept allows customers to lease out batteries as a separate component from the car, on a subscription based model, and swap it for a fully charged one as and when it depletes power. Last year Shoosmiths published a report highlighting the benefits of the BaaS business model, driven by the increasing use of battery storage technology ...
Blockchain litigation lead, Matt Green will be hosting our latest podcast series, 'In Early - The Crypto Podcast' - Listen to episode 19. Episode 19 features Jonny Fry the Crypto AM Influencer of the year 2022. With a wealth of knowledge in this sector, Jonny runs Digital Bytes, which creates and distributes a weekly roundup of the biggest stories in the world of digital assets, and is the CEO of Team Blockchain ...
The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) recently handed unions a resounding victory by reviving a legal doctrine that allows them to represent employees without winning a formal election. A New Framework Built on Old Principles In 1949, the United States was in the early stages of a post-war economic expansion. The NLRB, still in its infancy, was adopting policies at a rapid pace aimed at encouraging collective bargaining ...
By: Jennifer M. Misetich and Thomas M. O’Connell On September 11, 2023, an unprecedented deal was announced by labor groups and the fast food industry which would give California workers a $20 minimum wage and repeal The Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act (“FAST Act”) ...
On September 8, 2023, the China National Center for Biotechnology Development (the "CNCBD"), a public institution under direct charge of the China's Ministry of Science and Technology (the "MOST"), released the"Notice on Issuing Answers for Frequently Asked Questions on Human Genetic Resource Administration"(the "Updated FAQs"), which summarized and responded to questions that are constantly raised among the relevant industry (the "Industry") ...
PCC Issues Motu Proprio Merger Review Guidelines for Digital Markets On 21 August 2023, the Philippine Competition Commission (“PCC”) issued the Guidelines for the motu proprio review of Mergers and Acquisitions in Digital Markets (the “Guidelines”) to provide greater transparency and predictability over the PCC’s power of motu proprio review of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) within the digital market ...
The UAE Cabinet recently approved a scheme for the establishment of savings and investment funds for employees primarily in the private sector (including free zones). This scheme is an alternative to the current system of payment of end-of-service benefits (gratuity) to an employee at the end of his employment. Participation in the scheme will be optional for employers. Under this scheme, the participating employer will be required to make a monthly contribution to the selected fund ...
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Blockchain litigation lead, Matt Green will be hosting our latest podcast series, 'In Early - The Crypto Podcast' - Listen to episode 18. This week Matt speaks to the man claiming two names - Dr Craig Wright and Satoshi Nakamoto ...
Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionising the global real estate landscape. In the United States alone, AI companies are predicted to have a 1.6m sq m real estate footprint by the end of 2023, according to JLL ...
Dan Sharman and Craig Thomas take a look at the tax treatment of salary sacrifice arrangements. Background HMRC has always had a difficult relationship with salary sacrifice arrangements. On the one hand it acknowledges that such arrangements are a legitimate way of employees and employers reducing their tax liability, whilst on the other hand it has looked for ways in which to reduce the amount of tax leakage occurring from such arrangements ...
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The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans upheld parts of a Texas District Court ruling by restricting the use of Mifepristone, while allowing Mifepristone to remain on the market.[1] This is the latest ruling in an ongoing legal battle that has left the future of abortion medications in a state of flux. Dinsmore previously discussed the original April 2023 ruling that led to the most recent development ...
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has published its proposed regulations to implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) in the Federal Register. The PWFA, which became effective on June 27, 2023, requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees and applicants suffering limitations from pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions ...
