Last week upon final passage by Congress, President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA or Act) into law.[1] The $1.9 trillion economic stimulus bill provides a comprehensive package of available funds to qualifying individuals and businesses in the form of direct payments, industry-specific grants, and tax credits ...
A new version of the Instructions for the obtention of permits for movement within zones under quarantines or restrictive measures is in force as of March 15. The most relevant amendments to the former version are the following: Regarding the “Temporary Individual Permit for traveling to polling stations”, a new “permit for voting in the national, regional or local elections” is created ...
The legal and practical issues that arise when executing documents electronically with a focus on practical points to consider and pitfalls to avoid. This is quite a hot topic at the moment with businesses having to continue to operate during lockdown ...
Deciding what happens to employees in a TUPE transfer where there is more than one transferee is never straightforward. However, developments in this area continue to add complexity to the situation, adding cost and uncertainty to employers. Recent developments In the recent case of McTear Contracts Ltd v Bennett & ors the EAT looked at a situation where there were two transferees in the context of a service provision change ...
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has extended the timeline for filing the 2021 data audit report from 15 March 2021 till 30 June 2021. In 2019, the National Information Technology and Development Agency (‘NITDA’) issued the Nigerian Data Protection Regulation (‘NDPR’) ...
Behind every video game, there is intellectual property (IP) which is worth protecting to optimize monetisation of the game. As discussed in Studios and designers: Are you sure that you own the intellectual property rights to your video games, the first step for studios and designers is to make sure that they own all IP rights on the video game ...
The SEC Division of Examinations issued a Risk Alert on Feb. 26, 2021, providing the Division’s observations made during examinations of investment advisers, broker-dealers and transfer agents regarding digital asset securities. For purposes of the Division, digital asset securities are those digital assets that are securities ...
Corporate & Commercial Recognition of UK Insolvency Proceedings in Malta Post-BrexitSimon Pullicino comments on the impact of Brexit with respect to cross-border insolvency and the implications for the recognition and enforcement of UK proceedings in Malta and vice-versa ...
Asset tokenisation is poised to tear down the high barriers to luxury investments. Imagine you are a whisky aficionado. Having witnessed rare Scotch trounce many investments over the past 10 years, you are eager to jump on the bandwagon. It is, after all, a complementary way to fund an expensive hobby; according to industry watcher Rare Whisky 101’s Rare Whisky Icon 100 Index, UK auction prices of 100 iconic collectors’ bottles have almost quadrupled since 2012 ...
This article looks at how leaders can develop psychological safety within teams and how they can encourage individuals to speak up when they need help or when mistakes have been made. Failure, or the importance of creating psychological safety in the workplace? Nobody likes to fail. It’s not comfortable, it’s embarrassing, it induces anxiety, sleepless nights and all sorts of other tell-tale symptoms. Unfortunately for leaders, many of these symptoms remain hidden ...
On March 8th, 2021, the government announced that, due to the current status of the Covid-19 pandemic in Chile, it was decided to extend the enforcement of the benefits and entitlements of the employment protection law, protected parenting law and law that temporarily amends the requirements to access to the unemployment insurance. Additionally, the coverage and amounts of the benefits of the Employment Subsidy will be increased ...
This article looks at the dynamics and tensions which exist between remote and agile working versus the role of hierarchy and the competing needs of teams. Where does the power lie in deciding what the future of work looks like? Does it sit with management, leadership, employees or HR? Many leaders and managers seem to have embraced working remotely, having previously spent days/weeks and possibly months commuting every year ...
WSG member Simon McArdle, Partner at Shoosmiths, shares his advice for GCs looking to implement tech for the first time, his predictions around the next big thing in legal tech and how to ensure that the legal system and/or tech you invest in doesn’t get retired and replaced shortly after ...
LAW OF 26 FEBRUARY 2021 AMENDING THE LAW OF 27 JULY 1991 ON ELECTRONIC MEDIA AND IMPLEMENTING DIRECTIVE (EU) 2018/1808 (THE "AUDIOVISUAL MEDIA SERVICES DIRECTIVE") The law of 26 February 2021 amending the law of 27 July 1991 on electronic media (the “Electronic Media Law”) and implementing the Audiovisual Media Services Directive was adopted on 26 February 2021 to implement (faithfully) the so-called Audiovisual Media Services Directive ...
On February 24th, 2021, the President has signed the law increasing administrative penalties for the breach of personal data laws and introducing new penalties for the breach of information laws. The law enters into force on March 27th, 2021. Liability terms for communication providers’ failure to en-sure sustainable operation enter into force on February 1st, 2023 ...
On the 4th March 2021, the Seventh Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union issued its decision on an important matter related to the breach of ambient air quality legislation by the UK government (European Commission v. United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, c-664/18). This case is only one among several others filed by the Commission against EU Member States, including France, Italy, Bulgaria and Hungary ...
On March 2, 2021, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam signed the Consumer Data Protection Act (CDPA or law) into law. This makes Virginia the second state, behind California, to adopt a comprehensive consumer data privacy law. Like the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) and EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the CDPA creates a number of privacy obligations for businesses and gives Virginia consumers more control over their personal data. The CDPA takes effect on Jan ...
With the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines in Hong Kong, employers may wish to encourage or even require their employees to be vaccinated for protection. An interesting question arises: If an employee gets injured on their way to or from the vaccination venue, will the employer have to pay compensation? Two cases in the US may shed light on this. In Firestone Tire Rubber Co. v Crawford, 177 Ga. App. 242 (Ga. Ct. App ...
COVID-19 has definitely changed the way in which we work. When many people started working from home back in March 2020, it was seen as a short-term, temporary arrangement to help combat the effects of COVID-19. Fast forward 12 months and homeworking is widely considered to be here to stay. In our webinar (kindly hosted by Macmillan Davies), our employment law and health and safety experts talked through the key issues for businesses to be aware of ...
In September 2020, a team of MIT researchers published a paper in the IEEE Open Journal of Engineering in Medicine and Biology, testing the hypothesis that coronavirus carriers—even asymptomatic ones—could be accurately detected using artificial intelligence (AI) based on only a phone recording of a forced cough.If this hypothesis is correct, the COVID-19 test can be accessible to people worldwide ...
Rishi Sunak has announced the much-awaited budget for 2021 hailing protection for the “jobs and livelihoods of the British people”. We outline below the key elements impacting employers and their wider workforce. Budget 2021: The Employment Implications Rishi Sunak has announced the much-awaited budget for 2021 hailing protection for the “jobs and livelihoods of the British people” ...
This is the second article in our 2021 Tricky Issues Series. We will be looking at the five most common causes of delays in disciplinary processes, including the topical issue of delays relating to Covid-19, and how employers can best manage them ...
On 19 February 2021, the Supreme Court handed down a landmark judgment which confirmed that Uber drivers are workers and not independent contractors. We look at the basis for the decision and what it means for other employers. Background This case began back in 2016, when Uber drivers Mr Aslam, Mr Farrar and others submitted a claim to the Employment Tribunal (ET) regarding their employment status ...
In the second session of our latest Brexit Insight: Immigration webinar series, we shared some of our and our clients’ experiences on the new immigration system and changes to right to work document checks, 8 weeks on from the end of free movement for EU workers. We also touched upon the new application process and relevant timescales ...
