By resolution adopted on October 7, 2020, the state of emergency has been extended until January 31, 2021 ...
On November 18, 2020, the IRS released Revenue Ruling 2020-27 stating that a taxpayer who received a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan cannot deduct eligible business expenses (i.e., payroll costs, mortgage loan interest, rent payments and utility payments) paid or incurred in 2020 during the covered period (as defined below) if the taxpayer reasonably expects that the PPP loan will be forgiven in the future ...
The retail sector has been one of the sectors most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and as a result employers therein might be considering dismissing employees for economic or technical reasons. Employers must be aware that most joint committees in the retail sector have entered into collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) obliging employers to first take measures to avoid dismissals and, if dismissals cannot be avoided, to comply with a specific procedure ...
Trademark owners with registrations in EU where the UK is designated should soon receive notification for treatment of registrations and applications following the Brexit transition period. The Brexit transitional period, during which EU laws and rights have continued in force in the UK, will end on December 31, 2020. Thereafter, EU Trade Mark and Design applications and registrations (and designations of the EU) will only cover the remaining 27 EU member states ...
When much of the country locked down in March 2020, very few expected us to still be dealing with this pandemic in December 2020. And yet, here we are. In fact, coronavirus cases are rising sharply throughout much of the country, and the prospect of additional shutdowns is growing more probable by the day. Not all news is bad. Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca have produced what appear to be viable vaccines that could be available as early as this month ...
Whether employers like it or not, there is no question that the COVID-19 pandemic has altered the modern work environment for many businesses. As employers across the country continue to allow, and even encourage, their employees to work remotely, we continue to see the questions and challenges that accompany the work-from-home model. Fortunately, not all of those challenges need be navigated blindly. The U.S ...
On November 12, 2020, just one day after the European Data Protection Board (“EDPB”) published its recommendations on additional measures for data transfers to third countries (Recommendation 01/2020), the European Commission published a draft of the long-awaited updated Standard Contractual Clauses (“SCCs”). Under Art. 46 GDPR, these can serve as the basis for data transfers to third countries without an adequacy decision ...
Following a decision of the Hamburg Regional Labour Court, the works council has an enforceable right of co-determination with the definition of staffing ratios – in accordance with § 87 exp. 1 No. 7 BetrVG. The co-determination right aims at avoiding an otherwise health-endangering overloading of the personnel ...
LAG Baden-Württemberg, judgement of 17.09.2020, 17 Sa 8/20 The unauthorized, deliberate deletion of operational data on the employer's IT systems represents a significant breach of duty and is generally suitable to justify a termination of the employment relationship without notice period. Facts The parties are in dispute about the validity of the extraordinary, alternatively ordinary, notice of termination pronounced by the employer ...
Regional Labor Court Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, ruling of July 30, 2019, 5 Sa 233/18 It is up to the employer to decide how to react to a conflict situation in the company, regardless of the causes and responsibilities of the disputants. FACTS The parties dispute over the validity of transferring the plaintiff to another workplace to resolve an interpersonal conflict ...
Assembly Bill (AB) 5, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom in September 2019, which went into effect on Jan. 1, 2020, codified the California Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles ...
On 21 August 2020, the HKIMR, the research arm of the Hong Kong Academy of Finance, released its second report, entitled “Artificial Intelligence in Banking: The Changing Landscape in Compliance and Supervision”. The report is intended as a starting point for understanding the broad implications of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) adoption in the banking industry, as well as in relation to compliance and supervision ...
The HKMA has developed a two-year roadmap to promote Regtech adoption in the Hong Kong banking sector (“Roadmap”), as set out in a White Paper entitled “Transforming Risk Management and Compliance: Harnessing the Power of Regtech” (“White Paper”). The White Paper presents the case for wider adoption of Regtech in Hong Kong, outlining a series of actions that the HKMA will take, or consider taking, to accelerate its adoption ...
On 25 November 2020, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong SAR Carrie Lam presented her fourth Policy Address, which includes various proposals to create more jobs in both the public and private sectors through the Job Creation Scheme established under the anti-epidemic fund measures, enhance support to employees through the Love Upgrading Special Scheme for Retraining, and create employment opportunities for young people in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) ...
Three pharmaceutical companies, AstraZeneca, Moderna and Pfeizer, have announced COVID-19 vaccines, which the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has announced could be available as early as late December 2020.[1] Governor Mike DeWine announced some Ohio health care professionals could receive the COVID vaccine as early as Dec. 15, 2020 ...
As concern over cybersecurity continues to grow,[1] defense contractors have been waiting for the Department of Defense (DoD) to roll out its Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program. That rollout has occurred, with DoD’s recently published interim rule Assessing Contractor Implementation of Cybersecurity Requirements (DFARS Case 2019-D041)[2] (“Interim Rule”), effective Nov. 30, 2020, and providing for a five-year phase-in of CMMC ...
Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued a circular last year (the Circular) in recognition of the increasing use of electronic data storage (cloud storage) for record keeping purposes. The Circular was intended to provide licensed corporations with greater flexibility in keeping regulatory records with electronic data service providers (EDSPs), as well as to clarify their general obligations in relation to electronic data ...
With the Universal Community Testing Programme for COVID-19 detection by the Hong Kong Government and temperature screening in the workplace, the collection and use of biometric data (such as DNA samples, fingerprints and facial images) have raised concerns among the public. In August 2020, the Privacy Commissioner (PC) has updated its guidance note on how data users should collect and use biometric data in compliance with the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Guidance Note) ...
Key Points The new regulation covers all employees and places of employment with limited exceptions and is expected to take effect within the next two weeks. Employers must develop a written COVID-19 Prevention Program. Employers must also investigate and “respond effectively” to COVID-19 cases and notify employees and others who might have been exposed within one day ...
The German Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BfDI) sees the decision as a success: On November 11, 2020, the District Court of Bonn reduced the fine imposed on 1&1 Telekom GmbH for a data protection breach from an original EUR 9.55 million to EUR 990,000.00, thereby fundamentally calling into question the fine practices of the German supervisory authorities ...
The Court of Justice of the European Union delivers judgments regarding the concept of “communication to the public” faster than legal scholars can read and dissect them. While we are eagerly awaiting the Court’s analysis of different types of hyperlinking, it has taken less than two months to follow Advocate General Hogan’s opinion regarding the emailing of evidence containing copyrighted works to a court in legal proceedings ...
As the retail sector is one of the sectors most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, employers within it might be considering dismissing employees for economic or technical reasons ...
Terminating the employment of an employee is never easy. There are many things to consider from both a practical and legal perspective. The more prepared you can be the better. While not exhaustive, set out below are some questions every employer should be asking themselves before they terminate the employment of any non-union employee on a “without cause” basis ...
The debt collection restrictions and requirements in the FDCPA, which was enacted in 1977, have failed to keep up with or even contemplate modern technologies. In particular, as methods and forms of communication have evolved, the industry has had little guidance on how it can utilize newer communication channels such as emails, text messages, or social media. In many cases, the industry has had to grapple with different and often conflicting court interpretations ...
