On June 1, 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau along with Federal Reserve, OCC, FDIC, NCUA and FHFA (collectively, the “Agencies”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking comment on rules to implement quality control standards for automated valuation models (AVMs) used by residential mortgage originators and secondary market issuers in determining the collateral worth of a mortgage loan that is secured by a consumer’s principal dwelling ...
Net migration figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for the year ending December 2022 show an increase on figures from the previous year. Taking a closer look into the categories of migration behind the net figures gives further insight as to why the target to reduce net migration figures are not being met. These figures show that total immigration into the United Kingdom for 2022 was in the region of 1.2 million with emigration counted at approximately 557,000 ...
June marks ‘Pride Month’ which celebrates how far LGBTQ+ rights have come whilst also highlighting the work that still needs to be done. We consider how allies and effective employee networks can assist in this supporting ongoing progress. Employee networks are voluntary, employee-led groups aimed at providing support, resources and a sense of community for employees who may share a common identity or experience ...
Fertility is not only a ‘women’s issue’ - the impact of infertility on men can be enormous, yet regularly goes unnoticed. In light of Men’s Health Week and Father’s Day, we look at improving support for men who are experiencing fertility issues. When it comes to infertility, research and support predominantly centres around the perspectives of women ...
The Procurement Bill has now had its third and final reading and has passed the Report Stage in the House of Commons. The House of Commons’ latest amendments that have been added to the Bill include the following: If a supplier or a connected person poses a threat to the national security of the UK, this would be a mandatory exclusion ground. This is a change from previous versions of the Bill which classed this exclusion ground as discretionary ...
On May 15, 2023, the Chilean Congress approved the Bill that Systematizes Economic Crimes and Attacks against the Environment (the "Bill"). Therefore, the Bill was sent to the President for its enactment into law, although it is subject to the preventive control that must be carried out by the Constitutional Court. During this period, the Executive has a deadline to exercise veto power over the bill prior to its enactment into law ...
Good governance counts because without it a charity’s impact can be much diminished, but it is also important not to be overwhelmed by all the detail and to focus on what matters. There is a lot of guidance on governance for charities Someone once said, “With proper governance, life will improve for all ...
The UK Covid-19 Inquiry has sought to consider as many voices as possible in its assessment of the vast human impact the pandemic has had on both individuals and organisations. Every Story Matters is the Inquiry’s way of doing so, enabling those in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to share their experiences of the pandemic with the Inquiry, via an online form. To date, around 6,000 people have shared their stories ...
A Bill’s fate is never sealed until it has been through all the necessary approval stages and the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill is no exception. Whilst numerous concerns have been raised about the speed and impact of the Bill, there were comparatively few amendments made to it as it sped through the Commons ...
According to a recent TUC poll of over 1,000 women, 58% have experienced sexual harassment, bullying or verbal abuse at work, with the perpetrator in 39% of most recent instances of harassment being a third party. Clearly, this needs to change. Harassment is still an issue at work As a result of the findings from the poll, the TUC is supporting the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Bill 2022-23 which is currently passing through Parliament ...
We look at the legal framework within which the dispute between the UK Covid-19 Inquiry and the Cabinet Office over the former Prime Minister’s WhatsApp messages and diaries has developed, and possible consequences for the Inquiry depending on the outcome. What has the Cabinet Office been asked to provide? On 21 April 2023, Baroness Heather Hallett, Chair of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry (‘the Inquiry’) issued a Section 21 Notice to the Cabinet Office (‘the Notice’) ...
“Why don’t I own this?” The words of oil prospector Daniel Plainview to his property advisor, querying the land rights for his oil pipeline to the California coast in the Oscar winning film ‘There Will Be Blood, and a blunt, single sentence reminder of the need for early due diligence on large scale developments ...
The President of the Russian Federation instructed the Government to consider the opportunity of granting clearance for the sale of Russian legal entities controlled by “unfriendly” entities only with the consent of senior officials of the Russian regions where such entities are located. The Government should issue a report on this matter by June 15, 2023 ...
Business reorganization is a commonly utilized strategy to enhance efficiency and reduce costs within a business. Reorganization not only impacts corporate changes, but also has an effect on labour relations, which can pose certain risks. We have summarized the key labour issues that illustrate the red flags associated with corporate transactions, along with practical issues that should be taken into consideration. More details here ...
No-fault attendance policies may be on a watchlist for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. A recent matter before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, EEOC v. Eberspaecher North America Inc., suggests that the EEOC is interested in how those policies work. It seems the EEOC wants to determine if such policies potentially violate the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the agency may want to pursue that interest on a national scale ...
The SEC has published its final rule for the modernization of share repurchase disclosures. The final rule will require additional details of an issuer’s share repurchase activity. Unlike the previous requirements for share repurchase reporting, the final rule will require daily repurchase data, reported either quarterly or semi-annually, and eliminates the previous requirement for the publication of an issuer’s repurchase data by month in its 10-Qs and 10-Ks ...
In an opinion issued on June 5, 2023, the Federal Circuit provided a useful framework for overcoming obviousness rejections during patent prosecution, where a proposed modification to a prior art reference renders it unsatisfactory for its intended purpose.[1] Appropriately applying this framework may provide a strong position against a motivation to combine references, or otherwise modify a prior art device in an obviousness rejection. In Medtronic, Inc. v. Teleflex Innovations S.A.R.L ...
Overview On 22 February 2023, the Ministry of Commerce (“MOC”) issued a new regulation on the Forms and Procedures for Issuance of Temporary Suspension Measures and/or Decisions by the Cambodia Competition Commission (“CCC”) to strengthen the enforcement of the Law on Competition (“Competition Law”) in Cambodia ...
The pensions dashboards connection deadline will be pushed back to 31 October 2026 under the Pensions Dashboards (Amendment) Regulations 2023 which were laid before Parliament on 8 June 2023. The new regulations follow Pensions Minister Laura Trott’s 2 March announcement that the Pensions Dashboard Programme (PDP), the body responsible for delivering the digital architecture which underpins pensions dashboards, was to be reset ...
With greater emphasis being placed on employee wellbeing in recent times and in a bid to remain competitive in the market, some employers have sought to increase holiday entitlement and provide ‘unlimited’ annual leave each year. What does this mean? In theory, ‘unlimited’ holiday means employees can take as many paid days off work as they wish. In practice, however, it is not quite as straightforward as it sounds ...
Like many employers, Google LLC is considering how to increase employee office attendance. Over the pandemic, employees in a variety of roles showed that their jobs could be done effectively from home, and few companies have returned to a policy of asking their employees to work in the office on a full-time basis ...
As global regulators continue to grapple with the challenges of developing and implementing effective Artificial Intelligence (AI) regulation, and with AI sitting high on the agenda for Rishi Sunak’s meeting this week with President Biden, the UK Government has announced that it will be hosting a global AI Summit later this year ...
All employment related securities (ERS) annual returns for the 2022/23 tax year must be filed by 6 July 2023. The returns are filed via HMRC’s online service (via the PAYE for Employers – Employment Related Securities section). There are separate returns for the tax-advantaged employee share schemes (i.e. EMI, CSOP, SAYE and SIP) and one for all other arrangements (e.g. non-tax advantaged options, or the direct issue of shares to employees or directors) ...
The British Standards Institution (BSI) has released a new workplace standard relating to menstruation and menopause. The BSI standard (BS 30416) aims to support the health and well-being of all employees who menstruate or experience peri/menopause. The standard suggests that there are many actions that employers can take to improve the accommodation of all its employees ...
