Last month we saw Endometriosis Awareness Month come and go and with it, the question of whether endometriosis is fully recognised in the workplace yet. Last year, in February 2022, support for individuals who suffer from endometriosis was debated in the House of Commons. The key takeaway was that endometriosis affects so many women, yet is still largely unrecognised within the workplace ...
On the 30th of March 2023, as part of its efforts to address the gender pay gap phenomenon and promote the equal pay principle, the European Parliament widely approved the EU Pay Transparency Directive. In 2021, the gender pay gap stood at 12.7% in the EU, with no minimal changes in the last ten years ...
On April 18, 2023, Fox News agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems a staggering $787.5 million to settle a defamation lawsuit. Particularly startling about the settlement is that Dominion was valued at around $51 million as recently as 2018, meaning that the settlement resulted in a payout up to fifteen times Dominion’s value. Dominion filed the lawsuit in response to publicly broadcast statements by Fox News and its guests after the 2020 election ...
Brandon Bundren and over 100 lawyers from around the country who practice extensively in the area of trade secrets and restrictive covenants co-signed a written submission to the Federal Trade Commission regarding its recent noncompete ban ...
Our working worlds were rocked by the global pandemic in 2020. Working from home was compulsory for all bar key workers, whilst the country grappled with the pandemic, furlough and trying to make it all work. Many employees now work remotely or on a hybrid basis as employers review their working policies with an increased focus on productivity, as the outlook for the UK economy remains hard to accurately predict ...
Part of the fall-out of the COVID-19 pandemic is the condition labelled ‘long-covid’. This is still a relatively new condition that remains under study, but symptoms include extreme tiredness, shortness of breath, loss of smell and muscle aches. Some people experience further complications and suffer memory problems known as ‘brain fog,’ difficulty sleeping, dizziness, depression and anxiety ...
On April 10th, 2023, the Congress approved a bill that reduces the workday weekly limit from 45 to 40 hours (Bill N°11.179-13). This bill, however, includes multiple and important amendments to the working hour and rest regimes, amongst which we can highlight the following: Reduction of the ordinary working hours limit The duration of the ordinary working hours will be reduced from 45 to 40 hours ...
Borrowers who go through the process of obtaining an FHA-insured multifamily loan generally come to the same conclusion: the juice is worth the squeeze. At the end of the day, they get to enjoy a unique blend of benefits (35 or 40-year mortgage term, below market interest rate, etc.) that simply can’t be replicated with a conventional loan. One FHA benefit that’s been getting a lot of attention lately is loan assumption ...
What can employers say in a job advertisement? How to verify the legality of a worker’s stay in Poland? What are the steps for legally hiring Ukrainians in Poland? What formalities are required when amending their terms of employment? How to delegate Ukrainian citizens to work elsewhere in the EU? How to end cooperation with foreign workers? Lawyers from the firm’s Employment & Global Mobility practice write about the rules for employing Ukrainians in Poland ...
The rise of ChatGPT and other large language models has been well-documented, although the technology underpinning it has been developing for several years ...
In the fourth of our HR Improve articles, we consider the importance of effective absence management and what steps employers should take to support employees whilst minimising the impact of sickness absence on the organisation. All organisations will experience employees taking sickness absence at one time or another. The Office for National Statistics found that 149 million days of work were lost in 2021 due to sickness absence ...
Earlier this year, the government announced its support for the passing of the Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Bill. Should it become law, the Bill is set to bring huge change for tens of millions of employees in the UK who do not currently have a statutory right to request a predictable working pattern ...
On March 21, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral argument in Abitron Austria GmbH, et al. (“Abitron et al.”) v. Hetronic International, Inc. (“Hetronic”)[i] on an issue it has not squarely addressed in seven decades: the extraterritorial reach of the Lanham Act, the comprehensive trademark statute in the United States ...
Employer obligations From the date the Order takes effect, all employers will need to ensure they are paying at least the minimum wage and that their contracts and/or Statements of Employment are updated where necessary to ensure that they are compliant. Note that only 'employees' are entitled to the minimum wage, not self-employed contractors ...
The SEC Division of Examinations (the “Division”) issued a Risk Alert on March 27, 2023 detailing observations from examinations of newly-registered investment advisers. The Risk Alert provides information about the typical focus areas reviewed during examinations of newly-registered investment advisers. It also provides observations regarding compliance policies and procedures, disclosures and marketing practices ...
In the Apple TV+ show Severance, employees of Lumon Industries may agree to a "severance" program in which non-work memories are separated from work memories. Outside of work, these Lumon Industries employees cannot discuss what happened at work because they have no memory of it. While Severance’s technology is fictional, employers frequently seek a similar result when offering severance agreements to departing employees ...
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”) initiatives play a critical role in creating and sustaining a high-functioning business with an open flow of creative ideas. As companies continue to adapt to having an increased share of employees working in a remote or hybrid role, they should reexamine whether their workplace culture is inclusive for people of all backgrounds and experiences ...
The process of selecting the right candidate for a new position involves time and resources. Extending an offer of employment is generally an exciting endeavor for both the employer and its new hire - which is why the details set forth in that offer of employment are so critical. While a verbal offer of employment is perfectly appropriate to provide, it is equally important that a written offer follow ...
In April statutory rates of pay and maximum awards in the Employment Tribunal increase. Given current inflation, the increases this year are higher compared to previous years. Employers must ensure they adequately budget for the rise in staffing costs. The key changes to rates and limits that employers need to be aware of are set out below ...
On 1 April 2023, the Intellectual Property Rights Agency (“Agency”) issued the Notification (“Notification”) that sets out service fees for mark registration applications via Notification No. 1/2023 as per the Section 106 (d) of the Trademark Law with the approval from the Ministry of Commerce to implement the Trademark Law of 2019 (“Law”) and the Mark Registration Rules of 2023 ...
Contents Introduction of US style LLCs to Jersey Proceeds of Crime Law changes, including AMLSPs HMRC guidance on the registration of JPUTs Update on arranging as an additional limb of investment business Introduction of US style LLCs to Jersey In September 2022 Jersey enacted legislation which permits the formation of US-style limited liability companies or LLCs in Jersey ...
Contents The Lending, Credit and Finance (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2022 Updates to Natural Capital Fund framework HMRC guidance on the registration of GPUTs Changes to Guernsey’s insolvency regime Consultation on “six directorship” exemption for directors The Lending, Credit and Finance (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2022 The Lending, Credit and Finance (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2022 (the “LCF Law”) came into partial force on 1 January 2023 and will c
When a union knocks on an employer's door, it can be a shock and awe experience for the unprepared employer. It is important for employers to understand their rights and obligations when dealing with unions to ensure that they make the right decisions for their business. And, like most things, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound or more of cure ...
