Dinsmore employment law attorney Alyson St. Pierre authored an article for The Indiana Lawyer regarding a recent Indiana law that does not automatically grant religious exemptions from COVID-19 vaccinations and instead allows employers to investigate the validity of religious exemption requests. An excerpt is below ...
Dinsmore Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer Tammy Bennett, a labor and employment partner, was a featured panelist in a Columbus Business First roundtable discussion on the future of the American workforce, including the Great Resignation. The full article is below. Record numbers of people are changing jobs, quitting to start entrepreneurial ventures or exiting the labor force entirely ...
Non-EEA nationals practising self-employed activities in Belgium must apply for a professional card, unless they can benefit from a legal exemption. Since 1 January 2022 a new and simplified application procedure has come into force in the Flemish region [1]. At the same time, the Flemish government has introduced a new exemption: subject to certain requirements being met, non-EEA nationals taking up a corporate mandate are exempted from the professional card obligation ...
On 10 December 2021, President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law Republic Act No. 11595 (“RA No. 11595”) which introduced important amendments to the Retail Trade Liberalization Act of 2000 (“RTLA”), including the following salient revisions: RA No. 11595 reduced the paid-up capital requirements for foreign retailers, regardless of category, from PHP 25 Million to a minimum paid-up capital of only PHP 25 Million ...
Background Ukrainian citizens fleeing their homeland due to the ongoing crisis are welcome to Romania, where they will receive protection and necessary support. During their stay in Romania, accommodation, food and medical services are accessible for Ukrainians seeking safety from the ongoing military invasion, as a result of a combined effort of the authorities and unrivalled mobilization of private entities and the civil society ...
Two years after Portland law firms sent employees home to work remotely during the Covid-19 public emergency, they are starting to return to downtown — but not to the five-day-a-week routine of pre-pandemic times. “As employers, we have to be flexible to the myriad of circumstances,” said Graciela Gomez Cowger, CEO of Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt. “We’ve been profoundly disrupted ...
The enforceability of restrictive covenants is critical to protecting organisations’ legitimate business interests. A recent summary judgment application sheds light on the approach to be taken where covenants are contained in a shareholders’ agreement ...
A recent decision from Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal addressed the issue of whether a subcontractor that failed to obtain local licenses required by a county ordinance was allowed to litigate claims for work that required those licenses ...
In January, Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal affirmed a $638,794.10 award for damages in favor of a utility contract, and reversed an award of $177,750 in liquidated damages in favor of the county that hired it. The damages awarded arose from an improper stoppage of work and delay in construction by the county. Sarasota County Florida v. Southern Underground Industries, Inc ...
On Feb. 24, 2022, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the redesign of its Global and Professional Direct Contracting (GPDC) accountable care organization (ACO) into one that focuses on health equity. The redesigned model, Realizing Equity, Access, and Community Health (REACH), was modified to reflect the Biden administration’s policy priorities as well as stakeholder feedback and participant experience ...
On February 28, 2022, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued new guidance on the state's masking requirements to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The key changes in the guidance show a post-Omicron variant and surge shift from mandatory masking, to a strong recommendation to mask in certain settings ...
Holiday pay cases continue to make their way through the court system. One of the most significant of these, brought by Mr Smith against Pimlico Plumbers, has hit the press again, leaving employers with yet more uncertainty. Background Workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks' paid holiday per year under the Working Time Regulations 1998 (the “WTR”), made up of 4 weeks’ leave derived from the Working Time Directive (Euro-Leave) and an additional 1 ...
Joint employers and independent contractors need to be aware of recent announcements of both the United States Department of Labor (DOL) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). These bodies have announced significant changes to current regulations with respect to their standards for joint employers and independent contractors ...
The new UAE Labour Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021) came into effect on 2 February 2022. The new Labour Law replaced the previous 1980 statute (Federal Law No. 8 of 1980, as amended). The new Labour Law is generally applicable to employment relationships in the private sector in the UAE (excluding the DIFC and ADGM free zones) ...
On February 18th, 2022, the Asset Management Association of China (“AMAC”) issued the Announcement on Issues related to Application for Fund Practitioner Qualification by Overseas Fund Professionals (关于境外基金专业人才申请基金从业资格有关事项的公告, the “Announcement”), allowing eligible overseas professionals to register with AMAC as PRC fund practitioners ...
In our first quarterly case law update of the year, we take a look at some of the key cases published since October 2021 and consider the lessons that can be learned from them. Disability Discrimination We have seen over recent months an increased awareness and discussion around menopause, particularly regarding the impact that menopause can have in the workplace ...
Starting January 30, 2022, new federal contracts that are not procurement contracts must include a clause requiring federal contractors to pay at least $15 per hour to workers performing work on or in connection with the federal contract. That minimum wage rate will increase annually based on changes to the Consumer Price Index. The federal government predicts that this requirement may impact over half a million firms. Federal contractors with procurement contracts (i.e ...
On February 10, 2022, a bipartisan group of U.S. legislators passed the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, which amends the Federal Arbitration Act to add a new provision that makes pre-dispute agreements requiring arbitration of “sexual harassment” and “sexual assault” claims unenforceable at the claimant’s option ...
February 18, 2022 By Li-An Leonard As noted in an earlier Buchalter Client Alert, Governor Newsom and legislative leaders reached an agreement to bring back COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave in 2022. On November 9th, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill (SB) 114 creating California Labor Code § 248.6 and completing the comeback of COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Leave in 2022 or as referred to in this update, 2022 SPSL ...
Dinsmore employment partner Tammy Bennett wrote a column for Savoy Network on the actionable steps law firms can take to boost diversity efforts. An excerpt is below. Under the immediate impact of Covid-19 and the “race pandemic,” businesses expressed support in public statements; some made long-overdue changes to company logos and other aspects of branding. Such gestures matter ...
As reported earlier, the new Labour Law of the UAE provides that many of the detailed rules on its implementation will be governed by Implementing Regulations. The first set of Implementing Regulations has been promulgated as Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022. This measure took effect on 2 February 2022, the same effective date as the new Labour Law ...
On Feb. 10, 2022, Congress approved the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021 (the act). True to its title, the act allows new claims of sexual harassment and sexual assault be filed in court, rather than be subject to pre-dispute mandatory arbitration clauses ...
