‘The right to disconnect’ was a popular topic during 2021 and provides for an interesting discussion - should there be a legal right in the UK for employees to disconnect from their workplace? The phrase which may bring joy to an employee’s ears but potentially not so much to those of an employer is the ‘right to disconnect’ ...
Key Points U.S. Army Corps of Engineers finalized a rule renewing nationwide permits under the Clean Water Act for projects involving discharges of dredge or fill material to jurisdictional waters. The Army Corps also issued new nationwide permits, such as for water reclamation and reuse facilities and for activities involving water, stormwater, and wastewater utility lines. These new nationwide permits create opportunities to expedite permitting for certain infrastructure projects ...
In the beginning of the new year 2022, it is a good time to take look back to the previous year 2021 and to have a look at reforms and amendments coming up during 2022 within the field of employment law. In addition to legislative changes, collective bargaining negotiations have lately been a hot topic as many collective bargaining agreements are up for renewal and some generally applicable collective bargaining agreements will not be renewed ...
On Thursday, January 13, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay pausing implementation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS), finding that the challengers to the ETS are likely to prevail. Justices John Roberts, Amy Coney Barrett, and Brett Kavanaugh issued the decision to stay the OSHA ETS. Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Clarence Thomas concurred with their own separate opinion ...
Evolusion Concepts, Inc. v. HOC Events Inc., Appeal No. 2021-1963 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 14, 2022) In its only precedential patent case this week, the Federal Circuit disposed of an appeal, holding that the district court’s claim construction was wrong. In the appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the Federal Circuit addressed the meaning of the term “magazine catch bar” in the asserted claims ...
The General Department of Taxation (“GDT”) issued Notification no. 776 GDT on the 17th of January 2022 (“Notification 776”) which delays the implementation of Prakas 542 MEF.P on the Rules and Procedure for the Implementation of VAT on E-Commerce (“Prakas 542”) to 31 March 2022 ...
As we go into 2022, the future direction of the planning system in England remains uncertain. Planning Bill The planning white paper proposals for a hybrid mix of discretionary decision making and codified zonal planning have proved particularly controversial with concerns about what could be seen as a ‘top down’ approach contributing to the outcome of the Chesham and Amersham by election ...
Following on from the Migration Advisory Committee's annual report, the government have announced welcome changes to the Health and Care visa route. The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) published their annual report in December. The report considered a variety of subjects and took a detailed look at the health and care sector ...
The Supreme Court has held that leaseholders exercising their rights to manage a building do not acquire the right to manage the surrounding estate, overturning a prior Court of Appeal decision ...
This question was considered by the Employment Tribunal in the recent case of X v Y. In a decision that will be welcomed by employers, the tribunal held that such a fear is not a protected belief under the Equality Act 2010. The facts of the case The claimant brought proceedings against her employer for discrimination after she chose not to return to work in July 2021 with the result that her employer had stopped paying her ...
In the recent case of Brooke Homes (Bicester) Ltd v Portfolio Property Partners Ltd the High Court has commented on what is meant by ‘all reasonable endeavours’, ‘good faith’ and ‘mutual benefit’, but do the comments really help? Agreements often include ‘endeavours’ clauses in an attempt to define the scope of a party’s obligations ...
It is now common knowledge that after January 2, 2022, issuing a cheque that is dishonoured for the lack of funds is no longer going to be a criminal offence in the UAE (for a primer on the changes made to the law, clickHere). But what of ongoing complaints and criminal cases regarding cheques that were dishonoured prior to January 2? Circular No. (9) of 2021, issued by the Dubai Public Prosecution Department on 19 December 2021, helpfully clarifies how such cases are to be handled ...
On October 30, 2021, Supreme Decree Nº 030-2021-MINAM ("DS030") was published in the Official Gazette "El Peruano", adopting Maximum Permissible Limits ("MPL") for atmospheric emissions from thermoelectric generation activities ...
As it is known, the second paragraph of Article 5 of the New Constitutional Procedure Code (Law 31307) provides that "In constitutional proceedings against judicial decisions, judges or magistrates of the Judiciary are not notified or summoned with the lawsuit". In this regard, the Constitutional Court (TC) in the order issued in Case No ...
On Jan. 13, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States lifted the injunction on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) vaccine mandate (Mandate).[1] Previously, injunctions were imposed by district courts in Missouri and Louisiana, and affirmed on appeal by the Eighth and Fifth Circuits, respectively, thereby prohibiting enforcement of the Mandate in 24 states ...
On Thursday, January 13, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay pausing implementation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Emergency Temporary Standard, finding that the challengers to the ETS are likely to prevail. Justices John Roberts, Amy Coney Barrett, and Brett Kavanaugh issued the decision to stay the OSHA ETS. Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Clarence Thomas concurred with their own separate opinion ...
On January 6, 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued a final rule on the use of Coronavirus State & Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) provided to state, local, and tribal governments pursuant to the American Rescue Plan (ARP). While the final rule largely includes the eligible uses of SLFRF funds described in the interim rule issued in May of 2021, the Treasury expanded and provided more detail on eligible uses ...
While the U.S. Supreme Court continues to deliberate over whether the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) is a valid exercise of OSHA’s regulatory authority, OSHA has continued to update their ETS FAQs to provide more guidance to employers. In particular, OSHA has clarified the requirements that apply to the use of over-the-counter COVID-19 tests (OTC Tests) for compliance with the testing requirements of the ETS ...
On January 6, 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued a final rule on the use of Coronavirus State & Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) provided to state, local, and tribal governments pursuant to the American Rescue Plan (ARP). While the final rule largely includes the eligible uses of SLFRF funds described in the interim rule issued in May of 2021, the Treasury expanded and provided more detail on eligible uses ...
On Jan. 13, 2022, the United States Supreme Court issued an order blocking enforcement of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) requiring (among other things) employers of 100 or more employees to require employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or ensure unvaccinated employees are tested for COVID-19 weekly ...
On December 16, 2021, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board readopted the Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS), but included several revisions which will go into effect on January 14, 2022 and which will remain in effect for three months. In addition, CDPH issued updated guidance for the general public this month. That guidance on isolation and quarantine requirements has now replaced the ETS exclusion periods and return to work criteria for all workers as of January 14, 2022 ...
In May 2021, the UK Government commissioned an independent, fan-led review of football governance in England following three “crisis events”. The report has thus far received a varied reception. Some have welcomed its recommendations, and believe that they will bring about much needed reform of the current model of football governance ...
I have recently been advising a farmer in relation to an appeal against a department penalty imposed for an alleged breach of GAEC (Good Agricultural Environmental Conditions). These are the conditions farmers claiming agricultural support payments must comply with, and which are designed to safeguard soils, habitats and landscape features on agricultural land. A breach of GAEC can lead to financial penalties being imposed on the farmer ...
The Court of Session has considered whether court proceedings can be raised to interrupt time bar, despite a contractual provision requiring adjudication before litigation. The issue Construction contracts often provide a hierarchy of dispute resolution processes. Before a party is permitted to litigate (or arbitrate), it is often required to attempt to resolve the dispute through another method (or methods) of dispute resolution ...
The recent case of John Doyle Construction (JDC) v Erith Contractors Limited provides two lessons for the construction sector concerning the enforcement of adjudicators’ decisions by companies in liquidation. First, “clear, evidenced, and unequivocal security” is necessary before enforcement is possible. Second, where a solvent and paying party asserts set-off and counter-claims, enforcement is prohibited in most circumstances ...
