On 12 May 2021, Prime Minister Boris Johnson committed to holding a Public Inquiry into COVID-19 that will place "the state's actions under the microscope". Demonstrating that it is independent, objective and fair is fundamental to an Inquiry’s purpose. We take a look at the extent to which the State can effectively examine itself in a Public Inquiry when it has ultimate responsibility for determining the remit, and therefore inevitably the scope of any conclusions ...
On Tuesday, December 7, 2021, in The State of Georgia, et. al. v. Biden, et. al., Case No. 1:21-cv-163, a federal district court judge in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia issued a preliminary injunction enjoining enforcement of the vaccine mandate for federal contractors and subcontractors in all covered contracts in any state or territory of the United States. This injunction is nationwide and states that it applies to all federal contractors ...
Ohio has more than 2,300 athletic trainers. H.B. 176, signed into law by Governor Mike DeWine on Oct. 27, 2021, updates the scope of practice for athletic trainers for the first time since 1991. These changes to Ohio’s athletic trainer scope of practice may create new opportunities for your business, facility or practice. Beginning Jan. 25, 2022, athletic trainers will be able to enter into collaboration agreements with physicians and podiatrists ...
On 24 November 2021 Shoosmiths hosted a webinar exploring recent developments and forthcoming changes in environmental regulation – the COP26 climate change conference, the Environment Act 2021 and trends in sentencing for environmental offences. COP26 David Symons, director of sustainability at WSP UK outlined the three main messages from the COP26 conference: The 1 ...
Experts from Shoosmiths and BDO recently led a panel discussion regarding the upcoming introduction of Solent’s Freeport. Shoosmiths’ Kirsten Hewson (head of real estate), Stephen Porter (head of corporate) and Solent office head Paula Swain (also a board member of the Solent Freeport Consortium & Solent LEP) discussed the upcoming development. Also on the panel were Cllr ...
On Tuesday, November 30th, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky issued a preliminary injunction halting the government's enforcement of the federal contractor vaccine mandate on federal contractors and subcontractors in Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee. A copy of the decision is attached ...
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) vaccine mandate (Mandate)[1] has been preliminarily enjoined[2] on a nationwide basis due to a Nov. 30, 2021, decision by Judge Terry A. Doughty of the Western District Court of Louisiana, Monroe Division. Among other conclusions, Judge Doughty stated that mandating vaccination of health care workers should be done by Congress, not a government agency, although he also questioned whether even Congress had such authority ...
The UK Government’s consultation on mandatory climate-related disclosures As the old saying goes – ‘knowledge is power’, and businesses caught in the net of proposed mandatory climate-related disclosures will need to empower themselves quickly in order to get up to speed by the proposed April 2022 rollout ...
The issue of online court hearings, and many other types of dispute resolution processes, has been a hot topic over the last few months as restrictions have eased and court users try to figure out what the new normal is, or should be. The Scottish Civil Justice Council has just closed a consultation that seeks views on proposed new rules covering the most appropriate mode of attendance at civil court hearings in the Court of Session and in the Sheriff Courts in Scotland ...
Given the growing need for new sources of water for human and industrial consumption, in order to unify criteria in the evaluation of desalination projects, the General Directorate of the Maritime Territory and Merchant Marine (“DIRECTEMAR”) has published the following 3 guides with basic technical guidelines: Guide for the Environmental Assessment of Industrial Desalination Projects in Jurisdiction of the Maritime Authority The purpose of this guide is to update the minimu
With COVID-19 vaccination campaigns nearing completion or still in progress in various countries across Southeast Asia, our experts take this opportunity to look at some of the top questions and concerns on the minds of employers and employees when it comes to COVID-19 vaccination considerations ...
On November 18, 2021, President Biden issued an executive order reinstating a version of the Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers Under Service Contracts executive order that had previously been implemented by President Obama and then rescinded by President Trump. The new clause is reproduced below. President Biden’s new executive order applies to contracts and subcontracts that are covered by the Service Contract Act ...
On October 6, 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 45 (AB 45) into law. AB 45 permits the manufacture and sale of a wide range of products containing regulated amounts of industrial hemp. Below is a brief overview: What is industrial hemp? “Industrial hemp” is defined as cannabis plants that have no more than 0.3% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) ...
