Teleworking is a work tool that opens a world of possibilities for the reinsertion of sectors of the population that have not had free access to work opportunities. It is a feasible option to provide job opportunities to people for whom moving outside their homes is a limitation; limitations that could occur not only to people with family responsibilities – child and elderly care – or students, but also to people with disabilities ...
Although in Guatemala there is no legal frame for “Telework”, it could be said that it is a way in which services are provided in a location other than the employer's office or headquarters. What makes this modality so attractive? What is the key to make it work? The key is in TECHNOLOGY, in the innovative and efficient use of tools that allow us to be connected without being anchored to a specific place ...
Last month, we discussed a decision out of the Southern District of New York ("SDNY") that invalidated parts of the DOL’s temporary rule that interpreted provisions of the FFCRA, the federal law that created both paid sick leave for certain COVID-related absences and a new category of paid FMLA leave for workers with COVID-related child care issues. Our prior summaries of the law can be found here ...
The world is gradually embracing remote working as an alternative way of work – hosting virtual meetings, supporting customers through online communications, and accessing data remotely from outside the office. In the past, working from home (WFH) had not been popular in Hong Kong even though evolving technologies and improved Internet speed made it possible for digital migration ...
COVID-19 has sent many employers into a workforce management tailspin. Laws, regulations, and recommendations change daily, and as the pandemic continues to affect the workplace, the risk of legal complacency increases. The list below identifies the top 10 mistakes for employers to avoid during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mistake 1: Failing To Prepare and Update a COVID-19 Response Plan ...
On August 3, 2020, the California Supreme Court issued its highly anticipated decision in Ixchel Pharma, LLC v. Biogen, Inc., clarifying the bounds of legitimate competition under California tort and antitrust law. The Court’s ruling generally came down in favor of encouraging competition, reducing claims for tortious interference with contract, and decreasing the risk of litigation arising from normal competitive activity ...
One of the most common questions we receive as intellectual property lawyers is “How can I prevent others from using technology that I have developed and that has significant value to my business?” That question can often be answered by advising clients to file a patent application. However, there exists another type of intellectual property protection, known as a “trade secret,” that may be more suitable for certain situations and technologies ...
On September 4th, 2020, law No.21,263 (hereinafter, the “Law”) was published in the Official Gazette, which temporarily amends the requirements and increases the benefits’ amounts of the unemployment insurance established in law No.19,728 (hereinafter, “Unemployment Insurance Act”) on the occasion of the pandemic caused by COVID-19, and improves the benefits regulated in law No.21,227 (hereinafter, “Employment Protection Act” or “LPE”[1]) ...
Key Points California Legislature passes SB 288, which adds statutory CEQA exemptions for bicycle and mass transit projects. Extends CEQA Exemption for bicycle-related highway projects from Jan. 1, 2021 to Jan. 1, 2030. Relates only to projects for which the lead agency and the entity carrying out the project are public agencies. The California Legislature passed SB 288 on Aug. 31, 2020 ...
Sadly, bullying and harassment in the workplace is nothing new. Indeed, a 2020 study found that 15% of people surveyed had been a victim of workplace bullying. Conversely, cyberbullying in the workplace is a relatively new phenomenon but it’s on the rise. What exactly is cyberbullying? Simply put, cyberbullying is any bullying, harassment or victimisation that involves a computer, phone or tablet ...
Law No.21,260 (the “Law”) which modifies the Labor Code to permit the remote work or teleworking to pregnant women in case of state of catastrophe, for a public calamity, due to an epidemic or pandemic arising from a contagious illness (the “State of Catastrophe”), and also establishes other exceptional rules, has been published in the Official Gazette on September 4th, 2020 ...
Whistleblower complaints to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have continued to rise during the COVID-19 pandemic. Between February 18, 2020, and May 31, 2020, a total of 4,101 whistleblower complaints were filed,[1] which represented a 30% increase in complaints over the same period last year ...
The International Trade Commission (ITC) sits in a nondescript office building about a block farther south of the National Mall than tourists usually care to venture. Patent owners come from around the country to this tree-lined street in Washington, D.C., to seek a powerful remedy to protect their patented products: an exclusion order. An exclusion order directs U.S. Customs and Border Protection to block infringing imports at the United States border ...
As COVID-19 continues to alter our daily lives, many of us have found comfort in barn time spent with our four-legged friends. With so many spring and summer events cancelled, we are eager to get back in the saddle and into the show ring. However, the legal implications facing horse show boards and competition venues are complex and ever-evolving ...
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has limited the use of “special remedies” by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) in a 3-0 decision issued on Sept. 4, 2020.[1] On April 4, 2019, the NLRB ordered the employer to remedy unfair labor practices committed during a union organizational drive.[2] As part of that decision, the Board refused to enforce a Gissel bargaining order that would have compelled the employer to recognize and bargain with the union ...
On 12 August 2020, the Ministry of Commerce released via Circular the State Council approved Master Plan for the Comprehensive Deepening of the Pilot Programme for the Innovative Development of the Trade in Services together with a schedule of specific measures (2020 Plan). The 2020 Plan includes 8 pilot tasks and 122 specific measures to open, facilitate and support the innovative development of the Trade in Services ...
Should employees be at liberty to remove trade secrets they created when they leave their employers? Think carefully, physical liberty might just be at stake. In his junior year at UC Berkeley, he built a prize-winning robot out of Legos to sort Monopoly money. Later, he entered the first ever two-wheeler in the DARPA Grand Challenge, an American autonomous vehicle competition funded by the US Department of Defense ...
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 established the popular Opportunity Zone (OZ) program to encourage investment in economically distressed communities while allowing taxpayers to defer and potentially exclude some of their capital gains from federal income taxes. The proceeds of the sale must be timely reinvested in qualifying businesses or property located in census tracts that have been designated as OZs within the approved state ...
It is no secret that the world has rapidly changed over the last several months. Many companies are reevaluating their business models to adjust to the challenges caused by the world-wide pandemic and to hopefully identify new business opportunities that may arise as a result of a new business environment ...
On August 8, 2020, the President of the United States issued a Presidential Memorandum directing the Secretary of the Treasury to use his authority pursuant to section 7508A of the Internal Revenue Code to defer the withholding, deposit, and payment of certain payroll tax obligations for the remainder of 2020. In Notice 2020-65, the IRS provides guidance implementing the payroll tax deferral. What wages are eligible? Eligibility is subject to income limits ...
Following President Trump’s Aug. 8 presidential memorandum directing the Treasury Secretary to defer the withholding and payment of certain employee payroll taxes, the Internal Revenue Service released Notice 2020-65 on Aug. 28 The two-page notice gives necessary but sparse guidance on implementing the Presidential Memorandum ...
Key Points On Aug. 31, 2020, the California Assembly passed Assembly Bill 1281 (AB 1281). AB 1281, if signed, will guarantee that certain California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) exemptions will be extended beyond their initial deadline, December 2020. Importantly, AB 1281 will give covered businesses at least another year before they need to comply with CCPA’s provisions when collecting and using employee data or business-to-business related personal information ...
At the beginning of astartup’slife,the use of financial resources in the most efficient way is of vital importance.It is for this reasonthatthe incentives that a country can provide to an entrepreneurand hisnewlyformed company can potentially determine how and how much that company willgrow ...
All Virginia employers subject to the jurisdiction of the Virginia Occupational Safety and Health ("VOSH") Program (i.e., practically all employers in Virginia) must comply with new workplace safety standards related to COVID-19. Known as the Emergency Temporary Standard ("Standard"), the new regulation requires employers to: 1 ...
The Department of Labor has updated its list of FAQs about the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) to address when employees would be eligible for Emergency FMLA leave when the employee’s child’s school is operating on a remote or hybrid learning schedule ...
