Private companies doing business with the federal government won a major COVID-19-related victory recently when the Sixth Circuit held in Ciraci v. J.M. Smucker’s Co.[1] that government contractors are not subject to constitutional limitations merely because they follow federal requirements for contracting. The Sixth Circuit—covering Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee—rejected a claim by former employees of the J.M ...
Introduction An EU Regulation on the making available on the Union market as well as export from the Union of certain commodities and products associated with deforestation and forest degradation (“Deforestation Regulation”) was agreed upon by the EU legislators in December 2022. The European Parliament has now green-lighted the Provisional Agreement at this month’s plenary session ...
The rules of state aid work for the implementation of public-private partnership projects and require the state, as a partner, to comply with the conditions of the transfer of budgetary resources to private partners, in order to avoid a ban on the conclusion of state contracts due to the incompatibility of state aid with economic competition. The Ministry of Economy proposed a plan to restore Ukraine with a price tag of $750 billion of budget funds ...
On 21 November 2022, the Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation (“MISTI”) issued Prakas 252 on the Implementation of General Principles of Food Hygiene in Factories, Enterprises and Handicrafts (“Prakas 252”) to establish standard requirements for food factories, enterprises and handicrafts in Cambodia ...
With the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) set to end on May 11, 2023, federal agencies have published FAQs explaining how the end of the PHE will affect previously extended deadlines relating to COBRA, HIPAA special enrollment, and claims and appeals under group health plans. This article provides (i) a recap of the deadlines, (ii) rules of thumb for determining the deadlines, and (iii) tables more specifically addressing some of the most common deadlines that arise ...
The month of March 2023 has brought with it a new legislative Act to amend the Financial Markets Act (Chapter 345 of the Laws of Malta) and to provide for other matters ancillary or consequential thereto in the form of Act No. IX of 2023. This Act was passed by the House of Representatives on the 8th of March and assented to by the President on the 14th of March ...
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 ...
What is the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill? Many UK consumer laws originate from European law. Following the UK’s departure from the EU, the government wanted to provide legal continuity and certainty and to allow consumers to retain the benefit of such EU derived laws. This was achieved through Retained EU law, a form of domestic law, that was created to preserve the law of the UK following Brexit ...
In early March, Georgia's Access to Medical Cannabis Commission finally adopted rules governing the state's low-THC oil industry. As businesses navigate this new landscape, legal questions will inevitably pop up. And lawyers, being trained to answer them, will want to address their clients' questions. But a ruling from the Georgia Supreme Court means that Georgia lawyers generally cannot ethically advise participants in this new program ...
Contents Please click on the links below to jump to the relevant section: Overview FAQ 1: Are SPV trustees in scope? FAQ 2: What about SPVs that aren’t trustees? Do you need to have a “customer” or “third party” to be in scope? FAQ 3: I do have “customers” or “third parties” ...
We are pleased to issue our fourth edition of the Regulatory Compliance Quarterly Updates. These updates are intended to keep Maltese regulated entities informed of regulatory changes and developments taking place in the local financial services space. In this issue, we focus on the sector specific and cross-sectoral regulatory updates relating to Investment Services and Asset Management, Company Service Providers, Insurance Undertakings, and Insurance Intermediaries ...
“I’ve been involved in ESG and sustainability for over 20 years and in the last few years the focus has increased significantly,” says Rich Hall, Head of Sustainability at leading accountancy and professional services firm RSM, on the shift in perception of ESG-related risk within corporate organisations. “Even before the pandemic, we were beginning to see more commentary on ESG issues, mainly centred around the environmental side ...
Shoosmiths has launched ESG 360, a free online compliance audit tool to enable organisations to understand their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance. ESG 360 users receive a personalised report providing red, amber or green ratings in relation to various elements of ESG compliance performance, alongside commentary and suggestions for improvement. Built around an online questionnaire, ESG 360 allows users to assess their general ESG performance or focus on specific aspects ...
The Chilean Institute of Industrial Property (INAPI) has recently announced the possibility to apply to a program for fast-tracking patent’s and utility model’s applications, provided that said applications relate to technical solutions capable of impacting the environment positively ...
On March 28, the Minister of Labour introduced Bill 19, an Act respecting the regulation of work by children (the ?Bill?), which establishes in particular a minimum working age of 14 and a maximum number of hours of work for children subject to compulsory school attendance. This Bill is presented in the wake of massive and noticeable entry of young workers into the market in the context of shortage of unskilled workers exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic ...
On March 31, 2023, Governor Andy Beshear signed Senate Bill 47 making medical marijuana use and sale legal in Kentucky, effective January 1, 2025. [i] Kentucky now joins at least 37 other states that have legalized medical marijuana. The newest piece of legislation comes on the heels of Governor Beshear signing two executive orders related to cannabis in November of 2022 ...
On the 2nd of February 2023, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (hereinafter referred to as “EIOPA”) published a Supervisory Statement on the use of governance arrangements in third countries to perform functions or activities (hereinafter referred to as the “Statement”) ...
Simonsen Vogt Wiig is ranked a top tier firm in the following categories: Dispute resolution EU and competition Fishing and aquaculture Insolvency and corporate recovery Maritime law Offshore construction and shipbuilding Energy: Oil and gas TMT We have more than 50 lawyers acknowledged in this year’s guide, and want to highlight the following new rankings: Espen Tøndel: Hall of Fame – TMT Thomas Talén: Leading Individuals – Employment Espen Ba
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 ...
Americans have increasingly accepted meat and dairy alternatives as staples in their daily diets. For example, recent market research shows that two out of every five U.S. consumers plan to purchase plant-based meat products in 2023. The prevalence of these forms of alternative protein has set the stage for a semantic — and potentially paradigm-shifting — dispute over the very meaning of the terms "meat," "milk" and "dairy ...
At a time when some are demanding that artificial intelligence (AI) research and advanced systems development be temporarily suspended and others want to close Pandora?s box, it is appropriate to ask what effect chat technology (ChatGPT, Bard and others) will have on businesses and workplaces. Some companies support its use, others prohibit it, but many have yet to take a stand. We believe that all companies should adopt a clear position and guide their employees in the use of such technology ...
