The Coronavirus pandemic has caused a shift in the paradigm of modern-day workplaces. Companies across the globe have seen a rapid and widespread shift to remote work, making compliance with the GDPR harder than ever. The Federal Office of Information Security (BSI), in its recent report on the ‘State of IT Security in Germany 2020’, expressed its concern and indicated a ‘tense situation’ for data protection in the country ...
If a branded medicine and its generic version are put on the EEA market by economically linked undertakings, is a parallel importer then allowed to rebrand and repackage the imported generic version as the branded reference medicine? This has been a hotly debated issue in recent years and recently led the Brussels Court of Appeal (CoA) to refer three questions to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) (Cases C-253/20 and C-254/20) ...
While yesterday’s federal election results from West Virginia were not a surprise, the down ballot races, especially for the State Legislature, clearly demonstrated what was a strong red wave that engulfed incumbents, swept away open seats, and cemented what may be durable majorities in both chambers for years to come. As around the country, early voting enthusiasm also gripped West Virginia ...
The Setting Every Community Up For Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the “SECURE Act”), made sweeping changes to retirement plan rules ...
The Russian insurance market is facing fundamental changes that will reshape the industry, by creating new opportunities for foreign insurance companies to operate in Russia. Within the framework of its obligations as a WTO member state, Russia must allow access of branches of foreign insurers, from WTO countries, to the Russian insurance market, by August 2021 ...
On 30 September 2020, the Royal Government of Cambodia (“RGC”) issued a press release and rolled out ‘Round 6’ of measures aimed at mitigating the impacts of COVID-19 on businesses and workers in Cambodia. These represent a combination of new and existing measures (that have been extended) ...
SC and Bursa extend temporary margin financing flexibilitiesOn 28 September 2020, the Securities Commission Malaysia (“SC”) and Bursa Malaysia Berhad (“Bursa”) extended the temporary relief measures relating to margin financing to 31 December 2020. The relief measures, which took effect on 27 March 2020 via Participating Organisations’ Circular No. R/R 6 of 2020, were initially due to expire on 30 September 2020 ...
Balance has been tipping over from creditors to shareholders and the pandemic is only bringing this deepening fault line to the fore. Covid-19 slammed into the global consciousness this March and, as expected, immediately torpedoed the markets. But despite the worsening economic data hogging news headlines, exacerbated by intensifying US-China tensions, the markets have paradoxically strengthened since ...
Belgium is, for the second time, in lockdown. The new Ministerial Decree of 1 November 2020 stipulates that, as from today until 13 December 2020, all workers are obliged to telework. However, an exception applies when either the employee’s role or the continuity of business operations, activities and services does not allow for teleworking ...
On Oct. 26, 2020, the IRS announced in Notice 2020-79 cost of living adjustments (COLAS) to the qualified plan dollar limits for 2021. Below is a summary of the limits that are generally relevant for most retirement plans. Effective Jan. 1, 2021: The elective deferral limit for 401(k), 403(b), and eligible 457(b) plans is unchanged at $19,500. The catch-up contribution limit for those aged 50 or older remains stable at $6,500 ...
On October 20, 2020, San Francisco County was upgraded to the “minimal” tier within the California COVID-19 tracking system, meaning it has the fewest restrictions on reopening all businesses as promulgated by the State of California. In order to qualify for the “minimal” tier, a county must have an infection rate of less than one daily new positive COVID case per 100,000 residents and have a positive test rate of less than 2% for two consecutive weeks ...
The Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (the “Board”) recently held the government liable for design delays where the government prematurely required details in design submissions and failed to provide comments on design submissions within the 14-day period allotted for government comments in the contract. In Appeal of RBC Construction Corp., the contract contemplated the use of fast track design methods ...
In Appeal of Watts Constructors, LLC, the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (the “Board”) held that a contractor was not excused from following contract plans and specifications despite the observation by government quality assurance inspectors of non-compliant electrical work during installation ...
When crafting a liquidation or “pass-through” agreement for a subcontractor claim against the government, the key provision from the prime contractor’s perspective is a release from liability for the subcontractor’s claim with the exception of amounts recovered from the government related to that claim. If the release language is too broad, however, the agreement may provide the government a legal defense to the pass-through claim known as the Severin doctrine ...
On Sept. 3, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued its final rule on the implementation of the Fair Housing Act’s disparate impact standard. The Fair Housing Act (FHA) prohibits discrimination in many housing-related activities on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, and national origin ...
On page 8 of the September–October issue, we discussed the COVID-19 forbearance landscape and related compliance challenges for mortgage servicers. In this article, we unpack the post-forbearance world, focusing on the transition out of forbearance and into other forms of loss mitigation assistance, including, but not limited to, payment deferrals, repayment plans, loan modifications, etc ...
Due to the dramatic increase in Covid-19 infection numbers, there were calls – once again – to postpone the social elections that are scheduled for the period between 16 and 29 November 2020. However, on 27 October 2020, the social partners reached an agreement not to do so, but to extend the opportunities for voting electronically or by post so that the elections can take place in Covid-proof circumstances ...
On October 29, the OCC, the Federal Reserve, the FDIC, the NCUA and the CFPB (collectively, the “agencies”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPR”) to clarify and make into a rule the prior Interagency Statement Clarifying the Role of Supervisory Guidance issued on September 11, 2018 (“2018 Statement”). Comments on the NPR are due within 60 days of the date the NPR is published in the Federal Register ...
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) released an interim final rule on October 29, 2020, delaying the implementation of the information blocking rule under the 21st Century Cures Act (Information Blocking Rule) ...
On 25 September 2020 Parliament approved new regulations for Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT).(1) The goal of this new legal framework is to further establish and increase Switzerland's reputation as a leading, innovative and sustainable location for fintech and DLT companies. DLT framework DLT allows shared data management and, in particular, shared accounting among participants that do not know or do not trust each other's identity ...
As Election Day quickly approaches in the highly anticipated presidential and congressional elections, employers are faced with a slew of questions about their employees’ rights on November 3 and beyond. Election Day is not a national holiday; therefore, federal law doesnotmandate employers provide employees with time off to vote ...
This is an overview of Supreme Court Administrative Order No. 251-2020 (Guidelines on the Implementation in the Philippines of the Hague Service Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial Documents in Civil and Commercial Matters)1 (the Hague Service Convention Guidelines). The guidelines became effective on October 1, 2020.2 A ...
The first anniversary of the entry into force of the new Canadian Patent Rules, which significantly changed certain practices surrounding the filing and prosecution of patent applications in Canada, is an opportunity to look back at the major changes that have had a significant impact on Canadian patent practice. Indeed, the past year has allowed us to observe the changes, which in certain aspects seem to be confusing for patent applicants, and to observe their effect in practical terms ...
