The United States Supreme Court has held an individual’s private right of action to sue a public nursing home for violations of federally protected rights in Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County v. Talevski. The Court held that a private individual could sue for rights protected by the Federal Nursing Home Reform Act (“NHRA”), which sets the federal minimum quality standards for nursing homes to ensure that seniors receive quality care ...
Two months ago, in mid-April, the European Parliament approved the first legislation in the European Union on tracking payments in cryptocurrencies, supervision in this area and combating money laundering. The MEPs also adopted common rules for the supervision and protection of consumer rights (MiCA, or Markets in Crypto assets) with safeguards against market manipulation and financial crimes ...
SyCipLaw's Banking, Finance & Securities Department's Banking Bulletin for May 2023 features the latest issuances from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and theBangko Sentral ng Pilipinas(BSP or Central Bank of the Philippines), which includes the adoption of the ASEAN Sustainable and Responsible (SRF) standards, and the clarifications made by BSP on what is considered excluded from the Real Estate Loan Limit and Stress Test ...
Employers must be cautious in disciplining employees for offensive or abusive conduct directed at management in the workplace in light of standards recently reestablished by the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”). On May 1, 2023, via its supplemental decision in Lion Elastomers LLC, 372 NLRB No ...
As we have often discussed, the National Labor Relations Board under the Biden administration has prioritized expanding employees’ rights under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (the “Act”). Most recently, in GC Memo 23-08, the General Counsel, Jennifer Abruzzo, argued that the “proffer, maintenance, and enforcement” of non-compete agreements violate the Act because they interfere with employees’ rights under Section 7 ...
Employee performance is always rated in one manner or another. Best practice is to rate this performance through known, objective processes. In the context of the employment relationship, performance evaluations are an essential tool for providing workers with insight into how managers are making decisions about promotions, equity, and pay. In addition, performance evaluations will most certainly play a critical role if the employment relationship ends and litigation occurs ...
As a part of Federal agencies’ issuance of their semi-annual Spring 2023 Regulatory Agenda, the CFPB has published its Spring 2023 Agency Rule List (“2023 List”). In that List, the CFPB has set forth the status of its present rulemaking activities and its plans for such activities in the next 6 months ...
As sustainable development and social responsibility are increasingly stressed in the business community, major institutional investors have come to focus on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing, an approach that directs socially responsible investment decisions ...
Law firms have a lot more male than female partners, though the situation is changing Business Plus June 17, 2023 Gender pay gap reporting has highlighted that across the largest law firms there is a substantial pay gap between men and women when the earnings of equity partners are included. In general terms, commercial law firms have more female than male solicitors in their ranks, but there are much more men than women at the top table ...
From recovering after a global pandemic to the war in Ukraine, the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank to soaring inflation, and supply-chain delays to employee shortages, businesses across all sectors are coming up against a number of operational and liquidity challenges in current market conditions. Despite these challenges, we have seen confidence and resilience across all sectors with investment from seed to IPO ...
The growing popularity of plant-based dairy and meat products has engendered a series of legal disputes about how these products may be labeled and advertised. Plaintiffs have filed a number of largely unsuccessful consumer class actions alleging that packages promising soy milk and veggie burgers tricked them into thinking that they were buying the animal versions ...
We all know the feeling of making an online purchase and later regretting it - did I really need another kitchen gadget that I'll probably only use once? Luckily, by way of the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, which form part of retained EU law, consumers in the UK have the right to a "cooling off period" for distance contracts in certain circumstances ...
Choosing the name of a sports team can be a perilous exercise. In addition to representing certain values, names are supposed to fire up the fan base and motivate the athletes themselves. It must sometimes meet with the approval of major sponsors. But when sports teams are companies seeking to profit commercially from the use of their brand, legal considerations also come into play. Team names are typically linked to the organization of sports events for which tickets are sold ...
On June 1, 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau along with Federal Reserve, OCC, FDIC, NCUA and FHFA (collectively, the “Agencies”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking comment on rules to implement quality control standards for automated valuation models (AVMs) used by residential mortgage originators and secondary market issuers in determining the collateral worth of a mortgage loan that is secured by a consumer’s principal dwelling ...
The purpose of disclosing conflicts of interest in the investment services industry is to ensure maximum transparency for the investor. A common conflict of interest is the situation when the fund’s investment manager owns voting shares in the fund and appoints a director who is already heavily involved in the investment manager’s structure. Consequently, the appointed director might be conflicted if one is required to take a decision against the investment manager ...
When initially approaching potential lenders it’s important to be clear about the level of flexibility you’ll need in your finance documents in order to accommodate future plans and aspirations. Amending documents and renegotiating terms is a huge drain on resources (and in current climes, costly) and your aim should be to ensure financing terms will remain fit for purpose throughout their term ...
In a recent survey conducted by Fertility Network UK, 40% of patients undergoing fertility treatment admitted to experiencing suicidal feelings, with the majority feeling that they would benefit from counselling. Sadly, this support is not readily available and reportedly only half of those in need have access. Often, the only option is to go private, but with sessions estimated to be between £10-£70 per session, that is not always feasible for everyone ...
The Procurement Bill has now had its third and final reading and has passed the Report Stage in the House of Commons. The House of Commons’ latest amendments that have been added to the Bill include the following: If a supplier or a connected person poses a threat to the national security of the UK, this would be a mandatory exclusion ground. This is a change from previous versions of the Bill which classed this exclusion ground as discretionary ...
Good governance counts because without it a charity’s impact can be much diminished, but it is also important not to be overwhelmed by all the detail and to focus on what matters. There is a lot of guidance on governance for charities Someone once said, “With proper governance, life will improve for all ...
The UK Covid-19 Inquiry has sought to consider as many voices as possible in its assessment of the vast human impact the pandemic has had on both individuals and organisations. Every Story Matters is the Inquiry’s way of doing so, enabling those in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to share their experiences of the pandemic with the Inquiry, via an online form. To date, around 6,000 people have shared their stories ...
We look at the legal framework within which the dispute between the UK Covid-19 Inquiry and the Cabinet Office over the former Prime Minister’s WhatsApp messages and diaries has developed, and possible consequences for the Inquiry depending on the outcome. What has the Cabinet Office been asked to provide? On 21 April 2023, Baroness Heather Hallett, Chair of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry (‘the Inquiry’) issued a Section 21 Notice to the Cabinet Office (‘the Notice’) ...
On 17 May 2023, the Belgian Medicines Agency (FAMHP) announced that marketing authorisation holders (MAHs) have three years to comply with the prohibition of “negative formulations” on the packaging of medicinal products for human use. Such negative formulations include “gluten-free”, “lactose-free”, “ethanol-free” or “no colourings” ...
We are pleased to let you know that on 07 June 2023 the Russian parliament approved the draft law allowing the shareholders of small and medium-size enterprises to liquidate their business within a simplified procedure ...
