After the recent change in the practice of the authorities with respect to protection offered to pregnant definite term employees from having their employment terminated, which gained much media attention and resulted in significant public reaction, the Serbian Parliament has adopted the Law on Amendments of the Labour Law at the beginning of April 2013 ...
This week, the Ralph Lauren Corporation became the first company to obtain a non-prosecution agreement from the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) investigation. Ralph Lauren also obtained a non-prosecution agreement from the Department of Justice in connection with its investigation of the same FCPA violations ...
The First Circuit recently reinstated part of a False Claims Act complaint against a drug-testing laboratory, and in so doing, may have limited the reach of the FCA’s public disclosure bar. In U.S. ex rel. Cunningham v. Millennium Labs. of Cal., Inc., 2013 WL 1490435 (1st Cir. April 12, 2013), the First Circuit held that the district court erred in dismissing the entire FCA complaint merely because the action was based in part on prior public disclosures ...
It is not surprising that there has been so much discussion and debate surrounding the saga of Eric and Lola and the debate surrounding the saga of Eric and Loa in the past few years. Indeed, this litigation raises issues that directly affect a large number of Quebec couples who live in De facto Unions ...
The computer hacking trial of David Nosal is under way in federal district court in California. The trial is being followed with interest in the business community because it is the latest development in a case that highlights an important split in the interpretation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”) that has far-reaching ramifications with respect to liability–and protection for companies’ proprietary information ...
Here are select February 2013 rulings of the Supreme Court of the Philippines on remedial law:Civil ProcedureActions; cause of action; elements; failure to state a cause of action is ground for dismissal ...
Law and institutions-1. Treaties Is your country a signatory to any treatises that refer to mediation? Is your domestic mediation law based on a treaty? The Philippines is currently not a party to any treaties that refer to mediation.2 ...
You are general counsel of a publicly-traded medical device company. Your company’s Board has identified a publicly-held X-ray and CT scan component manufacturer that it would like to acquire. The target is a Delaware corporation based in California, with additional manufacturing facilities in Utah and Kentucky; within the past three years, it has sold two mothballed manufacturing facilities ...
On March 26, 2013, in the case of Teed v. Thomas & Betts Power Solutions, L.L.C.,1 the Seventh Circuit, in an opinion written by Judge Posner, joined at least one other circuit court and a multitude of district courts across the country in extending the federal common law standard for evaluating successor liability to suits brought under the Federal Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) ...
Last week the Delaware Supreme Court held in Pyott v. Louisiana Municipal Police Employees’ Retirement System, ___ A.3d ___, 2013 WL 1364695 (Del. 2013), that a Delaware derivative complaint should have been dismissed after a California federal court entered a judgment dismissing essentially the same complaint brought by different stockholders for failure to plead demand futility ...
On 3 March 2013, the Swiss electorate approved the Minder Initiative, which will fundamentally change the legal framework on executive compensation and other corporate governance matters for Swiss public companies. The implementation of the Minder Initiative will be the task of the Federal Council and the Swiss Parliament ...
Vol. XI, Issue 1 of SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan's Employment & Immigration Update focuses primarily on the salient provisions of Philippine Republic Act No. 10361, also known as the Domestic Workers Act or Batas Kasambahay ...
Haynes and Boone, LLP’s Immigration Practice Group would like to inform employers of two recent immigration changes: (1) a revised Form I-9 for Employment Eligibility Verification by employers; and (2) a new Form I-94 Arrival/Departure Record procedure for foreign nationals upon entry to the United States. Revised I-9 Form for Employee VerificationOn March 8, 2013, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) issued a new Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 ...
Since the announcement of the investigation by the SEC of the CEO of Netflix, Inc. for a July 2012 Facebook post celebrating a company milestone, there has been considerable uncertainty as to whether companies can use social media outlets, like Facebook and Twitter, to communicate with investors without violating Regulation Fair Disclosure (“Regulation FD”) ...
On March 26, 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the U.S. Patent Office’s rejection of the claim of a design patent continuation application, bringing some degree of clarity to the practice of claiming a portion of a previously-claimed design while seeking priority to the filing date of the previously-claimed design. In re Owens, No. 2012-1261 (Fed. Cir. March 26, 2013). In the case, Timothy S. Owens et al ...
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court held in a 5-4 opinion in Comcast Corp. v. Behrend, 569 U.S. ___ (2013), that a party seeking to maintain a class action must satisfy Rule 23’s requirements through evidentiary proof, even where such analysis may overlap with the merits of the underlying claim ...
Here are select January 2013 rulings of the Supreme Court of the Philippines on legal and judicial ethics:Attorney; forum shopping as contempt of court. A disbarment complaint against Atty. Gonzales was filed for violating the Code of Professional Responsibility for the forum shopping he allegedly committed. The court held that the respondent was guilty of forum shopping. Lawyers should be reminded that their primary duty is to assist the courts in the administration of justice ...
Here are select February 2013 rulings of the Supreme Court of the Philippines on commercial law:Corporation; liability of officers and directors. Basic is the rule in corporation law that a corporation is a juridical entity which is vested with a legal personality separate and distinct from those acting for and in its behalf and, in general, from the people comprising it ...
Last February 15, 2013, the President signed into law Republic Act No. 10365 or the “Act Further Strengthening the Anti-Money Laundering Law.” True to its name, the third amending law to the Anti-Money Laundering Act (“AMLA”) gave it more teeth and strengthened the government’s ability to prevent and prosecute money laundering. The following discusses the new amendments to the AMLA ...
It is generally understood that an employer has the authority to manage and control its employees to ensure its business runs smoothly. In exercising such authority, an employer can adopt and implement policies that govern how employees perform their work. In certain circumstances, an employer can even adopt a policy to control the physical appearance of its employees. However, this power is limited both by legislation and the employment contract ...
The Seventh Circuit recently reversed a $2.7 million damages award against a mortgage company accused of lying in applications for federal loan guarantees. See United States v. Anchor Mortg. Corp., 2013 WL 1150213 (7th Cir. Mar. 21, 2013) ...
SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan's new website went live on 1 March 2013. As a result, previously sent links to downloadable publications are no longer accessible. Below are a few updated links: Client Alert: SEC requires tax identification number for foreign investorsLegal Bulletin: Technology, Media & Telecoms (Jan ...