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 ...
For most of the last three decades, Florida, Georgia, and Alabama have waged a multifront water war, filing cases in federal courts across the United States. This war, and these cases, turn on apportionment of two river basins: the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) River Basin and the Alabama-Coosa- Tallapoosa (ACT) River Basin. At the heart of this legal tug of war lie competing uses—and visions—for the basins ...
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 ...
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) ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Most employers are familiar with the role of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in enforcing standards to ensure that the working men and women in the United States have a safe and healthy workplace. The current COVID-19 pandemic has presented new challenges to OSHA for reviewing how employers are protecting their employees ...
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 ...
Background and about Atmanirbhar Bharat The idea of Atmanirbhar Bharat,or self-reliance, was at the heart of the Hon’ble Prime Ministerof India, Shri Narendra Modi’s address to the nation on 12May 2020 when he announced an economic package towards building aAtmanirbhar Bharat, or a self-reliant, resilient India ...
Key Points The FDA will exercise enforcement discretion when Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels (a) exclude allulose from Total Sugars and Added Sugars declarations, and (b) use as low as 0.4 kcal/g for allulose calorie count; but allulose must be included as a Total Carbohydrate. Allulose is a basic form of carbohydrate that is naturally occurring in a variety of sweet foods, such as raisins, maple syrup, and brown sugar ...
One of the key refrains of national politics recently has been that we need to address, repair, and replace aging infrastructure. Of course, this leads to the core problem of funding as the amount of infrastructure construction and maintenance currently needed in the U.S. is staggering. The federal government recently put off dealing with this growing problem by extending funding for federal highway and public transportation programs for one year ...
A. Introduction and sequence The final vote on Draft Law 41/XIV was held on 16 October and the new law establishes special public procurement measures and amends both the Public Procurement Code and the Code of Procedure in AdministrativeCourts. Given the number, releva nce a nd depth of the amendments introduced by the approval of the draft law, we are now assessing the new special public procurement measures and the amendments to the codes mentioned above will be addressed later on ...
On 24 August 2020, the UAE issued Cabinet Resolution 58 of 2020 on Regulating the Procedures of the Real Beneficiary (the Resolution). The Resolution, amongst other things, aims to establish a legal framework for identifying and recording details of real beneficiaries of entities licensed to conduct business in the UAE. The Resolution is an additional step towards the UAE’s efforts in combating money laundering, the financing of terrorism and illegal organisations ...
AELEX is the exclusive contributor to the Nigerian Chapter of The Legal 500 (Legalease): Franchise and Licensing Country Comparative Guides. The country specific Guide provides a pragmatic overview of how businesses can set up franchises and also license their technology and intellectual property rights in Nigeria. The Guide was authored by our Davidson Oturu,Tiwalola Osazuwa and Kofoworola Oyegunle. Please click here to read the Guide ...
As a result of the unprecedented circumstances we are currently facing, a number of measures were adopted to ease the challenges that various businesses are facing. In this regard, the European Commission adopted the State aid Temporary Framework (the "Framework") on 19th March, 2020, which has subsequently been amended a number of times to reflect the ever-changing nature of how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting the economy ...
