On November 18, 2021, President Biden issued an executive order reinstating a version of the Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers Under Service Contracts executive order that had previously been implemented by President Obama and then rescinded by President Trump. The new clause is reproduced below. President Biden’s new executive order applies to contracts and subcontracts that are covered by the Service Contract Act ...
We are very excited to be supporting the UN Global Compact Network UK’s ‘Transitioning to a Net Zero’ webinar series. On Tuesday 19 October 2021, the ‘Transitioning to Net Zero for Professional Services’ webinar took place. In this webinar our Chairperson, Peter Duff, discussed the challenges facing professional services firms in setting and reaching net zero targets ...
The long-awaited Labor Law has been published in the Federal Official Gazette and is scheduled to take effect on 2 February 2022. The new Law, Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, replaces the previous 1980 statute in its entirety. The new statute does not constitute a fundamentally different approach to labor relations in the UAE, but it does introduce important reforms. I will discuss a few of these in this note and save a lengthier discussion for a future inBrief ...
Suppose that your best employee, the up-and-comer you?ve been training for several years, resigns. It?s terrible news for you, especially amid a labour shortage. And, to top it off, their new employer is your main competitor ...
The dispute relates to MV «Cheshire» incident in 2017, where a cargo of 42,000 metric tons of fertiliser was subject to a major decomposition incident off Gran Canaria, during a voyage from Norway to Thailand. The fertiliser was completely damaged and the vessel was declared a total loss. The cargo owners held the ship owners jointly liable for the cargo damage. Bibby Transport Ltd and a number of H&M insurers held the fertiliser producer liable for the damaged vessel ...
On Friday, November 12, 2021, in BST Holdings, L.L.C., et. al. vs. Occupational Health and Safety Administration, et. al., Case: 21-60845, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals granted the plaintiffs’ motion to stay implementation of OSHA’s November 5, 2021 Emergency Temporary Standard (the “ETS”) requiring employees of covered employers to undergo COVID-19 vaccination or take weekly COVID-19 tests and wear a mask ...
Early last month, all companies, charities and public sector departments with 250 or more employees were required to submit their gender pay gap reports for the financial year 2020/2021. So what did the reports show? Progress is slow The initial analysis by the BBC showed little change since the last financial year. Whilst there were more businesses reporting in time for the deadline, this hasn’t affected the overall gender pay gap of 10.4%, which remains as it had been ...
With the 5 October 2021 deadline for reporting 2020 gender pay gaps now passed, the impact which the pandemic has had on progress to reduce gender pay gaps can clearly be seen. The effect of furlough and childcare on women over the past 18 months coupled with the financial strain many organisations have been under has resulted in, at best, no change in gender pay gaps and, at worst, an increasing gap between the average pay of men and women ...
Our Shoospeak HR podcast welcomes special guests Peter Morris (Partner in the Shoosmiths' family team) and Mahdiya Malik (HR and CSR Manager at Vaultex). Shoosmiths colleague Andy Graham chats to special guests Peter Morris (Partner in the Shoosmiths family team) and Mahdiya Malik (HR and CSR Manager at Vaultex) about Vaultex's recent introduction of a domestic violence policy ...
Key Points Starting in 2022, CalPERS contracting agencies will bear the risk of certain overpayments to retirees that result from compensation reporting errors. The employer, rather than the retiree, will have to repay the overpayment and pay a “penalty” based on the present value of future benefit payment adjustments ...
Key Points New tax reporting provisions on cryptocurrency, as well as criminal consequences for noncompliance, survived in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (H.R. 3684) signed into law. The legislation imposes potential felony charges for failures to report certain "receipt" of digital assets, as well as expands the definition of "broker" to target crypto exchanges. On November 5, 2021, President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law ...
Apple Inc. v. Qualcomm Inc., Appeal Nos. 2020-1683, -1763, -1764, 1827 (Fed. Cir. Nov. 10, 2021) Our Case of the Week reinforces a developing body of law concerning standing to appeal from an adverse PTAB decision in an IPR. This is the second such decision arising from a global settlement between Apple and Qualcomm this year. We wrote about the first case, in April this year, here ...
On Nov. 10, 2021, the General Counsel’s Office of the National Labor Relations Board issued a guidance memorandum [OM 22-03] dictating employers and unions will be required to engage in decision bargaining over discretionary aspects of vaccination policies required by the OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard mandating COVID vaccinations and testing. Under the OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS), employers must create Vaccination and Testing Policies by Dec. 6, 2021 ...
Between Brexit and the pandemic, the UK is experiencing its most severe labour shortage since the 1990s. Businesses can mitigate against these recruitment issues by obtaining a licence from the Home Office to sponsor foreign staff. A sponsor licence may not magically generate willing workers, but it will ensure the holder remains agile when an international recruitment opportunity arises ...
In the recent case of Shanghai Shipyard Co. Ltd. V. Reignwood International Investment (Group) Company Limited [2021] EWCA Civ 1147 the Court of Appeal (COA) unanimously overturned the first instance decision and found a parent company guarantee to be a guarantee “on demand”. Despite arbitration proceedings having commenced under the underlying contract, the COA found the guarantor liable to pay $170 million under the guarantee ...
For the unaided construction contractor, navigation of changing vaccine mandates can be daunting, and it is no wonder there continues to be confusion about these mandates’ effects. Members of the construction industry have been discussing these rules in terms of how they apply to contractors working on federal or state projects ...
Pursuant to the Department of Labor and Employment (“DOLE”) Department Order Nos. 216 and 217, Series of 2020 (collectively, “Department Orders No. 216 and 217”), Private Employment Agencies (“PEAs”) are required to submit a hard copy of the monthly recruitment and placement reports to the appropriate Regional Office of the DOLE within seven (7) days after each reference month ...
Circular Letter No. CL-2021-080, issued on 18 October 2021 by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (“BSP”), disseminates to all BSP-Supervised Financial Institutions (“BSFI”) the Anti-Money Laundering Council’s (“AMLC”) Guidelines on Digitization of Customer Records (“DIGICUR”) adopted via the AMLC Regulatory Issuance (“ARI”) A, B, and C, No. 2, Series of 2018 ...
New regulations are in force that require occupational pension schemes providing defined contribution (DC) benefits to demonstrate value for members or face consolidation. The New Regulations The Occupational Pension Schemes (Administration, Investment, Charges and Governance) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 (the new regulations) came into force on 1 October 2021 ...
As we begin to move beyond the pandemic, flexible work looks set to remain the norm. We consider how employers can successfully navigate long-term hybrid working models and ensure that they minimise any associated disadvantages. We recently commented in a previous post on the detrimental effect that a ‘day one’ right to flexible work could have - in particular, highlighting the potential impact on junior employees ...
In Lloyd v Google, the Supreme Court denied claims for mere 'loss of control' and ruled against mass class actions for data claims. Here, Philip Tansley and Matthew MacLachlan consider the court's reasoning and the broader implications for such claims. Case In its landmark judgment today, the Supreme Court unanimously held that a representative class action brought on behalf of approximately 4 ...
