A recent decision from Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal addressed the issue of whether a subcontractor that failed to obtain local licenses required by a county ordinance was allowed to litigate claims for work that required those licenses ...
In December, Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal reversed a judgment in favor of a landlord holding that a contractor’s lien could not attach to the real property being improvement by a tenant of the landlord. The reversal allowed the contractor’s lien enforcement claim to proceed. K.D. Construction of Florida, Inc. v. MDM Retail Ltd, arose from improvements made to a movie theater by a contractor ...
In January, Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal affirmed a $638,794.10 award for damages in favor of a utility contract, and reversed an award of $177,750 in liquidated damages in favor of the county that hired it. The damages awarded arose from an improper stoppage of work and delay in construction by the county. Sarasota County Florida v. Southern Underground Industries, Inc ...
On Feb. 24, 2022, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the redesign of its Global and Professional Direct Contracting (GPDC) accountable care organization (ACO) into one that focuses on health equity. The redesigned model, Realizing Equity, Access, and Community Health (REACH), was modified to reflect the Biden administration’s policy priorities as well as stakeholder feedback and participant experience ...
On February 28, 2022, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued new guidance on the state's masking requirements to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The key changes in the guidance show a post-Omicron variant and surge shift from mandatory masking, to a strong recommendation to mask in certain settings ...
Creating a family using surrogacy is a popular option for male same-sex couples. Surrogacy is when a woman carries and gives birth to a baby for a couple, or another person. Altruistic surrogacy is available in the UK and preliminary considerations are likely to include, which of the couple will be biologically linked to the child and what type of surrogacy will be used ...
Investors were awarded compensation under a bilateral investment treaty, but under EU law, payment of the award constitutes unlawful State aid. This Catch-22 situation is at the heart of a long-running case across jurisdictions. In the latest development, the European Commission has decided to refer the United Kingdom to the European Court of Justice in relation to a judgement of the UK’s Supreme Court to lift the stay of enforcement of an ICSID arbitration award against Romania ...
[!<CDATA[ As costly class action retirement plan litigation under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) proliferates, mandatory individual arbitration has become an increasingly appealing alternative for certain benefit plans. However, the benefits of arbitration can only be realized if it is enforceable ...
Holiday pay cases continue to make their way through the court system. One of the most significant of these, brought by Mr Smith against Pimlico Plumbers, has hit the press again, leaving employers with yet more uncertainty. Background Workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks' paid holiday per year under the Working Time Regulations 1998 (the “WTR”), made up of 4 weeks’ leave derived from the Working Time Directive (Euro-Leave) and an additional 1 ...
Dear valued clients, colleagues and friends,We are pleased to bring you the latest legal updates for February 2022.Tax & RevenueThe Income Tax (The Incentive for Manufacturers of Pharmaceutical Products Scheme) Rules 2022 have been gazetted on 17 February 2022 and have effect from year of assessment 2021 ...
Joint employers and independent contractors need to be aware of recent announcements of both the United States Department of Labor (DOL) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). These bodies have announced significant changes to current regulations with respect to their standards for joint employers and independent contractors ...
The new UAE Labour Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021) came into effect on 2 February 2022. The new Labour Law replaced the previous 1980 statute (Federal Law No. 8 of 1980, as amended). The new Labour Law is generally applicable to employment relationships in the private sector in the UAE (excluding the DIFC and ADGM free zones) ...
This article examines whether the UK competition authority's decision means a change in the analysis of mergers in the digital economy. On 30 November 2021 the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) concluded in its Report that its concerns can only be addressed by Facebook selling GIPHY in its entirety to an approved buyer ...
The Court of Appeal has considered the question of whether it is fair and appropriate for a Court of Protection Judge to visit the person who lacks mental capacity and about whom the Judge is being asked to make a best interest decision. Mr Justice Mostyn, sitting in the Family Court, has recently provided further guidance about determining whether a party to litigation has mental capacity to litigate ...
German fuel distributor Mabanaft and its related company Oiltanking Deutschland recently suffered a substantial cyber-attack causing significant disruption to their business operations. In response they declared force majeure on a number of their contracts ...
On February 18th, 2022, the Asset Management Association of China (“AMAC”) issued the Announcement on Issues related to Application for Fund Practitioner Qualification by Overseas Fund Professionals (关于境外基金专业人才申请基金从业资格有关事项的公告, the “Announcement”), allowing eligible overseas professionals to register with AMAC as PRC fund practitioners ...
The word on the street is that everybody wants an ERP system, but no one wants to use it. Or rather, no one will use it the way it has been set up as a standard solution. People in general do not like changes. Therefore, the ERP system must first be adapted so that the organisation can work in the same way as it did before. Only then will the organisation be willing to use it. Present ERP systems are better and more mature compared to the ERP systems only a few years ago ...
In our first quarterly case law update of the year, we take a look at some of the key cases published since October 2021 and consider the lessons that can be learned from them. Disability Discrimination We have seen over recent months an increased awareness and discussion around menopause, particularly regarding the impact that menopause can have in the workplace ...
Starting January 30, 2022, new federal contracts that are not procurement contracts must include a clause requiring federal contractors to pay at least $15 per hour to workers performing work on or in connection with the federal contract. That minimum wage rate will increase annually based on changes to the Consumer Price Index. The federal government predicts that this requirement may impact over half a million firms. Federal contractors with procurement contracts (i.e ...
On February 10, 2022, a bipartisan group of U.S. legislators passed the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, which amends the Federal Arbitration Act to add a new provision that makes pre-dispute agreements requiring arbitration of “sexual harassment” and “sexual assault” claims unenforceable at the claimant’s option ...
February 18, 2022 By Li-An Leonard As noted in an earlier Buchalter Client Alert, Governor Newsom and legislative leaders reached an agreement to bring back COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave in 2022. On November 9th, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill (SB) 114 creating California Labor Code § 248.6 and completing the comeback of COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Leave in 2022 or as referred to in this update, 2022 SPSL ...
