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Workers Under Service Contracts executive order that had previously been implemented by President Obama and then rescinded by President Trump.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 ...
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (“TAT”) announced via the Royal Thai Government Gazette on 30 October 2021 that as of 1 November 2021, earlier COVID-19-related restrictions would be lifted in the case of four designated ‘Blue Zone’ provinces: Bangkok, Krabi, Phang-Nga, and Phuket ...
On October 6, 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 45 (AB 45) into law. AB 45 permits the manufacture and sale of a wide range of products containing regulated amounts of industrial hemp. Below is a brief overview: What is industrial hemp? “Industrial hemp” is defined as cannabis plants that have no more than 0.3% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) ...
The Norwegian government, as owners of the frigate, has held the owners of the tanker liable for the collision and presented a claim of some NOK 13 billion for the loss of the frigate and an additional NOK 770 million for costs related to removing the wreck. Liability is disputed and is due to be adjudged next year. Simonsen Vogt Wiig acts for the owners of the Sola TS ...
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 ...
Key Points The California Department of Justice (DOJ) is preparing for increased enforcement of state housing laws, primarily focusing on local governments. The Housing Strike Force announcement is part of an ongoing trend of the state increasing enforcement of state housing laws ...
On Oct. 19, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a proposed rule that would establish a new category of over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids. The rule came in response to President Joe Biden’s July 9 executive order, which among other things, calls for wide availability of low-cost hearing aids in order to promote economic competition ...
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 ...
The Ministry of Interior issued a new Prakas No. 2644 PK dated 19 October 2021 on the Establishment and Management of Mandatory and Voluntary Taskforces for Fire Prevention and Firefighting (“Prakas 2644”) ...
On November 12, 2021, the Commission for the Financial Market ("CMF") published General Rule 461 which modifies the structure and content of the annual report of issuers of securities registered at the CMF Securities Registry on Environmental, Social and Governance or ESG matters (the "NCG") ...
Defined contribution (DC) pension schemes will soon be required to disclose more information than ever before in a bid to assess and improve value for their members. On 16 September 2021, The Pensions Regulator (TPR) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a joint discussion paper on developing a common regulatory framework for measuring value for money (VFM) for DC members. Background VFM has become a key element of DC governance in recent years ...
On September 30, 2021, Governor Gavin Newsome approved and signed AB 26, AB 48, AB 89, AB 481, AB 490, and AB 958, which amend existing laws, add entire new chapters, and expand laws impacting law enforcement agencies, their operations, and the review of conduct of peace officers ...
Update: On September 16, 2021, the Final Rule on Borrower Appeals of Final SBA Loan Review Decisions was posted and became effective on September 14, 2021 (the “Final Rule”). The Final Rule applies to all appealable final SBA loan review decisions under the PPP and applies to all appeals filed after the effective date and to those appeals filed before the effective date for which a notice and order has not been made ...
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 ...
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 ...
