The European Commission consistently emphasises the citizens’ rights and status in its hard Brexit preparations and contingency works. It appealed to EU Member Stats to take a generous approach towards the rights of UK citizens in the EU, given that the UK reciprocates such an approach ...
On May 4, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a Temporary Final Rule (TFR) that increases the automatic extension period for certain Employment Authorization Document (EAD) categories up to 540 days, effective immediately and valid through Oct. 15, 2025. Historically, certain EAD categories were only eligible for an extension up to 180 days. The TFR will help avoid employment gaps for foreign nationals with pending EAD applications ...
Following Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s recent announcement in Parliament, it is now certain that there will be a Public Inquiry into the handling of the pandemic. What is the planned Inquiry likely to consider, and who might be involved? For over a year now, the government’s focus has been on the here and now - managing and responding to the rollercoaster that is the COVID-19 crisis ...
Violence in the workplace is something all employers prohibit and try to prevent. Healthcare employers have a tougher time, because the violence often comes from patients. How do you best protect workers while still providing needed patient care? There are no federal laws addressing this issue, so some states have stepped in. Recently, Texas joined states like California in enacting statutory protections against workplace violence directed at healthcare workers.[1] Texas S.B ...
Earlier this year the federal government made changes to Canada’s temporary foreign worker program with the stated purpose of ensuring that Canadians are given the first opportunity to apply for available jobs. Most temporary foreign workers require a work permit to legally work in Canada. In many instances, the employer must first obtain a positive Labour Market Opinion (LMO) from Service Canada before the worker can apply for a work permit ...
The COVID-19 pandemic has hit small businesses particularly hard. And, the Small Business Administration’s disaster loan program can offer many of those small businesses a lifeline. But, it can be daunting to know what relief is available (and for what purpose), who qualifies, and how to apply. This is what you need to know. The SBA has two types of disaster loan programs—one through banks and one directly from the SBA via the U.S. Treasury ...
The COVID-19 pandemic has hit small businesses particularly hard. And, the Small Business Administration’s disaster loan program can offer many of those small businesses a lifeline. But, it can be daunting to know what relief is available (and for what purpose), who qualifies, and how to apply. This is what you need to know. The SBA has two types of disaster loan programs—one through banks and one directly from the SBA via the U.S. Treasury ...
Sustained biodiversity loss since the industrial revolution has resulted in Britain being one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. One response to this enduring problem are proposals to use the planning system to mandate biodiversity net gain (BNG) through the development management process. The aim of the requirements is to secure a minimum 10 per cent biodiversity net gain from new developments, with effect from November 2023 ...
UK REACH (Registration, Authorisation, Evaluation and Restriction of Chemicals) is the UK’s post-Brexit chemicals regulatory framework for the Great Britain (GB) market. It is regulated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and has the overall aim of ensuring the protection of human health and the environment from the use of chemicals. UK REACH places responsibility for understanding and managing the risks associated with the use of chemicals on those who place them on the market (i.e ...
Following the creation of the Department of Migrant Workers ("DMW") pursuant to Republic Act No. 11641, or the Department of Migrant Workers Act ("RA 11641"), the Department of Labor and Employment ("DOLE") and the DMW issuedJoint Circular No. 01, series of 2022 (the "Joint Circular"),on July 7, 2022, to facilitate and ensure the efficient and effective implementation of RA 11641 ...
A Data Protection Impact Assessment (“DPIA”) is a process which helps employers to identify, analyse and minimise the data protection risks of a project. But when should employers be using a DPIA and what makes a DPIA effective? When should employers be using a DPIA? The Data Protection Act 2018 (the Act) states that a DPIA must be implemented before any processing is undertaken which is “likely to result in a high risk” to individuals ...
The decision in National Education Health & Allied Workers Union on behalf of Sinxo & others and Agricultural Research Council is important primarily for two reasons. Firstly, it deals with when an employee can claim that he or she has been discriminated against on an arbitrary ground as envisaged in section 6(1) of the Employment Equity Act, 1998 (the “EEA”) ...
Although like in most EU countries, there is no specific regulation in France on social media, judges have recently answered very clearly to this question: it depends on the privacy settings made by the employee!French judges make a clear distinction between (i) social media postings that remain private (i.e ...
To avoid a complicated and lengthy disciplinary proceeding, employers might consider a mutual separation agreement, to terminate an employee’s employment and pay them a sum of money. In the case of Balsdon v Valley Macadamias Group (Pty) Ltd, the Labour Court had to decide whether it could make a mutual separation agreement a court order in terms of the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (“LRA”) ...
When parents separate one question that is often asked is how long will I or my ex have to pay child maintenance for. Child maintenance Child maintenance is a regular, usually monthly payment, made by the parent with whom the children do not live (commonly known as the non-resident parent (NRP)) to the other parent (commonly known as parent with care (PWC)) ...
A child arrangements order is a court order which states where a child will live, how they will be cared for and how they will spend their time with one or both of their parents. A question which often goes unasked, however, is how long will the order last? The contact arrangements set out within a child arrangements order, i.e ...
In Reed v. Exel Logistics, Inc., No. 17-0864, 2018 WL 2769041 (W. Va. June 6, 2018), the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia clarified the circumstances necessary for an employer to claim overpayment of temporary total disability ("TTD") benefits. The question arose after an employer's claims examiner paid a claimant for an additional 156 days past the 104-week limit ...
You know what it’s like – you have a cushy job, you’re earning well, you’re travelling the world. Yet, you’re still not happy. The head honcho stubbornly refuses to retire, the designated successor clearly isn’t right for the job, and you have this somewhat awkward relationship with the next-in-line ...
If you have ever had a project on land on which wetlands or other “waters of the U.S.” were present, you know that project was more expensive because of the costs of permitting and mitigation for wetland losses, or the presence of wetlands may have resulted in abandonment or significant revision of the project to minimize losses of wetlands or other waters of the U.S. In their prior two “waters of the U.S.” decisions, Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook Cty. v. Army Corps of Engineers, 531 U ...
The Supreme Court makes clear that a party that has started to clean up contamination caused by another party is also deemed to be a business operator. This gives rise to joint and several liability for the original contamination. The fact that remedial work was intended to reduce the environmental impact is of no importance. Background A company which was later incorporated into JM Värmdöstrand (“JM”) operated a casting works from the 1940s to the 1980s on a site in Oxelösund ...
Economists predict that the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic will lead to retrenchments on an unprecedented scale on the back of an already weak economy. It is likely that unions, when confronted with proposals to retrench, will approach the consultation process envisaged in section 189 and section 189A of the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (“LRA”) with more rigour. Section 189A(13) Of importance in this regard is section 189A(13) of the LRA ...
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 ...
Employers often seek to rely on legitimate interests when processing employee personal data. But many do not realise that this should involve completion of a legitimate interests assessment. We consider what is involved in carrying out such assessments. What the law says The UK General Data Protection Regulations (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 regulate the way in which employers process personal data ...
The COVID-19 pandemic and post-pandemic era saw an increase in the number of employees working from home. For employers, this raises questions of liability for injuries that occur while employees are working from home. Specifically, when does workers’ compensation coverage or deliberate intent coverage apply? A New York appellate court recently discussed the applicability of workers’ compensation coverage in a work-from-home scenario. Matter of Capraro v. Matrix Absence Mgt ...
