As a part of sweeping corporate governance reforms mandated by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the SEC adopted ethical rules for attorneys who represent public companies and their nonpublic subsidiaries. The SEC rules make it clear that “attorneys can’t get a pass” from participating in corporate wrongdoing and attempt to hold attorneys accountable much like accountants and bankers have been for their roles in corporate financial scandals ...
A Powerpoint presentation analyzing the actions of Enron's board of directors and audit committee and the impacts of this on corporate governance today ...
The Austin Court of Appeals has temporarily blocked implementation of an Austin city ordinance that would require employers to provide paid sick leave to employees. The ordinance was set to take effect on October 1, 2018. The City of Austin passed the paid sick leave ordinance in February of 2018. The State of Texas immediately filed suit to challenge the ordinance claiming that it was preempted by the Texas Minimum Wage Act ...
Australasian Lawyer By Lucy Saddleton 04 Feb 2023 In-house counsel are demanding that their external law firm partners are using the latest technology, with 92% saying it is either very or somewhat important in a recent survey providing global insights on trending legal technologies and how in-house counsel leaders are adopting, integrating, and utilizing technology ...
The concern expressed in our last Australian Legal Update about the possibility of Australia following most of the rest of the developed world into recession fortunately proved unfounded. Australia has been a notable exception to the experience of many other countries in this respect ...
In the words of its own Attorney-General, Australia's privacy laws were “out of date and not fit-for-purpose”. After recent amendments, they now stand to contain one of the world’s toughest data breach penalty regimes. So, what has changed? Fines The Privacy Legislation Amendment (Enforcement and Other Measures) Bill 2022 (the “Bill”) received Royal Assent on 12 December 2022 ...
Short-time work is generally understood to be the temporary, foreseeable reduction in normal working hours (by at least 10% to a maximum of 90%). A special feature of Corona Immediate Assistance Short-Time Flex is that working hours can even be reduced to zero. Short-time work requires a social partner agreement and contact with the Austrian Labour Market Service (Arbeitsmarktservice – AMS) ...
In Roadshow Films Pty Ltd v iiNet Limited (No 3), Justice Cowdroy considered whether iiNet Limited (iiNet), the third largest internet service provider (ISP) in Australia, should be held liable for infringement of copyright by its subscribers, on the basis that iiNet had authorised those infringements.Proceedings were brought against iiNet by 34 applicants comprising many of the major film studios and their exclusive licensees in Australia (applicants) ...
Authority Magazine October 23, 2023 By: Eric L. Pines The legal field is known to be extremely competitive. Lawyers are often smart, ambitious, and highly educated ...
In a decision rendered on September 1, 20221, the Court of Appeal of Quebec stated that a judge seized of an application for authorization for treatment must ensure that the patient in question can be heard and assert their rights. The Court also took the opportunity to analyze the indefinite hospitalization clauses and the re-hospitalization clauses made necessary following a subsequent deterioration in a patient?s health ...
A year after auto-enrolment's 10th birthday the government gives the green light to changes which have the potential to extend to workplace pension savings initiative to more workers than ever before ...
The Automated Vehicles Act (the Act) regulates the marketing of self-driving vehicles, prohibiting the use of misleading terminology or communications that could confuse consumers. In this article Ben Gardner explores how the use of terminology that could mislead consumers will be regulated. The Act has now received Royal Assent and creates a regulatory framework which applies to the deployment and use of automated vehicles on UK roads ...
The Automated Vehicles Act has received Royal Assent after a smooth and quick passage through parliament. In this article, Ben Gardner outlines what organisations in the sector can expect to happen next. What is the Automated Vehicles Act? The Act lays the foundations for the future deployment of automated vehicles on public roads ...
In this matter, the employer, Enforce Security Group (“Enforce”), was a private security services provider contracting out security officers to its clients. The security officers were employed on the basis that their period of employment would endure until the termination of the service contract between Enforce and the client whose premises the employee would be assigned to. This type of provision is commonly referred to as an “automatic termination clause” ...
Michigan Governor Whitmer signed Executive Order 2020-77 today, permitting manufacturing workers to resume work as part of the MI Safe Start Plan. Manufacturing workers, including workers in the automotive industry, are allowed to resume work on May 11, 2020, one week ahead of the planned restart date of certain Michigan automakers. See Executive Order No. 2020-77, Section 10(k) ...
The pandemic has not slowed down the arrival of self-driving vehicles on our roads. This technological advancement is becoming more and more commonplace, giving rise to a need for deep reflection, especially in the automobile insurance industry ...
The coronavirus disease continues to cause headaches for businesses all over the globe. Travel restrictions are leading to cancellations of small meetings and large-scale conferences; factory shutdowns are causing massive supply shortages; employees are being told to stay home from work. Whatever challenges you face in these uncertain times, it is important to remember that your business is not immune from government scrutiny ...
Changes to the rules relating to the use of red diesel will come into effect from April 1 2022 as a result of amendments to the Hydro Carbon Oil Duties Act 1979. The new rules set out a list of “excepted machines” which are allowed to use red diesel. A vehicle that is used for a purpose related to agriculture, aquatic farming, horticulture and forestry is allowed to use red diesel and can be used on the public road if the use is for one of those purposes ...
The UK's competition authority (CMA) unusually cleared a merger (Sony Music / AWAL) after nine months of investigation. Could a Phase 2 investigation have been avoided? On 16 March 2022 the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) issued its final report into the completed acquisition by Sony Music Entertainment (Sony Music) of AWAL and Kobalt Neighbouring rights businesses from Kobalt Music Group Limited ...
Trademark owners have already faced a number of changes since the Trademark Modernization Act (“TMA”) first began to take effect in 2021. However, it’s a small change to the provisions regarding attorney representation at the US Trademark Office that may have the most costly impact to trademark owners and lead to an unintended loss of rights. The provision is 37 CFR § 2 ...
In our fourth article in the series focusing on the risk of discrimination in the workplace, we consider the protected characteristic of pregnancy and maternity, the common issues that arise and what employers should do to avoid claims of discrimination. Despite the Equality Act 2010 (EqA) making it unlawful to discriminate against women because of pregnancy or maternity leave, women continue to face significant challenges in the workplace when they become parents ...
Most employers know their employee handbooks need to be living documents that are reviewed and updated when conditions change. If any employer doubted the need for doing this, the past two years should have convinced them otherwise – with the need to incorporate policies to address statutorily mandated COVID-19 sick leave and/or vaccinations. While many of the mandatory COVID-19 sick leave policies are sunsetting, the sun is just rising for remote work issues ...
Technological advancements coupled with a desire to reduce inefficiencies in the workplace, has led to an increase in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) by employers, typically in recruitment and performance management. Data protection considerations However, employers need to be aware of their data protection obligations and great care is needed when contemplating the use of AI processes to make decisions without human involvement ...
The summer is a welcome break for higher education students across Scotland. But, as coursework and exams are temporarily put to the back of minds, a potential reform is looming that could have major implications on the student living experience in Scotland. This relates to the outcome of a much-anticipated review into its purpose-built student accommodation sector (PBSA) – first initiated in 2021 by the Scottish Government ...
