In a 5-4 decision, the United States Supreme Court held that states and their agencies cannot invoke sovereign immunity as a defense to claims of discrimination brought under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (“USERRA”)[1] in Torres v. Texas Department of Public Safety.[2] With this new ruling, public employers should continue to be mindful of the protections that USERRA provides active-duty and veteran employees ...
June 15, 2022 By: Tracy Warren and Yvonne Ricardo Finally, some good news for California employers involving California’s Private Attorney General Act of 2004 (“PAGA”). The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Angie Moriana is a huge victory for employers with valid arbitration programs or who wish to implement valid arbitration programs to substantially limit exposure to statutory and civil penalties under PAGA. On June 15, 2022, the U.S ...
Parties to a contract can give the right to enforce an obligation in the contract to a third party. For example, they are very often used where a large business enters into a contract with a supplier and wants its group companies to be able to enforce the contract. In England, this is governed by the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999. In Scotland, the legal recognition for this has been a common law principle, jus quaesitum tertio ...
With Scotland’s population growth stalling and with labour shortages in the UK at a record high, the demand for migrant workers at all skill levels is ever-increasing. Part 1 of this insight focuses on some of the current immigration routes for consideration by Scottish employers. Scotland is more reliant on migration than the rest of the UK to maintain population and help alleviate skills shortages ...
News that London had won the race to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012 was greeted with delight not only in sporting circles, but also in many commercial ones. Businesses up and down the country rubbed their hands with glee at the thought of a raft of new and exciting commercial opportunities. Importantly, these opportunities are not just the preserve of businesses south of the border, but are also available to Scottish businesses ...
The oil and gas sector has seen significant changes over the past few years, led by a significant reduction in global oil prices. This has increased the focus on operational efficiency and more flexible ways of working collaboratively to alleviate the effects of protracted price deflation ...
From ground-breaking discoveries such as penicillin and insulin, to the development of the MRI body scanner and the creation of Dolly the sheep, the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell ...
The Scottish financial sector has always punched above its weight due, in large part, to its appetite for innovation and sharp business acumen, which it has successfully exported around the globe. The successful early establishment in Scotland of current account banking and the investment trust speak to this, along with the undisputed influence of the Scottish diaspora, which established many of the great financial institutions from Paris to Hong Kong ...
With school getting back in session, leave issues are bound to arise. For many small to medium-sized employers, these may include paid and unpaid leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), as well as other complicated issues that may arise under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This webinar will provide an overview of the FFCRA and ways employers can try to navigate the FFCRA during this uncertain time ...
Since it was introduced at the end of 2005, the scheme funding regime for defined benefit pension schemes has been through a process incremental of evolution. With a new legal objective for the Pensions Regulator now revealed, will this alter the approach of employers and trustees to scheme funding in practice or will it turn out to be business as usual? Back in 2005, the emphasis was on the scheme specific nature of the new funding regime ...
Many employers currently have employees on staff on temporary work visas, and employers likely know that in order to continue to employ employees not born in the U.S., the employer must sponsor the employee for permanent residency in the U.S. (i.e,. a green card). The green card process has multiple steps, which, depending on a variety of factors, may take several years to complete ...
On April 8, 2020, the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) provided additional guidance on the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) through an update to the Frequently Asked Questions document (“FAQs”) originally published on April 2, 2020 and subsequently updated on April 6th and 7th ...
April 14, 2020, the SBA issued new guidance on the treatment of service partners for Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loans. The Interim Final Rule Paycheck Protection Program – Additional Eligibility Criteria and Requirements for Certain Pledges of Loans clarifies that individuals treated as partners may not submit a separate PPP loan application as an "eligible self-employed individuals ...
Will the release of its digital currency be China’s next salvo in its bid for world domination?One of the biggest developments in global finance has recently occurred, but not enough people are talking about it. It features technology, money and a battle between global superpowers ...
In the fight against the further spread of the Corona virus, the federal government issued the so-called Corona Occupational Health and Safety Ordinance on January 21, 2021, which has come into force on January 27, 2021, and remains effective until March 15, 2021 ...
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002: SEC Adopts Final Rule to Mandate Electronic Filing and Website Posting for Forms 3, 4 and 5 As required by Section 403 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) has adopted final rules and form amendments mandating the electronic filing, and website posting by issuers with corporate websites, of beneficial ownership reports filed by officers, directors and principal security holders under Section 16(a) of the Securities E
International trade sanctions are becoming an increasingly high profile issue for both practitioners and clients in Australia. Major reforms to Australia's sanctions system will have implications for global companies with any Australian connections ...
The City and County of San Francisco (SF) issued a COVID-19 surge-related travel and quarantine order (Quarantine Order) on Dec. 16, 2020, and an updated Shelter-In-Place Order (SIP Order) on December 9 (updated Dec. 30, 2020). Under those orders, every person who enters SF after having been outside the Bay Area within the last ten days must quarantine for 240 hours from the time of arrival in SF. However, two exceptions apply to those working on construction projects in SF ...
The San Antonio City Council recently approved a new city ordinance that requires employers to provide paid sick leave to employees who work at least 80 hours within the City of San Antonio per year ...
Same sex couples will have the right to marry in England and Wales from 29 March 2014. Generally, same sex marriages will be treated in the same way as opposite sex marriages. However, in occupational pension schemes, surviving same sex spouses need only be treated in the same way as surviving civil partners and not as opposite sex spouses ...
By judgment of 6 January 2014, the Danish Eastern High Court found that a sales consultant did not have status as a salaried employee. The case involved a woman who for a period of 2 months had acted as a sales consultant for a company. Thereafter, the company decided to end the cooperation. The sales consultant made a claim for salary, holiday allowance, mileage allowance and compensation for lack of employment contract ...
Saleform 2012 is one of the most widely used contract formulars for the sale and purchase of second hand tonnage. The Saleform has its origins back to 1925 and was adopted by BIMCO in 1956. Since then, the Saleform has been amended several times, latest in 2012 ...
