The access to records clause, sometimes called the inspection or audit clause, is a common fixture in reinsurance agreements and serves an important function. It enables the reinsurer to track the performance of the agreement and maintain an accurate view of the business ceded. More specifically, it allows the reinsurer to ensure the cedent is complying with the terms and conditions of the agreement, including timely reporting of losses and calculation of premiums ...
The COVID-19 pandemic distinctly reminds us that during their term, contracts may be exposed to influences beyond the parties’ control, which may unforeseeably complicate their performance or make it impossible. Examples include civil wars, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, or pirate attacks on cargo ships ...
Since the consultation document on Proposed Security of Payment Legislation (SOPL) for the Construction Industry in June 2015 and the report of the consultation in April 2016, the SOPL Bill has yet to be put before the Legislative Council for consideration. The Government released a draft Technical Circular on the Implementation of the Spirit of Security of Payment Legislation in Public Works Contracts (Draft Circular) and a reference document in mid-March 2021 ...
The highly anticipated Omnibus Bill (“the “Bill”) is taking its first step as the first draft was recently submitted to the House of Representatives. The Bill will amend (or simplify) various regulations on from licensing procedures, investment requirements, manpower, immigration, export-import, land procurement to special economic zones with the main focus being creating jobs ...
In August 2024 the European Commission published draft guidelines on the application of Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (“TFEU”) to abusive exclusionary conduct by dominant undertakings. Rather than the current guidance on enforcement priorities, this document has taken the shape of guidelines proper, similar to those found in respect of Article 101 TFEU ...
On 24 January 2023 the government launched a consultation seeking feedback on its draft statutory Code of Practice on Dismissal and Re-engagement (sometimes known as “fire and rehire”). The consultation remains open until 18 April 2023. The draft code does not apply to redundancy situations ...
Artificial intelligence technologies are extremely promising in healthcare.1 By examining, cross-referencing and comparing a phenomenal amount of data.2 AI lets researchers work more quickly at a lower cost3 and facilitates doctors’ decision-making with regard to diagnosis, treatment and choice of prescription. The integration of AI into the healthcare field can take various forms:4 Management of electronic medical records (e.g ...
On 16 July 2024, Legal Notice 166 of 2024 was published in Malta. This implemented the relevant provisions of DORA (full title being Regulation (EU) 2022/2554 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022 on digital operational resilience for the financial sector and amending Regulations (EC) No 1060/2009, (EU) 648/2012, (EU) 600/2014, (EU) No 909/2014 and (EU) 2016/1011) into Maltese law ...
The United States Supreme Court has held an individual’s private right of action to sue a public nursing home for violations of federally protected rights in Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County v. Talevski. The Court held that a private individual could sue for rights protected by the Federal Nursing Home Reform Act (“NHRA”), which sets the federal minimum quality standards for nursing homes to ensure that seniors receive quality care ...
The UK Government has announced that businesses will have a further year to start using the UKCA marking for goods placed on the GB market, extending the deadline to 1 January 2023. What is a UKCA mark? The UKCA (UK Conformity Assessed) marking is the new UK product marking that is used for certain goods that are placed on the GB market and covers most goods which previously required the EU CE marking, known as ‘new approach’ goods ...
The Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, Treasury, and the Office of Personnel Management issued the first interim final rule with comment period, in what is likely to be a series of rules, aimed at ending surprise medical bills from out-of-network providers ...
As previously reported on this site, nuclear generation development has taken hold as a potential promise for a long-term, genuinely carbon-free power supply. The momentum of this potential is rapidly gaining steam (no pun intended) both internationally and domestically, posing the domestic energy policy question of whether the U.S. is sufficiently poised to capitalize on this momentum ...
On Oct. 29, 2021, the Wage and Hour Division of the United States Department of Labor (DOL) released its final rule regarding “dual jobs” for tipped employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The final rule, which becomes effective on Dec. 28, 2021, withdraws a prior final rule from 2020 regarding dual jobs and amends regulations to distinguish between tipped occupations and non-tipped occupations ...
The Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) recently released streamlined forms employers may use to coordinate leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ...
On March 7, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) proposed a rule that would significantly change the pay standards for overtime exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Since 2004, the minimum salary necessary to qualify for an administrative, executive, or professional exemption under the FLSA has been $455 per week ($23,660 per year). Under the proposed rule, this minimum would increase to $679 per week ($35,308 per year) ...
On Sept. 11, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced revisions to the regulations implementing the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), following the New York federal court’s decision that invalidated some of the prior regulations as either inconsistent with the text of the FFCRA or insufficiently explained by the DOL in its original regulations ...
Key Points If finalized as proposed, a Department of Labor (DOL) proposed rule would require plan fiduciaries to select investments based solely on pecuniary factors. The proposed rule would also tighten conditions for treating environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) factors as pecuniary factors plan fiduciaries may consider in selecting investments ...
Key Points New proposal would allow investment advisors to provide advice to ERISA retirement plan participants for a fee, despite potential conflicts of interest. Reinstates five-part test from 1975 for determining when an investment advisor provides investment advice as a fiduciary to a plan participant. The U.S ...
In EBSA Disaster Relief Notice 2021-01, the Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a critical interpretation of prior guidance that extended certain deadlines for employee benefit plans, participants, and beneficiaries due to COVID-19. We discussed the original guidance in this prior article ...
This week, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued final rules to expand access to “Association Health Plans” for small businesses that are unaffiliated, but are in the same line of business or geographic area. An “Association Health Plan” or “AHP” is a group health plan adopted by members of an employer group or association to provide health coverage for their employees ...
In the last quarter of 2018, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued an opinion letter ending what had become known as the “80/20 rule” for tipped employees. The new rule, which eases restrictions on an employer’s application of the tip credit, is a reissuance of a 2009 opinion letter that had been supplanted by contrary guidance since 2011 ...
On August 1, 2024, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) rolled out its Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program after announcing the initiative in March. Described as “[s]upercharging DOJ’s corporate investigations and prosecutions,”[1] the Pilot Program dramatically expands the pool of would-be whistleblowers and underscores the importance of robust compliance and reporting programs ...
The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) withdrew three longstanding healthcare antitrust enforcement policy statements on the afternoon of Friday, February 3, 2023. The move follows a series of White House antitrust initiatives ...
Next week, the full Fourth Circuit will hear oral argument in US ex rel. Sheldon v. Allergan Sales, LLC to determine whether a defendant’s “objectively reasonable interpretation” of an ambiguous statute or regulation is sufficient to preclude a finding of intent under the FCA. Defendants and the entire FCA bar will be watching the case closely ...
