The year 2020 was turbulent in many ways: the worldwide pandemic slowed down a number of reforms and caused challenges for various industries. Now it is time to look back and remind ourselves of the changes that took place in the field of employment law over the past year. It is also time to glance at the reforms awaiting us in 2021, a year hopefully brighter than its predecessor ...
As many of us continue to work from home and/or have opportunities for travel and meeting up restricted, we are continuing to run our essential webinar series for employers to ensure that our clients and contacts remain up to date and equipped to deal with all eventualities! Our latest seminar focused on disability and Long COVID ...
On 13 July 2023, the UK government planned increases to fees across a range of immigration and nationality routes including the immigration health surcharge. The immigration health surcharge (IHS) is set to see a huge increase of around 66%. The current standard IHS rate is £624 per person per year of leave to remain granted and this will increase to £1,035. Similarly, the discounted rate for students and under-18s will increase from £470 per year to £776 ...
Given the ongoing worldwide economic concerns and discussion of another recession, it is hard to believe that major provisions of the 2009 Stimulus Act impacting employers have yet to be fully implemented ...
The Government have now published the Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules which confirm the changes being made to the Skilled Worker route as part of the ‘five-point plan’ to reduce net migration. We summarise the main points for employers to take note of ahead of the changes taking effect on 4 April ...
In the current situation, employees who come into contact with other employees may be diagnosed with COVID-19. What is an employer’s obligation to notify other potentially exposed employees? Employers have a general duty to provide a safe workplace under Cal/OSHA and federal OSHA ...
The United States Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that overturned Roe v. Wade’s constitutional right to abortion has had sweeping implications that affect employers, along with the general public ...
Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”), an employer that employs an average of at least 50 full-time and full-time equivalent employees (a “Large Employer”) during 2013 may be subject to a penalty in 2014 if the Large Employer fails to offer “minimum essential coverage” to all but 5 percent (or, if greater, five) of its full-time employees (“No Coverage Penalty”) ...
June 29, 2023 By: Leah Lively and Alexandra Shulman As of June 27, 2023, employers must offer additional protections to employees affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition under a new federal law—the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“PWFA”) ...
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the media has repeatedly reported about terminations by the employer, which are based on the fact that employees did not adhere to corona measures during their leisure time, for example because they took part in large anti-corona demonstrations and disregarded the distance rule or were associated with anti-constitutional ideas ...
On September 29, 2023, Decree No. 4, dated January 25, 2023 (the "Regulation"), issued by the Ministry of the Environment (the "Ministry"), was published, coming into force the Emission Compensation System for stationary sources subject to Green Tax[1] (the “System”). The System promotes the development of emission reduction projects (the "Projects") ...
We are pleased to announce that Emi Rowse (Igusa), partner and head of Japan Practice at Kudun and Partners, has been officially enlisted in the Thailand Arbitration Center (THAC) Panel of Arbitrators! THAC has granted Emi the THAC Empanelment Certificate, recognizing her extensive experience and expertise in the field of arbitration. At Kudun and Partners, we are committed to providing our clients with the highest quality legal services, including effective and efficient dispute resolution ...
The morning of February 24 began as an ordinary day for IP attorneys Julia Semeniy and Yuliya Prokhoda, with planned court hearings, client meetings and routine school runs in Ukraine. But when Russia began its onslaught on the country, in an act of internationally condemned aggression, their lives changed dramatically ...
As is painfully obvious to even the most casual of observers, the COVID-19 public health emergency has been disruptive to all industries. And, the healthcare industry has been at the epicenter of this disruption. Nonetheless, not all disruption is negative. One bright spot for many healthcare practitioners during this public health crisis has been the emergence and normalization of telehealth ...
As is painfully obvious to even the most casual of observers, the COVID-19 public health emergency has been disruptive to all industries. And, the healthcare industry has been at the epicenter of this disruption. Nonetheless, not all disruption is negative. One bright spot for many healthcare practitioners during this public health crisis has been the emergence and normalization of telehealth ...
The dangers of workers developing silicosis amid the fabrication of engineered stone has become a topic heavily discussed in the news and elsewhere recently. Silicosis is a lung disease that develops from the exposure and inhalation of silica particles. On October 2, National Public Radio (“NPR”) aired a story entitled “Workers Are Falling Ill, Even Dying, After Making Kitchen Countertops ...
In Emergency Order 20-EO-03, entered March 23, 2020, Insurance Commissioner Dodrill ordered that normal time standards for claims handling applicable to workers' compensation insurers and other regulated entities as set forth in title 85, series 1, section 10, of the West Virginia Code of State Rules are suspended until further notice ...
Email services can usually not be qualified as telecommunications services. These were the decisions of both the European Court of Justice (ECJ, judgment of June 13, 2019 – C-193/18) and the Higher Administrative Court of Münster (OVG Münster, judgment of February 5, 2020 – 13 A 17/16) in two recent judgments ...
Although the deadline for “incurring” CARES Act funds has passed, Alaska Native Corporations can still use CARES Act funds to pay for administrative and compliance related expenditures in 2022, including staff time spent administrating programs and CARES Act expenses incurred by December 31, 2022. According to U.S ...
On September 9, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued an important decision for health care providers, especially those in the hospice industry. In U.S. v. AseraCare, Inc.,No.16-13004, Slip. Op. (11thCir. September 9, 2019), the Court held that a “reasonable disagreement between medical experts” about prognosis for a terminally ill patient, without more, cannot establish falsity. Slip. Op. at 3 ...
The Eleventh Circuit’s recent decision in United States ex rel. Hunt v. Cochise Consultancy, Inc., has further complicated the answer to what should be a simple question: What is the statute of limitations in qui tam action when the government declines to intervene? There are currently three different answers to that seemingly simple question depending on the forum in which a case is filed ...
On September 9, 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 14042, Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors, which directs federal agencies to include in certain federal contracts a clause requiring the contractor to comply with all guidance published by the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force. Included in those guidelines is a mandate that all federal contractor employees be vaccinated against COVID-19 unless the employee is legally entitled to an accommodation ...
