The British Standards Institution (BSI) has released a new workplace standard relating to menstruation and menopause. The BSI standard (BS 30416) aims to support the health and well-being of all employees who menstruate or experience peri/menopause. The standard suggests that there are many actions that employers can take to improve the accommodation of all its employees ...
The Ministry of Economy published the new proposal to update the Regulation on consumer information on mortgage loans (Decree No. 42 of 2012), which improves consumer understanding of financial information and promotes the comparison of products offered by financial institutions ...
What do a squeak toy, whiskey, and dog poop have in common? If you are silently thinking to yourself “absolutely nothing,” it may surprise you to hear that the U.S. Supreme Court has spent months considering this question. On June 8, 2023, in a long-awaited win for trademark owners, SCOTUS ruled that a lower court erred when it issued a decision finding that a dog toy that parodies a famous liquor bottle, was covered by First Amendment free speech protections ...
June 8, 2023 By: Stephanie Shea and Michael Flynn On June 6, 2023, the FDIC, FRB and OCC collectively issued a document entitled, “Interagency Guidance on Third-Party Relationships: Risk Management” (“2023 Guidance”). Prior to this, each of these agencies had issued separate guidance on third-party risk. This 2023 Guidance replaces those separate pieces on third-party risk ...
On June 23, 2023, major amendments to section 45 of the Competition Act1 (the ?Act?) are set to come into force. Adopted in 2022 by the Parliament of Canada, these amendments are primarily designed to harmonize Canadian non-competition law with legislation in various other countries, particularly the U.S., which restricts certain business practices regarded as harmful to workers ...
The top attorney for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently declared that most non-compete agreements violate labor laws by barring workers from opportunities to seek new jobs. The May 30, 2023 memo from NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo is the latest to address the issue of non-competes. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a proposed ruling earlier this year to ban them completely. Urging the NLRB to adopt the standard she first argued in Stericycle, Inc ...
In May, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down its decision in Amgen Inc. v. Sanofi, which addressed the statutory enablement requirement for patents. The decision is consistent with ongoing efforts to strike a balance between innovation and competition, while preventing the extension of monopolies beyond the invention disclosure ...
Cybersecurity is a looming threat for most businesses. The impact of a major cyber event can resonate for weeks, months, and even years after the initial attack. To mitigate the risks to consumers, there have been several legislative updates to address these evolving threats, including a significant change for entities in, and adjacent to, the financial services space ...
Industrial action is happening on the largest scale we have seen for decades and across multiple sectors at the same time. Maintaining positive employee relations is more crucial than ever, given the cost of living crisis and geopolitical climate ...
Most commentary around AI looks at the big picture or the future of work, but in this article we look at some practical data protection implications for businesses that are considering implementing AI systems. 1. Automated Decision-Making There are specific rules in both the EU and UK GDPR (in this article we will refer to both together) covering individuals’ rights when processing involves solely automated decision-making, including profiling ...
Managing Partner Simon Malko talked to Bloomberg’s Vivia Chen about how his own experiences dealing with stress and anxiety inspired him to make mental healthcare more accessible to everyone at the firm. He shared, “When I became a managing partner [in 2019], I had a lot of anxiety. I was dealing with a lot at work and the stress of raising two kids at home. I had an awful lot on my plate, and I was struggling with managing it all ...
On June 1, 2023, the United States Supreme Court issued an important decision addressing the intent element of the False Claims Act (“FCA”) in United States ex rel. Tracy Schutte v. SuperValu Inc. and United States ex rel. Thomas Proctor v. Safeway, Inc. The FCA imposes liability on anyone who “knowingly” submits a false claim to the federal government and defines “knowingly” to include actual knowledge, deliberate ignorance, or recklessness ...
Less than a month to go! Our Tax Team wishes to remind you of the fast-approaching deadline for the submission of your annual corporate tax returns for the financial year ended 31 March 2023 (“FY 2022-2023”). All Myanmar taxpayers (corporate entities, non-profit organizations, and individuals) should file their annual tax returns on or before 30 June 2023 ...
The way one handles documentation can make or break claims and defenses. Good documentation may increase your chances of prevailing in disputes that could arise down the road and may help avoid embarrassing landmines in general. When a party files a lawsuit or arbitration demand, parties may use rules of procedure to request documentation from parties in the dispute, and from entities outside the dispute that they otherwise may not be able to obtain ...
On May 30, 2023, the Cyberspace Administration of China (the "CAC") released the Guidelines for Filing Standard Contract for the Outbound Transfer of Personal Information (First Edition) (the "Filing Guidelines") ...
On May 30, 2023, National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo took yet another step to ban restrictive covenants in the employment context. In a memo issued to all regional offices, she set forth her view that nearly all non-compete provisions, with very limited exceptions, violate the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) ...
May 31, 2023 By: Marissa Alkhazov Governor Jay Inslee signed HB 1047, Washington State’s Toxic-Free Cosmetic Act (the Act) into law on May 15, 2023. The Act bans some of the most concerning chemicals added into cosmetic and personal care products, including PFAS, phthalates, formaldehyde and formaldehyde releasing agents ...
On May 30, 2023, the Expert Commission concluded the vote on the preliminary draft of the New Constitution, sending it to the Constitutional Council for discussion. After having reached cross-party agreements on most of the proposed amendments to the first draft, the Expert Commission approved in Plenary Session the text of the preliminary draft, which consists of 14 permanent Chapters, with their respective transitory provisions. The structure of the draft would be the following: Chapter I ...
In November 2021, the New York City Council passed a bill requiring that artificial intelligence (“AI”) tools used by employers to make or assist in hiring decisions or internal promotions undergo bias audits to screen for discriminatory effects. Under the City Charter, the bill became law a month later after it was returned unsigned to the Council by then-mayor Bill DeBlasio ...
Introduction Last week, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced that American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO) had concluded the negotiation of the first trade agreement under the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade.1 This is the first bilateral trade agreement since the promulgation of the Taiwan Relations Act in 1979 ...
“The building has to earn the commute. There has to be a reason for people to come into an office building, and that’s why you’re seeing this bifurcation between the best and the rest,” said Steven Mew, customer experience and flex director at GPE, during Shoosmiths’ recent roundtable on the UK’s flexible office space sector ...
Anecdotally, we are hearing that interim relief applications are on the rise. In this article we give employers the low down on what an application for interim relief actually is and why they should be on the lookout for them ...
