On June 29, President Obama signed the Trade Preferences and Extension Act of 2015, which significantly increases penalties for the failure to file correct information returns under I.R.C. § 6721 and the failure to furnish statements to payees pursuant to I.R.C. § 6722. The new law increases the penalty from $100 to $250 for each violation of either statute ...
On April 29, 2013, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) launched the Temporary Worker Initiative (“TWI”) with the purpose of increasing its focus on temporary workers in order to highlight employers’ responsibilities to ensure these workers are protected from workplace hazards. A temporary worker is defined by OSHA as one hired and paid by a staffing agency and supplied to a host employer to perform work on a temporary basis ...
Internal investigations conducted by enterprises in-house when irregularities are suspected offer many advantages to businesses compared to initiatives undertaken by public law enforcement authorities ...
Restraints of trade - Scope of rules: 1. Are restrictive agreements and practices regulated? If so, what are the substantive provisions and regulatory authority? Restrictive agreements and practices may qualify as anti-competitive concerted practices (that is, practices that resulted or may result in prevention, elimination or restriction of competition). There is a general prohibition of anti-competitive concerted practices, unless an exemption applies (see Question 3) ...
Bill on restrictive employment covenants revoked due to call for parliamentary elections in Denmark, scheduled to take place in June 2015. Due to the Danish Prime Minister's call on 27 May 2015 for parliamentary elections, all bills that have not yet been passed are revoked, including Bill No. L 196 on Restrictive Employment Covenants which should have entered into force on 1 July 2015 ...
On April 21, 2015, the State Council of China (i.e. the central government) adopted the proposed draft of Administrative Measures on Concession of Infrastructure and Public Utilities Projects (the “Infrastructure Measures”) ...
On June 1, the United States Supreme Court reversed and remanded Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc.1 to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals and held that in order to prove a disparate-treatment (or “intentional discrimination”) claim, an applicant need only show that his need for a religious accommodation was a motivating factor in an employer’s decision not to hire him ...
Merger control in Ukraine: overviewRegulatory framework1. What (if any) merger control rules apply to mergers and acquisitions in your jurisdiction? What is the regulatory authority?Regulatory frameworkMergers and acquisitions, as well as establishment of an undertaking and appointments to corporate positions under certain circumstances, are subject to merger control in Ukraine ...
Since 2 years ago Ecuador is going through a deep actualization process of its legal regulations. The Criminal Code, the Companies Act has been reformed and the Civil Code reforms, as well as procedural rules reforms of trials are in the final step of approbation. One of the most important reforms performed in the last days are the ones related with the Labor Code, which regulates labor relationship between employers and employees ...
Vol. XIII, Issue 1 of the Employment & Immigration Update includes the following articles:ILO 2015 Report: World EmploymentFlexible working conditionsPHL Employment OutlookGender EqualityAccessibility Law (Batas Pambansa Blg. 344)Mobile Training LaboratoriesDefinition of Missing Persons under Employees' Compensation Commission Board Resolution No. 14-07-20The issue also contains information on recent Supreme Court decisions, labor and immigration news and circulars, and SyCipLaw updates ...
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) touted 2014 as a record year for its enforcement program and noted cases that spanned the spectrum of the securities industry. Actions against municipal securities issuers and underwriters particularly stand out among the many areas of aggressive enforcement in 2014 ...
The Wills and Probate Registry in the Dubai International Financial Centre (the “Registry”) opened in late April of this year. It is now possible to register a will in Dubai, and to have a high degree of confidence that it will be enforced in accordance with its terms. Prior to the establishment of the Registry, it hadn’t been possible to be so confident that foreign wills would be enforced in the United Arab Emirates ...
The SEC’s Division of Investment Management issued a guidance update last week reminding registered investment advisers and registered investment companies of the importance of cybersecurity and providing recommendations on specific measures that advisers and investment companies should consider in addressing their cybersecurity risks. Last week’s guidance update demonstrates the SEC’s continued focus on cybersecurity as part of its compliance initiatives ...
The Securities Exchange Commission (“SEC”) is continuing to promote its whistleblower reward program and recently announced awards to two individuals who provided key information leading to successful SEC enforcement actions. One whistleblower, a compliance officer, will receive an award of approximately $1.5 million. The other whistleblower, a former head trader, will receive a maximum payout of 30 percent of the amounts collected (which totals over $600,000) ...
In future, it will be much more difficult for Danish companies to make use of special restrictive covenants in connection with hiring employees. That will be the result if a new bill on restrictive employment covenants is adopted. The bill includes a tightening of the rules on the use of non-competition and non-solicitation clauses whereas non-hire clauses will practically be prohibited.On the face of it, the new rules will provide more flexibility for the employees ...
In Quebec, it is possible to find materials and products containing asbestos in civil engineering works, construction materials, facilities and equipment in all types of buildings, whether industrial, commercial, public or residential ...
Last week the U.S. Department of Justice’s Cybersecurity Unit (“DOJ”) issued guidance to organizations concerning preparing for, responding to, and remediating cyber incidents. DOJ based its publication on lessons learned by federal prosecutors who handle cyber investigations and prosecutions, as well as feedback from private sector victims of cyber attacks and intrusions ...
In recent enforcement actions, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) sued four payment processing companies – not for engaging in illegal debt collection – but rather, for ignoring warning signs in processing payments for debt collectors who were engaged in fraudulent debt collection schemes. The CFPB charged the payment processors with violating 12 U.S.C ...
The Supreme Court issued its much anticipated opinion in Mach Mining v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission1 yesterday, unanimously holding that whether the EEOC satisfied its statutory duty to conciliate Title VII charges of discrimination prior to filing suit is an issue subject to judicial review ...
On 5 January 2015, the Minister of Trade issued Regulation No. 4/M-DAG/PER/1/2015 of 2015 on Provisions to Use a Letter of Credit for Exporting Certain Commodities (“MOT Regulation 4”). One of the goals of MOT Regulation 4 is to provide a clear and verifiable record of prices actually paid by foreign buyers for exported natural resource products ...
In recent years, representation and warranty insurance has gained popularity as a tool to decrease transaction liability exposure in M&A transactions. These policies can be particularly useful in the context of cross-border transactions, for both financial and strategic parties, to facilitate middle-market transactions involving foreign buyers or sellers of domestic U.S.-based businesses. The product is also beginning to gain traction in transactions outside of the United States ...
Target Corporation recently announced that it entered into a settlement agreement with MasterCard International Incorporated, agreeing to pay up to $19 million to MasterCard for payments to reimburse issuing banks for card-replacement and fraud losses allegedly associated with the 2013 data breach at Target ...
SyCipLaw Partner Rose Marie M. King-Dominguez and Senior Associate Franco Aristotle G. Larcinacontributed to the Philippine section of the Asia-Pacific Property Investment Guide, a publication produced by Ashurst Australia and Jones Lang LaSalle ...
On April 14, 2015, the White House announced that President Obama intends to remove Cuba from the government’s list of nations that sponsor terrorism. This decision follows a series of important changes to US policies and regulations affecting business and commercial transactions between the United States and Cuba ...
There are two reasons why Latin American clients keep coming to US law firms to handle their cross-border M&A deals. The first reason is our execution capabilities: US law firms have been advising on cross-border M&As for more than 100 years. The second reason is the predictability of a tried and tested legal system: US law remains the preeminent choice for large cross-border M&A deals because of the certainties and guarantees it offers to everyone involved ...
