The price of oil—already hammered by market conditions—took another stumble in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak with no immediate relief in sight. Accordingly, the Oil & Gas Industry must prepare for the looming wave of oncoming legal issues, which will affect every sector of the market. This alert contains recommended actions for industry stakeholders ...
Companies, municipalities, and water systems must now report their per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) use to the federal government. A new federal law requires facilities using 100 pounds per year of a listed PFAS compound to self-report to the national Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). Monitoring and reporting requirements are often prerequisites to cleanup and enforcement, and this collection of data may be a bellwether for the future regulation of PFAS ...
A 2019 amendment to the Kenyan Companies Act, 2015 introduced a requirement for every company to keep a register of its beneficial owners and submit a copy of this register to the Registrar of Companies (the “Registrar”) within 30 days of preparation. In order to put the above statutory requirements into action, the Attorney-General published the Companies (Beneficial Ownership Information) Regulations, 2020 (the “Regulations”) with effect from 28 February 2020 ...
In our country there are a large number of transnational companies that have their operations in El Salvador, this due to the cost of labor, and the geographical position of our country that allows it to be a point of connection with other jurisdictions. It is common to realize that in many companies foreign personnel are hired and are even placed in leadership positions, so it is important that we are prepared with the applicable legislation in this type of hiring ...
On March 3, 2020, Attorney General William Barr announced the National Nursing Home Initiative—a new U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) taskforce organized to push criminal and civil enforcement action against nursing homes across the country. The initiative will help coordinate DOJ enforcement actions against nursing homes that provide “grossly substandard care ...
Answers to important questions 1. WHAT INFORMATION OBLIGATIONS DOES THE EMPLOYER HAVE TO INFORM ITS WORKFORCE? As with other highly infectious diseases, employers have a duty to inform their staff about the coronavirus as part of their general duty of care and consideration (Sec. 241, 618 German Civil Code [BGB]). The extent of this duty to inform depends, among other things, on whether a member of staff is suspected of having caught the virus, whether or not this has been confirmed ...
On January 23, 2020, Law No. 21,202, which modifies various legal bodies in order to protect urban wetlands, entered into force with its publication in the Official Gazette. Object The Law seeks to protect urban wetlands declared by the Ministry of the Environment, either ex officio or at the request of the respective municipality ...
New anti-harassment law in time for new virus panic. The COVID-19 crisis that began in Wuhan, China, brings to mind earlier epidemics. In 2003, we were in the grip of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars). It was the first pandemic in the era of the Internet, blogging and social media. Amid the panic about infections, one individual was widely labelled a “super spreader”. Her name and personal details were published ...
INTRODUCTION In one of his last speeches as Attorney General of the United States, Jeff Sessions proudly boasted: “We are sending a clear message to criminals across the country: we will find you. We will bring you to justice. And you will pay a very high price for what you have done.” This type of rhetoric is often reserved for serious criminal offenders ...
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 ...
The 50th day of the 2020 Regular Session of the West Virginia Legislature marks a significant boundary line between the bills that have a chance for passage and those that failed. It is known as Cross Over Day, the last day to consider bills on third reading in their house of origin. By Cross Over Day, the House had introduced a total of 1,528 bills, with the Senate contributing 853 ...
At present, M&A transactions are frequently at least postponed because of uncertainties about the development of the target, the potentially unpredictable situation of the prospective buyer and its financing, and partly also because of practical problems to finalize the transaction. CARRYING OUT THE M&A PROCESS The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are most evident in actually carrying out an M&A transaction ...
In a slightly surprising, but nevertheless welcome, South African 2020 Budget Speech today, the Honourable Minister of Finance announced that there would be no significant tax increases to the major taxes for the forthcoming tax year. Widely anticipated increases to value-added tax (“VAT”), income tax, capital gains tax and estate duty did not materialise ...
The 2020 Regular Session of the West Virginia Legislature is now entering the final stretch with only a little less than two weeks left. No new bills may be introduced in either chamber (though a committee may still originate a bill) and all bills, with the exception of appropriations bills, must be out of committee and passed by their respective house of origin by February 26. As of today, the House has introduced 1,528 bills, while the Senate introduced 853 ...
Long considered “emerging contaminants,” per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have now emerged. And water agencies throughout California must take heed. As we last reported, in November 2017, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) added two widely used PFAS compounds to the Proposition 65 list of chemicals known to cause reproductive toxicity: perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) ...
Summary On January 13, 2020, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) issued final regulations to implement the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (FIRRMA)1 (the “Regulations”2). The Regulations go into effect on February 13, 2020. CFIUS’s existing regulations (the “Pilot Program”) will continue to apply to transactions that close prior to February 13, 2020 ...
On 30 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the outbreak of novel coronavirus or COVID-19 constituted a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). The COVID-19 is a respiratory illness caused by a new coronavirus which first originated in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, the death toll from which has reportedly surpassed 1,000 on mainland China, while confirmed infections have passed 40,000 globally ...
NEWSFLASH The commencement date of POPIA is no April Fool’s joke. the Chairperson of the Information Regulator, Advocate Pansy Tlakula, recently sent a request to President Cyril Ramaphosa to declare that the remaining provisions of the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (“POPIA”) commence on 1 April 2020 (“commencement date”). it is expected that the president will act on this request ...
Case Law The Tax Court of South Africa, Cape Town IT 24819 whether insufficiency of funds was not reasonably foreseeable, and therefore constitutes reasonable grounds for non-payment of employees tax, considered. correct interpretation of the number of days for payment of employees tax considered as a point in limine. find a copy of this judgment here ...
Following the presentation of the 2020 Budget proposal and Finance Bill, 2019 to the National Assembly in October 2019, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, MR. Muhammadu Buhari, signed the Bill into law on 13 January 2020. The Finance Act, 2019 (the “Act”) introduces amendments to the Companies Income Tax Act, Value Added Tax Act, Petroleum Profits Tax Act, Personal Income Tax Act, Capital Gains Tax Act, Customs and Excise Tariff Act and Stamp Duties Act ...
The False Claims Act (FCA) was enacted to punish and deter fraud against the United States, and to recover moneys obtained through such fraud. Whether an alleged fraud was actually against the United States is a threshold question not posed in the typical FCA case, where allegations usually involve claims for payment submitted to the Army, Navy, Medicare, or other entity clearly part of the federal government. But some cases are not so clear ...
In Thailand, economic development, technological progress and energy transition go hand-in-hand. The government is continuing to pursue Thailand 4.0, the ambitious economic model designed to propel the country into high-income status. This transition hinges on Thailand moving from its agrarian and labour-intensive roots to a value-based economy where smart industry is king ...
The 2020 Regular Session of the West Virginia Legislature just reached the 30th day, or its half way point. As of today, the House has introduced 1289 bills, while the Senate introduced 725. We will continue reporting on and tracking the progress of significant legislation during the course of the session. During the legislative process, certain critical deadlines are imposed by the Legislature that impact the consideration of pending bills and their chances of success ...
In another step in President Trump's ongoing efforts to relax environmental restrictions impacting economic development, on January 10, 2020, the Council on Environmental Quality published its proposed rulemaking to update its regulations for implementing procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA") ("Proposed Rule"). The deadline for filing comments on the Proposed Rule is March 10, 2020 ...
