On January 11, 2016, Vadim Kazenelson, a project manager for Metron Construction Corporation (“Metron”), was sentenced to three and a half years in prison.1 This sentence follows the decision rendered on June 26, 2015 in which the Superior Court of Ontario found Mr. Kazenelson guilty of the five charges against him, including four counts of criminal negligence causing death and one count of criminal negligence causing bodily harm ...
The filing window for Fiscal Year 2017 for Cap-Subject H-1B petitions – those subject to the annual numerical limit (the “Cap”) – will open on April 1, 2016. Given recent trends, the number of filed petitions is expected to again exceed the Cap. Over the last three years, the Cap has been reached within the first week of the April filing period ...
The recent Memorandum of Understanding (the “MOU”) between the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and Department of Labor (“DOL”) reinvigorated the Worker Endangerment Initiative by “redoubling” the agencies’ cooperative “efforts to hold accountable those who unlawfully jeopardize workers’ health and safety,” Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates announced on December 17, 2015. An accompanying memorandum sent to all 93 U.S ...
What will happen if the objectives of the Paris Climate Agreement are not achieved? Most people assume that since the agreement is non-binding, failure to reach the targets will necessitate new political action, writes Lucas Bergkamp, Partner at the Brussels-based law firm Hunton & Williams LL.P. But according to Bergkamp, what is likely to happen is that climate activists will instead turn to the judiciary to enforce the treaty ...
On Tuesday, December 22, 2105, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a much- anticipated opinion regarding the constitutionality of the prohibition against “disparaging” trademarks. In an 9-3 en banc opinion, the Federal Circuit held that the exclusion of disparaging trademarks under Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act violates the First Amendment.Many of the marks rejected as disparaging convey hurtful speech that harms members of stigmatized communities ...
On December 18, Congress voted to reauthorize the Immigrant Investor (EB-5) Pilot Program without change through September 30, 2016. The EB-5 program was scheduled to sunset on September 30, 2015 but was granted two short-term reprieves while lawmakers debated several changes which would have made investing in the program more difficult, including increases to the minimum investment amount and restrictions on the calculation of indirect job creation ...
The current Constitution of Ecuador was enacted in 2008. In the past seven years it had few changes. The last one was introduced by a resolution of the National Assembly (Congress), which was issued on December 21th 2015. This last amendments are: Reelection of popular election authorities (elected by voting).- The amendments allows to the current authorities to run as candidates to be re-elected indefinitely ...
Many healthcare boards believe that they have satisfied the 501(r) community health needs assessment (CHNA) requirements by completing their organization’s CHNA report and adopting an implementation strategy. After doing that, the board may feel ready to focus on other pressing issues until the next three-year CHNA deadline ...
Two recent Labour Court decisions have highlighted the duty of trade unions and their officials to act to prevent unprotected strikes and unlawful actions during the course of a strike. These add to the growing list of decisions in which the court has indicated that it will hold unions accountable for unlawful acts by their members ...
A number of recently announced initiatives could introduce potentially significant changes to the rules governing the workforce in the UAE. Earlier this year, the Ministry of Labour promulgated Ministerial Resolutions Nos. 764, 765 and 766 of 2015. According to the reports of Ministry of Labour spokesmen that appeared in the local press, the new resolutions were designed to deter a number of undesirable practices ...
LCS has provided a 2015 Taiwan Employment Law Update. 1. Five-Day Workweek to Kick Off Next Year An amendment to the Labor Standards Act (the "LSA") will take effect on January 1, 2016, paving the way for a five-day workweek and for working hours per week to be reduced to 40 hours. The LSA currently sets a ceiling of regular working hours of 84 hours fortnightly. 2 ...
Equity crowdfunding will soon have a new framework in which to operate in Canada and this is excellent news for investors and startups alike ...
Last April 27, the Court of Appeal of Quebec dismissed the appeal, from the bench, by the Attorney General of Quebec concerning the use of English trademarks on public signs ...
The Parliament of the Republic of Serbia adopted the Law on Conditions for Secondment of Employees Abroad and their Protection (the “Law”). The Law will be applicable two months following its coming into force, i.e. 13 January 2016. The Law regulates the secondment of employees abroad in a more modern manner compared to the currently applicable Law on Protection of Citizens of FR of Yugoslavia working abroad ...
UPDATE: On December 21, 2015, Common Pleas Judge Joseph James struck down the employee sick leave ordinance, ruling that Pittsburgh’s City Council lacked authority to “to enact any ordinance determining any duty, responsibility or requirement of a business or private employer.” The ordinance would have required employers of more than 15 employees to provide up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per year and smaller employers to offer up to 24 hours of paid sick leave ...
A federal appellate court in the Midwest suggests that while unions do not have blanket approval to inspect an employer’s worksite, the union’s interest in safety generally will outweigh an employer’s interest in confidentiality and property rights. The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, in Caterpillar, Inc. v. NLRB, 803 F.3d 360 (7th Cir ...
As a veteran of the United States Marine Corps and someone who has seen the challenges that veterans face firsthand, I can attest to the benefits of giving veterans an opportunity to return to work following periods of service and providing families with the opportunity to manage the needs of their servicemembers. At Spilman, we feel that employers should adhere to best practices guidelines and prepare to implement and facilitate such enforcement ...
In October, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) employed a little-used procedural doctrine to issue a consolidated complaint against a parent company of a chain of hospitals located throughout the U.S. The NLRB issued the consolidated complaint, which included 29 unfair labor practice charges, against Community Health Systems, Inc ...
The Court of Justice has issued a judgment invalidating the European Commission’s Safe Harbour decision. This means that participation in the Safe Harbour programme by US entities is no longer grounds for European companies to transfer personal data of EEA citizens to the United States. On 6 October 2015, the Court of Justice of the European Union held that the European Commission’s decision approving the Safe Harbour programme is invalid (Schrems v Data Protection Commissioner, Case C-362/14) ...
CMS and OIG Finalize Waivers for ACOs in the Medicare Shared Savings Program Effective October 29, 2015, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) and the Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) of the Department of Health & Human Services (“HHS” or “the Department”) finalized the waivers of certain fraud and abuse laws to specified arrangements involving accountable care organizations (“ACOs”) in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (“MSSP”) ...
SyCipLaw Partner Leslie C. Dy participated in the World Bank Group’s Women, Business and the Law 2016: Getting to Equal. The 2016 edition, the fourth in the series, continues to cover and collect data about legal restrictions on women’s entrepreneurship and employment. The series aims to inform policy discussions and promote research on linkages between the law and women’s economic opportunities ...
Across Africa, investments in infrastructure have failed to keep pace with growth and demand, creating a tremendous infrastructure deficit. Less than 40pc of the population across the continent, and only 26pc of the population of sub-Saharan Africa, has access to electricity.Approximately, 34pc of the population has access to improved sanitation facilities, and 35pc lack access to clean drinking water ...
The Government of Indonesia has recently issued a series of regulations in an attempt to further regulate pension securities and amend the old age security programs in Indonesia, namely Government Regulation No. 45 of 2015 on the Management of the Pension Security Program (“GR 45/2015”) and Government Regulation No. 46 of 2015 as amended by Government Regulation No. 60 of 2015 on the Management of the Old Age Security Program (“GR 46/2015”) ...
It’s no surprise that the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCOE) has extended the public comment period for one of its newest guides, “Securing Electronic Health Records on Mobile Devices ...
On September 30, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a Continuing Resolution that will fund the government and extend the Immigrant Investor (EB-5) Pilot Program through December 11, 2015. The short-term extension will allow lawmakers seeking to reform the EB-5 program additional time to refine and advance legislation that would make investing in the program more difficult. To read the full alert, click here ...
