On 25 May 2022, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) published its new 10-year strategy (“the Strategy”) which will inform its activities until 2032. As recognised in the Foreword, “the organisation’s role and responsibilities are growing, particularly in the areas of building safety, chemicals regulation and supporting sustainable, healthy, workplace practices ...
If you have been doing business with entities in the European Union, chances are that you have struggled to figure out how to transfer data from the EU to the US without running afoul of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). You are not alone. The EU and US have struggled to create “adequate” safeguards for the transfer of personal data since 2000. The first set of guidelines, the Safe Harbor Privacy Principles, was adopted in 2000 ...
A summary of the key takeaways from a recent webinar on The Covid-19 Public Inquiry - Spotlight on the Care Sector. What is a Public Inquiry? A public inquiry is a state sponsored investigation into areas of public concern. Inquiries are set up and sponsored by the government, but they operate independently of the government. All inquiries have powers to compel the attendance of witnesses or provision of evidence ...
Clients with European Union (“EU”) trade marks, registered designs and EP patents may be wondering what will happen to their IP protection in the United Kingdom (“UK”) now that the nation has voted to leave the EU.The good news is that EU IP rights extending to the UK will not be affected in the short-term. The European Patent Office is not an EU institution, so the leave vote will have no effect on EP patents ...
As the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues to spread rapidly throughout the United States—and the world—commercial relationships are being thrown into disarray, resulting in the disruption of supply chains, cancellations of events, and closures of restaurants and other businesses. Several states have declared a state of emergency (including banning large group gatherings and mandating that certain business shutter for the time being) ...
On April 24, 2020, Governor Whitmer reaffirmed the stay-at-home measures set forth in Executive Order 2020-42, amended the scope of that order, and extended the duration of such measures through May 15, 2020 (unless modified earlier). While many of the restrictions from her prior executive orders remain in place, Executive Order 2020-59 includes some easing of in-person operation restrictions as well as some corresponding requirements for those operations ...
The Federal Housing Administration recently issued Mortgagee Letter 2022-23, establishing a new COVID-19 Home Equity Conversion Mortgage Property Charge Repayment Plan.[1] The COVID-19 HECM Property Charge Repayment Plan would aid HECM borrowers in covering costs associated with standard property charges. As a condition of their loan, HECM borrowers are required to pay property charges such as property taxes, insurance and homeowner association fees related to their mortgaged property ...
When is one a shareholder or member of a company? This issue was recently considered by the Supreme Court of Uganda in Matthew Rukikaire v Incafex Limited, which ruled that a person who has not fully paid up their shares may be considered a member and shareholder of a company with rights to full participation in the affairs of the company to the extent allowed by the types of shares they hold ...
Shipping & Transport, MalaysiaFactsApplicable legal principlesPlaintiff's argumentDefendant's argumentDecisionCommentThis article examines the basis for an order for a sale pendente lite of a vessel that was arrested by a sheriff in in remadmiralty proceedings as security for the plaintiff's claim.(1) FactsOn 19 November 2017 the defendant's vessel, Shi Pu 1, collided with the plaintiff's bulk vessel, Winning Loyalty ...
The Corona crisis is not only a huge challenge for health care, but also the consequences for the economy will be enormous. Different sectors (such as the hospitality sector and the transport sector) will not be able to overcome the difficult times we are currently facing without public support ...
25 July marks World In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) day (or World Embryologist Day) recognising the day in 1978 the first baby was born following successful IVF treatment. To mark the day, we ask what employers can do to support employees undertaking IVF. Background Louise Joy Brown was the first ever baby in the world to be born following IVF treatment ...
Brexit, the United Kingdom’s vote to leave the European Union, raises many questions and some are related to intellectual property issues. There are a few anticipated changes to IP rights due to Brexit. Here is a summary of some key issues, and what could happen next. Trademarks and Designs Proceduresfor treatment of EU trademarks will need to be an element of the negotiations for the UK in leaving the EU ...
President Trump signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA” or “the Act”) into law on March 18. The Act requires employers with fewer than 500 employees to provide their employees with paid sick leave and expanded Family and Medical Leave Act rights, subject to exceptions for certain healthcare providers, emergency responders, and businesses with fewer than 50 employees if compliance would jeopardize the business as a going concern ...
What is changing with how prudential regulators view fintech partnerships? How is this affecting financial institutions TPRM programs? Prudential regulators appear to be acknowledging the role that fintech partnerships have in the marketplace, both to expand banking services to previous unbanked/underbanked populations, and to allow smaller, regional banks to develop new markets for their services ...
Are delivery obligations between businesses still to be fulfilled? In principle, commercial contracts and the rights and obligations contained therein remain legally binding, despite the official measures taken to prevent the spreading of COVID-19. However, in connection with travel contracts, the Austrian Supreme Court qualified the outbreak of the infectious disease SARS as a force majeure event that made it unreasonable to perform the contract ...
Limited Companies (LCs) and Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) are corporate structures that exist as separate legal entities and afford members limited liability. LCs and LLPs can enter into contracts, hold property, sue and be sued, grant fixed and floating charges and are subject to similar disclosure, accounting and filing requirements. The main distinction between them is that while an LC is treated as a taxable entity an LLP’s members are taxed as individuals ...
CIVIL LITIGATION What are the effects of COVID-19 and the measures recently taken by the federal government on litigation proceedings? Will the civil courts remain in operation? As of 16 March 2020, a regulation amending the rules of procedure for courts of first and second instance will come into force. This regulation provides for a restriction of court services limited to the strict minimum ...
“ESG” is an acronym that is being used with growing frequency across the investment community. ESG stands for environmental, social, and governance criteria, which are increasingly used by socially conscious investors when deciding whether or not to invest in a company. Environmental criteria are effectively a company’s green credentials. Social criteria relate to the people the company works with and the community it serves ...
as published in West Virginia Banker magazine, Winter 2022 In October 2022, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) independent funding structure violates the U.S. Constitution’s Appropriations clause and the principle of separation of powers. The Dodd-Frank Act, passed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, provided that the CFPB would not be funded through Congressional appropriations ...
The West Virginia legislature is considering bills to amend the Consumer Credit and Protection Act (“WVCCPA”) and they can affect how lenders, creditors, collectors, and others interact with consumers in financial transactions. The WVCCPA is the primary statute in West Virginia that regulates how lenders, creditors, collectors, and others deal with consumers in financial transactions ...
