Today (1 March 2023) is Zero Discrimination Day. The aim of the day is to promote equality and end all forms of discrimination. The day should serve as a reminder to employers on how they can identify, prevent and tackle discrimination. It is true that change within an organisation starts from the top and employers should be keen to build a culture of trust where employees feel comfortable raising concerns ...
In the second of our HR Improve articles we consider the importance of effective workforce planning and the options available to employers to help meet the current challenges in recruitment and building a workforce with the right skills for the future. Effective workforce planning enables employers to align their staffing requirements with their strategic direction for the business. In other words, it involves planning ahead to make sure you have the right people in place when you need them ...
Merger control constitutes the analysis carried out by the Office for Competition (the ‘Office’) in its assessment of those corporate transactions notifiable to it. The aim behind such an assessment is for the Office to consider whether that transaction – taking the form of the creation of a ‘concentration’ – is likely to impede effective competition ...
On Tuesday, February 21, 2023, the three-member Democratic majority of the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) issued a decision in McLauren Macomb, reverting back to pre-Trump era standards and ruling that non-disparagement and confidentiality provisions in a separation agreement violated the concerted right activity provisions of Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”). Section 7 of the NLRA applies to most U.S ...
The Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (“PUMP Act”), enacted by Congress in late December 2022, provides more nursing mothers with reasonable break time to express breast milk after childbirth and requires employers to designate private locations (other than bathrooms) that are free from intrusion and shielded from view for this purpose ...
The implementation of the Building Safety Act 2022 (‘the Act’), aimed to reform building safety legislation following the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, is now well underway. The requirements set out in the Act will affect everyone in the built environment industry, and not just in respect of higher-risk buildings ...
Green tech presents a growth area and one in which the UK could flourish, but to do so requires capital investment and a clear strategy alongside developing the necessary skillset of the UK workforce. So how realistic is this in the current climate? Experience to date would suggest that the UK is lagging behind other countries in this sector and that unless more is done, we will miss out on the opportunity green tech offers ...
In 2018, second-term Governor Roy Cooper issued climate-related Executive Orders, which was followed in 2019 by the state’s clean energy plan ...
Federal infrastructure funding is coming to North Carolina and Pennsylvania! Recently, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced an award of $1.2 billion in grants for nine projects around the country. This includes projects in North Carolina and Pennsylvania. The funding for these projects is coming from the new National Infrastructure Project Assistance (Mega) discretionary grant program ...
On February 22, 2023, the United States Supreme Court affirmed the importance of long-standing U.S. Department of Labor salary pay regulations. In Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc. et al. v. Michael J. Hewitt, (Case No. 21-984), the Court, in a 6-2-1 opinion, held that high-earning professionals can only be overtime-exempt if they are paid on salary basis. The case involved Michael Hewitt, a former offshore oil rig worker for Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc ...
The MFSA published a Consultation Document on proposed amendments to the Insurance Business Act (hereinafter referred to as the “IBA”) and the Insurance Distribution Act (hereinafter referred to as the “IDA”) on the 22nd of February. The MFSA also made available the draft legislation, as well as a podcast laying down the proposed amendments ...
U.S. businesses should take note of the enhanced benefits now available to companies that self-disclose misconduct or otherwise cooperate with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) under the DOJ Criminal Division’s new Corporate Enforcement Policy.[1] The policy, as revised, governs not only the DOJ’s handling of matters under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA),[2] but also the DOJ’s handling of matters under other federal criminal statutes as well ...
Construction continues to be one of the deadliest industries in the United States, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) is heavily targeting construction workplaces. In 2022, OSHA inspected construction workplaces more than any other industry, and OSHA’s focus on construction employers is expected to continue this year ...
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) plans to prioritize its efforts to correct discrimination and harassment in the construction industry following a review of data that revealed the construction sector to be one of the most challenging areas in terms of discrimination and harassment cases ...
In recent years, there has been a surge in new union organizing efforts and tactics to unionize and organize employers around the country. From Amazon workers in Jacksonville to Starbucks employees in 280 stores and counting, unions are imploring workers to turn to unions to help address issues like low wages, lack of benefits, and poor working conditions. Unionizing has become more heavily publicized, even romanticized, in the media and many employees have bought in to the movement ...
In the latest report published in December 2022 by the Fraud Advisory Panel in conjunction with BDO LLP, 100 UK based charities were surveyed. 69% said that they had experienced financial loss due to fraud. 58% said they believed that the risk of fraud will increase over the next 12 months ...
Employer Checking Service (ECS) checks are a vital step in the right to work check process. Positive Verification Notice (PVN) from the ECS can ensure that an employer maintains a statutory excuse against liability for a civil penalty for illegal working in situations where an employee’s visa expires during the course of their employment. ECS checks are required in situations where an employee is on a time limited visa that expires during employment ...
In the past week, there were several important updates made to the Federal Acquisition Regulations by the Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration (GSA), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) ...
In the past week, there were several important updates made to the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) by the Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration (GSA), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) ...
The Law on Competition (2018) (“Law”) is effective, but it is not fully implemented due to the lack of appointed regulatory authority. Hence only the Law’s merger provisions have been enforced through the regulator under the now repealed Law on Competition 2004, the Vietnam Competition and Consumer Authority, under the authority of Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade (“MOIT”) ...
The Digital Markets Act (DMA) – which is underpinned by competition law - allows access to third parties to data previously held only by ‘Gatekeepers’, namely, large digital platforms, such as Google or Facebook ...
In recent years, there has been a surge in new union organizing efforts and tactics to unionize and organize employers in the state of Florida. From Amazon workers in Jacksonville to farmworkers in Immokalee, unions are imploring Floridian workers to turn to unions to help address issues like low wages, lack of benefits, and poor working conditions. Unionizing has become more heavily publicized, even romanticized, in the media and many employees have bought in to the movement ...
This has been driven by a rise in flexible working arrangements and the so-called 'gig economy' as well as by employers seeking creative ways to reduce costs in a restrained economic environment. With this in mind, the Employment Act 2000 was amended in 2021 to allow the Ministry of Economy and Labour to publish guidance to assist in determining whether a person is an employee or an independent contractor ...
February 17, 2023 By: Alexander Davis and Manuel Fishman Update This article is partly a republication of a Client Alert that was issued on December 6, 2022 titled “San Francisco’s Commercial Vacancy Tax.” Readers who have already read the original article can simply read ahead to the sections labeled “Update.” Commercial Vacancy Tax In March 2020, the voters of San Francisco approved Proposition D, also known as the Commercial Vacancy Tax ...
