If the United States Congress cannot reach a budget agreement to continue funding Federal government operations, the U.S. government will shut down non-essential functions Sunday, October 1, 2023. During the shutdown, immigration-related government agencies will be affected as described below. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) USCIS is funded by the fees it receives in connection with petitions and applications it processes and will not close ...
Following from the recent geopolitical developments in Ukraine, there has been a heightened interest in international sanctions ...
On the 15th of September 2023, the Court of Appeal (Inferior Jurisdiction) (Appeal Number: 155/2022 LM) reversed the Industrial Tribunal’s decision that had previously considered that the plaintiff had been unfairly dismissed from his employment with a bank. The Court was tasked with deciding on the employee’s allegations during proceedings which primarily related to claiming discriminatory treatment and unfair dismissal ...
The Manchester Crown Court made an order confiscating a landlord’s rent under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 for breaching a planning enforcement notice. Manchester’s Curry Mile is home to one of the largest concentrations of Asian eateries in the UK. Until recently, the Mile had also been the home of ‘Dubai Café’ ...
The UK political temperature is rising. With a General Election in the offing next year, and Labour now ahead in opinion polling, UK business would be wise to consider what a change in government could mean for employment law. A recent indication of Labour’s current thinking on employment policy was given by Deputy Leader Angela Rayner, in her speech to the Trade Union Congress (TUC) on 12 September 2023 ...
UAE companies can offer significant tax benefits when used as holding companies in certain scenarios. As an example, assume that an Italian limited liability company (“ItalianCo”) holds a 90% stake in a Moroccan operating subsidiary (“MoroccanCo”) and does not have a permanent establishment in Morocco ...
The public hearings for Module 1 of the UK’s Covid-19 Inquiry have now concluded and the evidence about the UK’s preparedness for the pandemic is in. We look at what was said and consider what lessons can be learnt. The hearings, which commenced on 13 June 2023 and concluded on 19 July 2023, assessed whether the pandemic was properly planned for by the Government and if the UK was adequately prepared for Covid ...
On complex construction projects, there may be multiple contractors, subcontractors, vendors, suppliers, and sub-subcontractors working along side one another. With various entities working parallel there are substantial risks that one contractor’s work will interfere with that of another contractor on the project. When the two parties have direct contracts with one another (e.g ...
Recently, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced a settlement with L.A. Health Care Plan. With more than 2.7 million members, L.A. Care is the nation's largest publicly operated health plan, that offers Medicaid, Medicare and plans through the Affordable Care Act. Under the settlement, L.A. Care agreed to pay $1 ...
You might remember our previous insight back in July which detailed the government’s announcement of increases to UKVI application fees. At that time, we had only quite vague information of the government’s planned increases and when these would come into force. The government have now released further information on these planned increases, including a date for increased application fees coming into effect- just three weeks away, on 4 October 2023 ...
On August 28, 2023, Supreme Decree No. 61 (the "Regulation") was published in the Official Gazette, which approves the regulation of Law No. 21,349 on "Composition, Labeling and Marketing of Fertilizers and Biostimulants" (the "Law"). Content of the Regulation In general terms, the Regulation covers the following matters: Classification of fertilizers, biostimulants and blends, establishing requirements by class. Composition, quality parameters and labeling. Sampling and analysis ...
On September 5th, 2023, the Executive submitted a new bill of law to amend Law No. 19,496, on the Protection of Consumers' Rights ("CPL"), to improve the protection of the rights of consumers in their individual interests, by strengthening the National Consumer Service ("SERNAC") - Bulletin No. 16,271-03 (hereinafter, the "Bill"). The Bill is known as "SERNAC Te Protege" (SERNAC Protects You) because it intends to grant SERNAC sanctioning powers ...
A government report on Shared Parental Leave (SPL) reveals a low take-up by eligible parents, with only 1% of eligible mothers and 5% of eligible fathers or partners taking it. What is SPL? SPL is a type of paid family leave that enables eligible employees to take flexible leave during the first year of their child’s life or the first year after adoption ...
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On Tuesday September 12, Patterson Belknap Partner Bill Cavanaugh delivered the opening statement on behalf of a coalition of the Attorney Generals from 38 states and other jurisdictions in the trial of a historic monopoly antitrust lawsuit against Google involving its search engine. Bill was appointed by the Attorney Generals of Colorado and Nebraska, the lead plaintiffs in the states' case, to serve as lead trial counsel ...
In 1968, the Supreme Court held in Bruton v. United States that a defendant was deprived of his rights under the Confrontation Clause when a nontestifying codefendant's confession naming the defendant as a participant in the crime was introduced in their joint trial, regardless of any instruction that the jury should consider the confession only against the confessing defendant ...
The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) recently handed unions a resounding victory by reviving a legal doctrine that allows them to represent employees without winning a formal election. A New Framework Built on Old Principles In 1949, the United States was in the early stages of a post-war economic expansion. The NLRB, still in its infancy, was adopting policies at a rapid pace aimed at encouraging collective bargaining ...
According to Supreme Decree 12 dated June 8, 2020, issued by the Ministry of Environment ("DS 12/2020"), on September 16, 2023, collection and recovery goals and ancillary obligations for producers of containers and packaging (the "Producers") within the context of Law 20,920 ("EPR Law") will become enforceable. DS 12/2020 establishes, among others, the following obligations for the Producers: Register in the Pollutant Release and Transfer Register, and provide the information requested ...
The Home Office have recently announced that they will automatically extend the immigration status of EU nationals and their family members who hold pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme. What are the changes I should know about? Email communications from the Home Office are now being circulated to status holders to update them regarding two changes: 1 ...
The Government is undertaking a consultation on the secondary legislation required to implement the new public procurement regime established by the Procurement Bill ...
With the announcement of the Law Commission’s planned consultation on Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, can changes be made to clarify and condense the statutory framework for renewals? One area ripe for reform is how the level of rent is determined, and in particular, the treatment of rent-free periods where no binding authority appears to exist - leaving a variety of often conflicting County Court decisions ...
The summer is a welcome break for higher education students across Scotland. But, as coursework and exams are temporarily put to the back of minds, a potential reform is looming that could have major implications on the student living experience in Scotland. This relates to the outcome of a much-anticipated review into its purpose-built student accommodation sector (PBSA) – first initiated in 2021 by the Scottish Government ...
Since receiving Royal Assent on 28 April 2022, the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA) has continued to lumber along - coming into effect in phases and throwing up legal complications as it goes. The government has therefore been required to create secondary legislation – regulations - to seek to clarify and untangle various provisions in the BSA. The Act is reliant on regulations to provide the detail of many of its provisions ...
The Planning (Agent of Change) Bill was a private member’s bill introduced in Westminster in 2018 by former government minister John Spellar to ‘require specified planning controls in relation to developments likely to be affected by existing noise sources’ ...
Chile’s Ministry of Public Works (MOP) announced 11 new projects that will be constructed throughout the country. This announcement is the first call for public works tenders since the beginning of President Boric’s term in office. The portfolio of concessions planned for 2023 calls for investments totaling USD 5.8 billion. Concessions included in the portfolio: New Route 5 in the Santiago-Los Vilos section - USD 1 ...
