Following the creation of the Department of Migrant Workers ("DMW") pursuant to Republic Act No. 11641, or the Department of Migrant Workers Act ("RA 11641"), the Department of Labor and Employment ("DOLE") and the DMW issuedJoint Circular No. 01, series of 2022 (the "Joint Circular"),on July 7, 2022, to facilitate and ensure the efficient and effective implementation of RA 11641 ...
A rose, said Shakespeare, by any other name would smell as sweet. But while the Bard may know his flowers, he clearly was no expert on branding Apples. Rodrigo Duterte, the Filipino president, would like to change his country’s moniker “because the Philippines is named after King Phillip”. He appears to be eager to distance his nation from its colonial past, the said monarch being a 16th century ruler of Spain ...
Following the government’s consultation on calorie labelling for food and drink served outside of the home in 2018, qualifying businesses in the out of home (OOH) sector will be required to display calorie information per portion from 6 April 2022. What is changing? Currently, businesses serving non-prepacked food and drink in the OOH sector are not required to provide calorie (energy) information ...
Following our recent article on the end of the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), you may be wondering, “but what is happening to the Johannesburg Interbank Average Rate (“JIBAR”)? If I have a long dated loan referencing JIBAR, should I be adding some fall-back language?” To recap, on a worldwide basis, central banks and regulators undertook a review of interbank lending rates after the financial crisis of2008 ...
Attorneys and other service providers who deal with securities may unwittingly become liable for aiding and abetting violations of the Texas Securities Act. Introduction: A recent decision from the Fort Worth court of appeals should concern anyone who deals with securities transactions, because the burden of proof for imposing liability on a person as an aider and abettor under the Texas Securities Act (“TSA”) just became a little easier ...
The COVID-19 pandemic has hit small businesses particularly hard. And, the Small Business Administration’s disaster loan program can offer many of those small businesses a lifeline. But, it can be daunting to know what relief is available (and for what purpose), who qualifies, and how to apply. This is what you need to know. The SBA has two types of disaster loan programs—one through banks and one directly from the SBA via the U.S. Treasury ...
The COVID-19 pandemic has hit small businesses particularly hard. And, the Small Business Administration’s disaster loan program can offer many of those small businesses a lifeline. But, it can be daunting to know what relief is available (and for what purpose), who qualifies, and how to apply. This is what you need to know. The SBA has two types of disaster loan programs—one through banks and one directly from the SBA via the U.S. Treasury ...
Earlier this year the federal government made changes to Canada’s temporary foreign worker program with the stated purpose of ensuring that Canadians are given the first opportunity to apply for available jobs. Most temporary foreign workers require a work permit to legally work in Canada. In many instances, the employer must first obtain a positive Labour Market Opinion (LMO) from Service Canada before the worker can apply for a work permit ...
Violence in the workplace is something all employers prohibit and try to prevent. Healthcare employers have a tougher time, because the violence often comes from patients. How do you best protect workers while still providing needed patient care? There are no federal laws addressing this issue, so some states have stepped in. Recently, Texas joined states like California in enacting statutory protections against workplace violence directed at healthcare workers.[1] Texas S.B ...
Margin ratchets are a concept that the banking and finance world are familiar with. Increasingly these are linked to ESG loans with both lender and borrower engagement. How do they work in practice, what are the benefits and what are the potential risks? Typically margin ratchets are linked to financial covenants – more often than not leverage – they incentivise borrowers to improve their financial health over the life of a loan ...
On May 4, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a Temporary Final Rule (TFR) that increases the automatic extension period for certain Employment Authorization Document (EAD) categories up to 540 days, effective immediately and valid through Oct. 15, 2025. Historically, certain EAD categories were only eligible for an extension up to 180 days. The TFR will help avoid employment gaps for foreign nationals with pending EAD applications ...
Unpacking the Economic Aid Act and American Rescue Plan Act: Consolidated First Draw PPP Interim Final Rule, New First Draw PPP Loans, and Increases to First Draw PPP Loans On January 6, 2021, the Small Business Administration (the “SBA”) and the Department of Treasury released an Interim Final Rule called “Business Loan Program Temporary Changes; Paycheck Protection Program as Amended by Economic Aid Act” (sometimes referred to as the “Consolidated First D
Update: On September 16, 2021, the Final Rule on Borrower Appeals of Final SBA Loan Review Decisions was posted and became effective on September 14, 2021 (the “Final Rule”). The Final Rule applies to all appealable final SBA loan review decisions under the PPP and applies to all appeals filed after the effective date and to those appeals filed before the effective date for which a notice and order has not been made ...
The Competition Bureau (the “Bureau”) is responsible for the administration and enforcement of the Competition Act (the “Act”), including criminal provisions relating to conspiracies to lessen competition, price fixing, market allocation, bid rigging and resale price maintenance, and civil provisions relating to abuse of dominant position, as well as other practices that may lessen competition, such as tied selling, refusal to deal and exclusivity ...
The potential for employees with differing protected characteristics to come into conflict with one another at work is an increasing problem for employers. We set out five top tips for employers when handling such conflicts in the workplace. Current caselaw Discrimination law in the UK protects those who have a protected characteristic, whether that be their race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, disability or age among others ...
Earlier this year the U.S. Supreme Court released its much-anticipated opinion inSouth Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., in which it held that physical presence within a State is no longer a prerequisite to the imposition of liability on out-of-state sellers to collect and remit sales taxes. In doing so, the Court overruled two of its own earlier cases—National Bellas Hess, Inc. v. Department of Revenue of IllinoisandQuill Corp. v. North Dakota ...
Extensive new powers to investigate and intervene in deals that could have national security concerns come into play this month, lenders and borrowers need to understand the implications now. The National Security and Investment Act (“the Act”) regime came into effect on 4 January 2022. It creates a new national security screening regime for corporate acquisitions in the UK. Certain aspects of the Act apply retrospectively from 12 November 2020 ...
The economic landscape continues to place mortgage customers under significant pressure. Following discussions between the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and some of the largest mortgage lenders in the UK, the Mortgage Charter was signed to address measures aimed at helping customers who may be struggling to meet their mortgage repayments amid the cost-of-living crisis ...
From caterpillar cakes and “anti-establishment” IPA beer to gin, the issue of “copycat” own brands has been thrown into the spotlight by a series of recent court actions involving some of the country’s best-known food and drink producers and discount supermarket chains ...
On March 18, 2020, Congress passed H.R. 6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. The Act, which is on its way to the President’s desk for immediate signature, includes many emergency measures to address COVID-19. The provisions with the greatest potential to impact employers and employees nation-wide are the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act of 2020 and the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act ...
It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of incredulity. Blazing yellow sun. Lapping blue waves. Tanned beach bods and a palm tree’s silhouette swaying against an orange sky. Once ubiquitous, the California Fitness logo that hints at its fabulous lifestyle offering has vanished from Singapore. In its heyday “Cali”, as its legions of fans called it, was not merely a gym, it was a status symbol ...
Module 6 of the UK’s Covid-19 Public Inquiry opened on 12 December 2023, with public hearings set to begin in Spring 2025. This article explores what Module 6 will examine and explains how and why members of the Care Sector may want to become involved ...
Thanks to the pandemic ‘working from home’ is a phrase we are all used to hearing. With the lifting of restrictions, however, ‘hybrid working’ is set to take its place. We consider the benefits of having a hybrid working policy and what to include in it ...
