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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Insolvency that stems from the obligations assumed by a joint venture may concern any of the associates. Such proceeding, especially when it has an international dimension, requires a broader perspective on some of the requirements set forth by law with respect to the initiation and application of the proceeding. Through its effects on the debtor, creditors and on the socioeconomic environment in general, insolvency is more than a mere legal procedure ...
Your CEO calls you, as the general counsel of a public company, to tell you that a third party has made an unsolicited offer for the company. What are the first steps you should take? Types of Unsolicited Proposals. An unsolicited proposal may be a casual pass, where a third party informally approaches the company to discuss an acquisition proposal, or may be a bear hug letter, which will contain a formal proposal to buy the company and may include a price ...
In a unanimous decision rendered on June 22nd , the Supreme Court of Canada confirms the principles previously established by the Court of Appeal: Quebec’s Automobile Insurance Act1 (“Act”) must be given a large and liberal interpretation. In this case, the Court confirms that the mere use of a vehicle as a means of transportation will be sufficient for the Act to apply even if the vehicle is not the cause of the accident ...
A recent decision from the Eastern District of Kentucky doubles as a primer on the enforcement of FCA releases in settlement agreements. Courts often invalidate post-filing FCA releases—those executed after a qui tam lawsuit has already been filed—reasoning that, by statute, a relator cannot release claims that belong to the government ...
The South African Supreme Court of Appeal (“SCA”) recently delivered judgment in the matter of FirstRand Bank Limited v The Spar Group Limited. The SCA held that: A customer with no entitlement to money deposited into its account and who knows that it enjoys no such entitlement, may not pay out money against the credit to the account. Doing so amounts to theft ...
In SC v OE1 & Anor, HCCT 48/2019 and OE1 & Anor v SC, HCCT 66/2019, the Court had to consider whether the arbitral Tribunal could make corrections to an arbitration award under Article 33(1)(a) of the Model Law (adopted in section 69 of the Arbitration Ordinance, Cap 609) because the award had failed to address two types of relief which had been claimed ...
The economic climate in which many South African firms operate has meant that dismissals for operational requirements have become an inescapable concern. However are employees always entitled to severance pay? Section 41(1) of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, 1997 provides that a retrenched employee is entitled to severance pay at least equal to one week’s remuneration for every year of completed service with the employer ...
When corporate executives are charged with crimes, their companies often foot the bill for their defenses. Sometimes those bills can be hefty. And while companies sometimes seek to recoup the expenses when the executives are convicted, a recent decision from the influential Judge Jed Rakoff of the Southern District of New York makes clear that the criminal restitution process may not be their best approach ...
To avoid a complicated and lengthy disciplinary proceeding, employers might consider a mutual separation agreement, to terminate an employee’s employment and pay them a sum of money. In the case of Balsdon v Valley Macadamias Group (Pty) Ltd, the Labour Court had to decide whether it could make a mutual separation agreement a court order in terms of the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (“LRA”) ...
A child arrangements order is a court order which states where a child will live, how they will be cared for and how they will spend their time with one or both of their parents. A question which often goes unasked, however, is how long will the order last? The contact arrangements set out within a child arrangements order, i.e ...
Sometimes a claimant realises that it has made a mistake. Its case may be pleaded incorrectly, elements of its claim may be unsustainable or stronger claims could be available to it. With permission, amendments can be made but when do these changes become something more than a simple amendment? R G Carter In the recent case of R. G ...
The Federal Circuit, in an opinion written by Judge Rader and joined by Judges Lourie and Prost, has determined that a termination of a contract for the government’s convenience does not terminate obligations to perform warranty and software upgrade services under the contract. The Court of Federal Claims, in a well-reasoned opinion by Judge Miller, had determined otherwise ...
How Wirecard skirted regulatory scrutiny by jurisdiction-shopping and canny intra-group structuring. It would have been the quintessential business success story. Founded in Munich in 1999, this small payment processor for online gambling and pornography sites grew so massive that, by 2018, it had displaced Commerzbank from Germany’s prestigious Dax 30 index. At its peak, the juggernaut was valued at more than €24 billion (S$38.6 billion) ...
Arbitration continues to be a growing preference for dispute resolution. Mandatory arbitration provisions are found in a variety of commercial contracts, especially in consumer agreements. In fact, it has been reported in a 2018 study that 81 of America’s 100 largest companies use binding arbitration agreements as a standard provision in their consumer contracts ...
'Close of business' is a term many people use in their day to day working life without much thought. But what does it actually mean and should the term be used in contractual documentation? Agreeing to get something done by 'close of business' is a phrase often used when flexibility is required as to the time a task will be completed. It makes it clear the task will be done that day, but not by a particular time ...
