Legal Updates

February 24, 2020

How To Enforce A NY Lease Guarantee Against A UK Co.

Great Britain formally left the European Union on Jan. 31. While the impacts will be
far reaching, one change will be the enforcement of court judgments between the
U.K. and the rest of the EU. For a judgment in an EU member state to be enforced in
the U.K., parties will likely have to follow the same procedures currently used for
the enforcement of U.S. judgments in the U.K. By way of example, this article will
discuss enforcing the guarantee of a U.K. parent company that secures a New York
lease.

Often, when dealing with U.K. enterprises, New York landlords are forced to accept
guarantees from U.K. parent companies with limited assets in the United States.
More often than not, these foreign guarantors refuse to submit by agreement to
New York jurisdiction. Read more…

Posted in Legal Updates

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February 24, 2020

BOTTOMLESS BRUNCHES? NOT IN SCOTLAND!

By Miller Samuel

Most people will have come across the tantalizing words ‘Bottomless Boozy Brunch’ at some point in their dining out lives. But in Scotland these words amount to nothing more than a catchy marketing ploy as no ‘bottomless’ brunch can be truly unlimited.

This is due to legislation from 2010 which amended the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005, the main piece of legislation which governs the sale of alcohol in Scotland. These changes prohibited “irresponsible drinks promotions”. Read more…

Posted in Europe | Legal Updates

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February 24, 2020

EMPLOYMENT OF EU WORKERS AFTER BREXIT

By Miller Samuel

The UK’s membership of the EU and the rules on freedom of movement mean that people from the EU, EEA and Switzerland have had the right to work in the UK with minimal checks required. UK employers only need to check for valid identification proving the worker is a citizen of the UK or an EU/EEA country, meaning they have the right to work in the UK.

Now that the UK has left the EU, this will all be up in the air once the current transition period ends. The government has indicated it intends to implement a new points based immigration system which will apply from 1^st January 2021, meaning EU citizens may be subject to greater requirements to work in the UK. Given the duties upon employers to ensure their employees and workers are legally permitted to work in the UK – it being an offence to employ someone who is not – it will be important to ensure that any new requirements are being complied with. However, there are many obvious questions which arise in the meantime. What happens to EU citizens who already work in the UK? Are there any steps which need to be taken now?

Posted in Europe | Legal Updates

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February 20, 2020

Llinks Client Alert–Cybersecurity, Data & Privacy (January 2020)

By LLinks Law Offices

I. Highlights

Six departments revised the Interim Measures for the Administration of Online Ride-hailing Services.

Website of China Administrative Penalty Documents Online was launched. Read more.

Posted in Asia Pacific | Legal Updates

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February 20, 2020

Llinks Client Alert – Antitrust

By LLinks Law Offices

I. Highlights

The State Administration for Market Regulation announces that the antitrust review of concentration of undertakings will be conducted online due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The State Administration for Market Regulation issues an administrative penalty decision concerning monopoly agreement…read more

Posted in Asia Pacific | Legal Updates

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February 19, 2020

On Enterprises’ Obligations of Reporting Employees’ Information during the Epidemic

By LLinks Law Offices

After the outbreak of Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia (COVID-19), government
departments, enterprises and institutions across the country have been
actively collecting information on the epidemic situation with a view to
maintaining the normal production order and economic order. On February 4,
the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission (“CAC”) issued the
Notice on Protecting Personal Information and Using Big Data to Support
Joint Prevention and Control (hereinafter referred to as the “Notice”),
which is intended to urge all local government departments and all
institutions and entities to collect and report personal information related
to the joint prevention and control of the epidemic situation in accordance
with the law, to safeguard personal information security, and to protect
personal privacy from any violation. In this special period, enterprises
must not only make an orderly labor arrangement despite the impact by the
epidemic, cooperate with the information reporting tasks, but also pay
attention to employees’ personal information and privacy protection. This
article aims to clarify the legal basis for collecting and reporting
employees’ personal information to government agencies during this epidemic
situation, and to further provide enterprises with some compliance tips on
how to properly respond to requests for employees’ information from
government departments and secure employees’ personal information and
privacy at the same time. Read more…

Posted in Asia Pacific | Legal Updates

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February 18, 2020

A Prospect on Protection of Innovative Drugs Post US-China Trade Agreement

By LLinks Law Offices

The United of States and the People’s Republic of China reached the
milestone Economic and Trade Agreement (the “Agreement”) on 15 January
2020. Chapter 1 on protections of intellectual property rights forms an
important part of the Agreement and the terms on protections on innovative
drugs constitute an important part of Chapter 1. When the Agreement is fully
implemented, the landscape of intellectual property protections for
innovative drugs will change significantly and innovative pharmaceutical
companies’ interest will be better protected. Read more…

Posted in Asia Pacific | Legal Updates

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February 16, 2020

Facebook and Twitter fined for violation of requirements for the personal data localization

By Lidings Law Firm

At the end of 2019, Federal Law No. 405-FZ¹ entered into force. This act has significantly increased administrative liability for violations of the requirements on the localization of databases containing personal data of Russian nationals. We already wrote about this amendment earlier.

The new provisions have significantly increased the amount of fines for violation of requirements for the personal data localization. At the moment the maximum fine may be as high as RUB 18 million.

Posted in Europe | Legal Updates

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February 14, 2020

California Supreme Court Holds That Time Spent Waiting by Apple Retail Employees for Exit Searches is Compensable under California Law

By Michael S. Kun and Kevin Sullivan of Epstein Becker & Green

It is not unusual for businesses at risk of employee theft to implement security screenings for employees as they exit the employer’s facilities. Such screenings are especially common in industries where small, costly items could easily be slipped into a pocket or handbag – jewelry, smartphones, computer chips, etc.

In light of the California Supreme Court’s decision in Frlekin v. Apple, Inc., those security screenings now seem likely to lead to even more litigation wherein employees claim that they were not paid for their time spent waiting to be screened, at least in California.

Posted in Legal Updates | North America

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February 14, 2020

House Passes Bill Restricting Employer Credit Checks

By Eduardo J. Quiroga of Epstein Becker & Green

On January 29, 2020, the House of Representatives passed the Comprehensive CREDIT Act of 2020 (the “Act”), which would change federal laws pertaining to consumer reporting agencies and credit checks in a number of ways. Significantly for employers, the Act includes an amendment (originally H.R. 3614 – “Restricting Credit Checks for Employment Decisions Act”) to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”), which would restrict the use of credit information for most employment decisions

Posted in Legal Updates | North America

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