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Signaling More Aggressive Enforcement Going Forward, OSHA Issues "Stronger" COVID-19 Guidance For Workplaces
Just eight days after President Biden ordered OSHA to publish “revised guidance to employers on workplace safety during the COVID-19 pandemic,” the agency complied this past Friday, January 29, with the release of a 12-page document which the Department of...
Consumer Protection Law in the UAE
On 10 November 2020, President of the United Arab Emirates His Highness Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan issued Federal Law No. (15) of 2020 on Consumer Protection (the “ Consumer Protection Law ”), which repealed Federal Law No. (24) of...
What Labor Nominee Walsh Means for the Fiduciary Rule’s Future
On January 7, 2021, President-elect Joe Biden named Boston Mayor Martin Walsh as his nominee for Secretary of Labor. Walsh’s nomination raises questions for the future of the Labor Department’s (DOL’s) fiduciary rule , which regulates “investment advice fiduciaries” under...
Nigeria's upstream petroleum sector: looking back at 2020 and looking ahead in 2021
We review what happened in Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector during the previous year – a year that saw a new marginal field bid round, an oil price crash and the onset of a terrible global pandemic. We also consider what...
FERC Seeks Industry Input on Financial Assurances for Hydro Projects
On January 19, 2021, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or “Commission”) issued a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) requesting industry input regarding the scope and necessity of potential financial assurances that it should impose on hydroelectric projects seeking FERC licenses...
FERC Issues Notice of Inquiry on Possible Expansion of Accounting and Reporting Requirements for Renewable Energy Assets
On January 19, 2021, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) issued a notice of inquiry to explore the treatment of accounting for certain costs associated with renewable energy assets. [1] Specially, FERC seeks comments from the public on whether FERC...
Will Congress Rollback Trump Regulatory Actions to Advance the Biden Policy Agenda?
Recent news that the Democrats flipped both U.S. Senate seats in Georgia’s run-off election means that the Democrats have enough votes to add the Congressional Review Act (CRA) [1] to the tools that could be used to advance President-elect Joe...
Treasury Releases Final Regulations on 45Q Carbon Capture Credits
On January 6, 2021, the Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued final regulations (the Final Regulations) under section 45Q of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (Section 45Q), which allows a credit for...
What Labor Nominee Martin Walsh Means for the Future of the Fiduciary Rule
On January 7, 2021, President-elect Joe Biden named Boston Mayor Martin Walsh as his nominee for Secretary of Labor. Walsh’s nomination raises questions for the future of the Labor Department’s (“DOL’s”) “fiduciary rule,” which regulates “investment advice fiduciaries” under the...
EPA Approved Texas NPDES Oil and Gas Program Authorization on January 15, 2021
On January 15, 2021, Region 6 of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) approved the State of Texas’ October 12, 2020 submittal to the EPA requesting partial National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (“NPDES”) program authorization for oil and gas discharges...
Does Work-From-Home Work for Your Company's Cyber Insurance?
The start of a new year is always a good reminder to take some time to review key areas and assess whether changes are in order. There are many examples of this both personally and professionally, but a company’s insurance...
Vaccine Incentives: How Employers Can Encourage Employee Vaccination
As COVID-19 vaccines become available to broader groups during winter and spring 2021, employers are considering how they can encourage employees to get vaccinated. While the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has stated that employers may require that employees get...
Fifth Circuit Sets New Framework for Fair Labor Standards Act Certification Analysis
Yesterday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit rejected the commonly used and admittedly lenient Lusardi framework for Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) conditional certification and set a new framework for courts to determine whether and to...
US Trade Policy in the Biden Administration
After four of the most volatile years in international trade in recent history, what will be the approach of the incoming Biden Administration on Trump-era tariffs, the China trade war, bilateral and multilateral trade agreements, relations with the World Trade...
2020 Incentive Stock Option & Employee Stock Purchase Plan Reporting
Now that 2021 is here, corporations should be aware of IRS reporting requirements regarding certain 2020 stock transactions with their employees. Section 6039 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), requires a corporation to report (i)...