COVID-19 represents one of the greatest ever shocks to our economies and, in consequence, to the business models of financial institutions and the way they do business. While many changes to business processes and operations were already taking place prior to the pandemic, COVID-19 has given many added impetus and urgency. Decision-makers must choose between adapting a wait-and-see approach or implementing more proactive strategies to safeguard and, if possible, grow their businesses.
In this special edition, Eva-Maria Segur Cabanac, a partner in our Vienna office and global sustainability lead for financial institutions, and Jennifer Klass, a partner in our New York office and co-chair of the financial regulation and enforcement practice in North America, talk with Ying Yi Liew on how the COVID-19 pandemic led to the prioritization of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations among financial institutions (FIs).
On 19 July 2021, most COVID-19 related restrictions were lifted in England. However, the government cautioned against an immediate full return to the office, saying that it expects and recommends a gradual return over the summer, emphasizing employers’ obligations to ensure a safe place of work.
Through Law No. 31246, published on 25 June 2021, Articles 49 and 60 of the Occupational Safety and Health Law, Act No. 29783 were amended. The amendment seeks to guarantee the welfare of the worker against communicable diseases inside and outside the workplace,
In the framework of the global pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2, and given both the decrease of cases and the increase of vaccination in Argentina, through Decree 494/2021, the National Government has established new preventive measures applicable between 7 August and 1 October 2021, inclusive, attuned to those that were last implemented by means of Decree 413/2021.
The latest video in the United States: The Employer Rapport series, focuses on mandatory vaccinations in the workplace.
Pressure is mounting on US and multinational employers to require COVID-19 vaccines for employees, as the Delta variant spreads voraciously, spiking infections and hospitalizations across the country and forcing employers to once again shutter worksites or change their workplace safety protocols. But can (and should) employers mandate vaccination?
While US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has allowed some flexibility for US employers over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, the relaxed rules will no longer apply once employees are routinely and predictably in the office. Without this flexibility, employers must act quickly to (1) update I-9s completed during the pandemic pursuant to ICE’s flexible rules, and (2) put in place or refresh protocols for I-9 completion and maintenance in a workplace that is always changing with shifting post-pandemic norms.
When world economies face challenges, employment claims of all types rise. COVID-19 impact on work, working life, and the employment relationship has been unprecedented. We’re now in the midst of a pandemic many employers thought we were heading out of, but the Delta variant could make employers’ plans to return to the office even more difficult than originally anticipated.
The production of cannabis for medical and adult-use has the potential to provide new sources of taxable revenue for pandemic-stricken countries. In South Africa, legal requirements around the production and sale of cannabis for medical use are onerous, but recent legal developments indicate an attempt to further enable the cultivation and sale of the plant as a way to boost the post-COVID economy.