Hong Kong has introduced a new Arbitration Ordinance which became effective on 1st June 2011.

The U.S. Department of Labor ("DOL") recently issued new model Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA") notice and certification forms to replace DOL's prior forms, which had expired on February 28, 2015.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration issued a release on September 18, 2013, providing guidance to employee benefit plans, plan sponsors, plan fiduciaries, and plan participants and beneficiaries on the meaning of "spouse" and "marriage" as these terms appear in the provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the Internal Revenue Code.

On March 24, 2011, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") issued its final regulations under the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 ("ADAAA"), which was intended to broaden the scope of coverage afforded by the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA").

Because 2012 is an election year, Congress is not expected to pass significant labor and employment legislation.

In a pair of decisions issued on August 30, which have already been touted as victories for unions, the National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB") restored the "successor bar" and "voluntary recognition bar" doctrines and defined "reasonable period of bargaining" in each of these two situations.

On July 22, 2011, Governor Corbett’s Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission ("the Commission") issued its report containing 96 recommendations to "develop a comprehensive, strategic proposal for the responsible and environmentally sound government of Marcellus Shale."

In a rather surprising turn of events, the California Air Resources Board (“CARB”) announced on March 10, 2008, that, effective immediately, it will once again enforce its “Marine Vessel Rules.”

Recessions can take anyone by surprise. Many different economists have been predicting a recession for months now, though whether it is for a long or a short downturn...

As the U.S. mortgage crisis continues with record rates of home loans entering the foreclosure process—the Mortgage Bankers Association reported a new high of 0.83 percent on March 6—executive pay at several of the top Wall Street firms is being closely examined on Capitol Hill.

Vice President Biden and Health & Human Services Secretary Sebelius have recently announced the availability of $1.2B in grants to foster the implementation of electronic health records (“EHR”).

The Federal Trade Commission is now targeting pharma and biotech patent license agreements in which less than all the patent rights are licensed. In particular, the FTC has modified its rules for reporting asset acquisitions under the Hart Scott Rodino Act to include exclusive patent license agreements for pharmaceuticals where manufacturing or other rights are retained by the licensor.

On March 22, 2011, in Matrixx Initiatives, Inc. v. Siracusano, -- S.Ct. --, 2011 WL 977060 (Mar. 22, 2011), the United States Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision ruling that reports of adverse events concerning a pharmaceutical company’s product may be sufficiently "material" under the federal securities laws.

An FY10 Defense Appropriations Conference Report (H.R. 3326) is slated for consideration on the House floor next week, as lawmakers scramble to complete all 12 regular appropriations bills before a continuing resolution—legislation currently funding most government agencies at FY09 levels—expires on December 18.

Commercial software manufacturers and certain federal resellers could find their federal business significantly impacted by an SBA Proposed Rule published recently at 79 Fed. Reg. 77955, December 29, 2014.

In one of its first rulings interpreting the Small Business Jobs Act, the Small Business Administration’s Office of Hearings and Appeals curtailed the potential reach of the Act’s deemed certification provisions.

The America Invents Act expands the opportunity for third parties to submit prior art in pending patent applications before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office has established rules and a fee schedule providing a 75% "micro entity" discount for many fees to be paid in patents and patent applications.

Too many times a defendant is forced to foot the bill for costly discovery and motion practice before being able to successfully challenge class allegations.

Last week, in a significant blow to claims that gig economy workers are entitled to pursue disputes on a class or collective basis, and possibly whether those workers will be able to establish that they are employees and not independent contractors, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously decertified a class of 240,000 Uber drivers.