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In the final part of a three-part series on conflict minerals compliance, Michael Littenberg at Ropes & Gray LLP discusses practical compliance tips for this cycle and the next in light of past and expected trends in conflict minerals compliance.
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Businesses are increasingly expected to respect human rights wherever they operate. Though light on government regulation, the U.K. Modern Slavery Act is designed to engineer pressure from consumers, investors and the media, which could ultimately be more effective at driving up standards than the threat of legal enforcement action, says Richard Tauwhare at Dechert LLP.
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Starting in October 2015, some U.S. companies, including many that already come within the scope of the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act, will be required to make disclosures about the steps their supply chains are taking to prevent human trafficking under the U.K.'s Modern Slavery Act, says Michael Littenberg at Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP.
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On the heels of the U.K. Bribery Act of 2010 — a close copy of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act — the United Kingdom has now taken cues from another novel U.S. enactment, this time the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act, and delivered its own disclosure regime on the doorsteps of the international business world, say attorneys with Perkins Coie LLP.
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The crux of the debate in Bates van Winklehof v. Clyde & Co LLP was whether a partner could be considered a “worker” under U.K. law. The U.K. Supreme Court's holding will have potentially wide-reaching implications for LLPs with U.K.-based partners, say Katie Clark and Sharon Tan of McDermott Will & Emery LLP.
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The key impact of recent and impending changes to the U.K. Takeover Code for private equity bidders is that a bidder is now required to disclose its plans for employer contributions to the target’s defined benefit pension schemes, including the current arrangements for funding any scheme deficit, say attorneys with Debevoise & Plimpton LLP.
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Recently, four U.K. cases concerning whether each employee had been discriminated against on the grounds of religion culminated in the European Court of Human Rights' decision in Eweida and Others v. the United Kingdom. As demonstrated by these cases, it appears that aims such as the protection of other human rights carry more weight than projecting a certain corporate image, say attorneys with Latham & Watkins LLP.
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The U.K. government recently published its response to its consultation on private actions in competition law. If implemented, the proposals to introduce opt-out collective actions and settlement procedures for businesses and consumers as well as a fast-track process are likely to increase significantly the number of claims started in the U.K., say attorneys with Allen & Overy LLP.
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Multinational employers may find themselves investigating alleged wrongdoing that occurred in more than one nation, and U.S.-based lawyers and human resources executives often coordinate and directly carry out investigations overseas. But before boarding an international flight to interview witnesses or to review personnel files, in-house counsel and HR executives need to understand that the rules are different when it comes to conducting international investigations, says Philip Berkowitz of Littler Mendelson PC.
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The problem with an employment context choice-of-law clause is that it implicates tougher employment laws of the selected jurisdiction without blocking the mandatory application of tougher employment protection laws. The multinational employer now has to comply with two sets of employment protection laws, rather than just one, says Donald Dowling of White & Case LLP.
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The U.K. government recently announced that it is consulting on proposals, which, if implemented, will have a significant impact on the U.K. workplace and employment litigation. With these, plus other ongoing bills, proposals, reviews and consultations, it appears that employer-friendly legislation is on the horizon for 2013, says Suzanne Horne of Paul Hastings LLP.
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Probably the most common question in international employment law practice is, "which countries’ employment laws protect border-crossing employees such as expatriates and mobile workers?" This question is relevant when arranging any mobile job, expatriate posting or “secondment,” and it becomes vital when a multinational needs to dismiss border‑crossing staff, says Donald Dowling or White & case LLP
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A law before U.K. Parliament, the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill, aims to achieve "strong, sustainable and balanced growth" through wide-ranging measures that seek to improve several areas of the law. In particular, the proposed competition law reforms represent a major re-casting of the U.K. regime, say Becket McGrath and Trupti Reddy of Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP.
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The first half of 2012 saw again significant enforcement activity at the German Federal Cartel Office. The authority prohibited two mergers, imposed fines on three cartels, installed an anonymous whistleblower system, and started the second phase of its food sector inquiry, say Silvio Cappellari and Maria Held of Arnold & Porter LLP.
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The question of whether the U.K. Pension Regulator's moral hazard powers are enforceable outside the U.K. arose first in the Sea Containers case in 2008 and, more recently, in the cases of the Nortel Networks’ U.K. DB Scheme and the Great Lakes DB Scheme. The differing approach of the Pension Regulator, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and the Canadian courts in each of these cases is noteworthy, say Sian Robertson of Greenberg Traurig Maher LLP and David Cleary of Greenberg Traurig LLP.