The fight against global bribery and corruption just got real: in late October, former president of Terra Telecommunications Joel Esquenazi was sentenced to an unprecedented 15 years in prison for his role in the bribery of Haitian government officials in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. “This sentence – the longest sentence ever imposed… Read more »
“This week, Joel Esquenazi, the former president of Terra Telecommunications Corp., received the longest sentence ever handed down in a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act prosecution: fifteen years in prison. His co-defendant, Carlos Rodriguez, the former Terra executive vice president, was sentenced to seven years in prison. The Judge also ordered the defendants to forfeit over… Read more »
Accountable Care Organizations, a key element of the health care law designed to control costs while providing quality care to Medicare recipients, got an important shot in the arm earlier this month when the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued its final regulations for implementing the ACO Shared Savings Program. We’ll continue to update… Read more »
Earlier this month the Securities and Exchange Commission joined three other federal agencies in proposing regulations to implement Section 13 of the Bank Holding Company Act, also known as the Volcker Rule. Part of the Dodd-Frank Act, the proposed rule would bar banking institutions from ‘proprietary trading’ (trading for benefit of the bank versus the… Read more »
From Dechert: “The UK saw its first successful prosecution under the new Bribery Act (“the Act”) on 14 October 2011. The Act entered into force on 1 July 2011 and the Crown Prosecution Service (“CPS”) has been quick to test the new legislation. This should be interpreted as a warning by the UK prosecutors of… Read more »
“Democrat and Republican lawmakers don’t agree on much, but many of them have protested to the [Department of Labor] about this fiduciary definition change because Wall Street money does go a long way.” (From The Changing Definition of Plan Fiduciary and Why Plan Sponsors Should Care by The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.) Under intense pressure… Read more »
“For a number of years, [public companies] have migrated toward increasing dependence on digital technologies to conduct their operations. As this dependence has increased, the risks associated with cybersecurity have also increased, resulting in more frequent and severe cyber incidents… [W]e determined it beneficial to provide guidance that assists registrants in assessing what, if any,… Read more »
According to a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers study, 72% of US corporate boards are willing to reconsider executive compensation if shareholders vote against “say-on-pay” resolutions, advisory votes on executive pay required by provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act. Whether or not your board includes itself in that majority, it’s clear that the say-on-pay rules are shaping the way… Read more »
Add “cybersecurity risks” to the list of disclosures you need to make to investors… Guidance issued earlier this month by the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance suggests investors should be told about “vulnerabilities to unintentional security breaches, as well as deliberate attacks intended to steal assets, intellectual property, other sensitive information…” SEC Staff Issues Guidance… Read more »
For your interest, here’s a look at the five most-visited corporate law feeds on JD Supra over the past thirty days: 1. Labor & Employment Law Updates on… employee misclassification and the IRS settlement program, the NLRB poster rule, social media in the workplace, I-9 audits and the E-Verify program, and more from Akerman Senterfitt;… Read more »
If you hire independent contractors in California, your purported cost-saving might come back to bite you. Earlier this month, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law SB 459, legislation designed to crack down on the misclassification of employees as independent contractors in the state. For your reference, here’s a first look at what you need to… Read more »
“Since 2008, no fewer than 14 cities and counties in California have passed local ordinances or laws that require employers use E-verify under a variety of circumstances. All such local ordinances are effectively invalidated by the new law that amends California’s Labor Code.” To avoid crushing costs to businesses in the state – estimated at… Read more »
For your reference, a roundup of recent Dodd-Frank Act-related updates from lawyers and firms on JD Supra: The Dodd Frank Act: A Guide to the Corporate Governance, Executive Compensation, and Disclosure Provisions (Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP): “The primary purpose of the [Dodd-Frank] Act is to identify and manage threats to the stability of… Read more »
“… Pennsylvania’s Superior Court upheld a jury verdict of $187.6 million against retail giant, Walmart, Inc. in part for denying employee’s meal and rest periods as promised in their employee handbooks. Walmart’s violation regarding breaks and meal periods was not statutory but rather contractual.” (From Walmart’s Employee Handbook Cost them $187.6 Million; What Could Your… Read more »
Is the Environmental Protection Agency stepping up enforcement? Or merely implementing long overdue updates to its regulations? Either way, it’s clear that the agency is changing the rules for protecting the environment. And that means increased oversight, reporting, and potential violations for businesses of all types. For your reference, a roundup of recent updates regarding new… Read more »
