It’s clear that many businesses, governments and regulators have publicly recognised menopause as a health priority and started to take positive steps to break historic taboos and encourage support, particularly in the workplace. 64% of respondents to Part II of the recent Baker McKenzie Mind the Gap series confirmed that their organisation has implemented some form of menopause policy. 74% of those without such a policy plan to implement one within the next two years.
On 4 March 2022, the European Commission announced the introduction of the EU Sanctions Whistleblower Tool. According to the Commission, the Tool can be used to report on “past, ongoing or planned” EU sanctions violations, as well as attempts to circumvent these.
In a sign that Congress continues to pursue bipartisan efforts to combat the use of forced labor in supply chains, Senators Josh Hawley and Kirsten Gillibrand have reintroduced the Slave-Free Business Certification Act of 2022. The Act would impose significant new compliance and disclosure requirements for many companies, requiring businesses with annual, worldwide gross receipts exceeding USD 500 million to conduct annual audits of their supply chains to detect any use of forced labor, report findings to the US Government, and face potentially significant fines and penalties for violations.
Just and sustainable economy: Commission lays down rules for companies to respect human rights and environment in global value chains
On 23 February 2022 the European Commission has adopted a proposal for a Directive on corporate sustainability due diligence. The proposal aims to foster sustainable and responsible corporate behaviour throughout global value chains. They will be required to identify and, where necessary, prevent, end or mitigate adverse impacts of their activities on human rights, such as child labour and exploitation of workers, and on the environment, for example pollution and biodiversity loss.
Recent updates and developments on the Polish employment law.
In a briefing published in PLC Magazine, Jon Tuck and Richard Cook discuss the implications of a recent injunction granted by the High Court to prevent an employer from dismissing and rehiring employees so as to remove an element of contractual pay from their contracts.
In response to increased global enforcement, Baker McKenzie partners developed their unique Investigations Academies, a highly practical and interactive offering that serves to train and educate clients in all aspects of dealing with internal and regulator-imposed investigations. These bespoke training sessions are designed to enhance a company’s existing compliance program and are targeted at increasing awareness within the compliance and legal functions, as well as the broader business leadership group, including HR, finance, commercial, IT and procurement. Click here to access the Investigations Academies brochure.
As part of our continued efforts to guide clients through these challenging times, the Asia Pacific Employment & Compensation Group brings you these recorded webinars which provide key and practical insights on employment and compensation trends and major challenges being faced by businesses across the region.
Late last year, after a month-long trial, a Baker McKenzie team secured a complete defense verdict in favor of our client MedMen and its two co-founders. The trial was the culmination of three years of intense litigation. The result was publicized in Law360, among other outlets.
In this unique three-part webinar series, members of Baker McKenzie’s North America Trial Team will provide insight surrounding this litigation win and the steps taken to achieve it, from inception to defense verdict
On 24 January 2022, the Department of Homeland Security published in the Federal Register a request for public comments on the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. US importers and other interested parties should consider submitting comments that will both inform the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force of the challenges companies face vetting their supply chains across industries, as well as provide insight into the effectiveness of various compliance-focused measures.