Major index providers S&P Dow Jones, FTSE Russell, and MSCI recently adopted, or are in the process of considering, changes to their index eligibility rules that could significantly impact companies that have, or that are contemplating, multi-class capital structures. This action, that may impose costs on retail investors that can be avoided by larger investors, should end calls by institutional investors for the stock exchanges and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to prohibit the listing of companies...

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Since the Berlin Higher Regional Court had referred the question to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in October 2015 of whether it was compatible with EU law regulations that only the workers employed in Germany are eligible to participate in the election of the workers' representatives on the supervisory board, the legal sector has been eagerly looking to Luxembourg and awaiting an answer from the ECJ.  The answer is now available and is likely to allow the legal sector to...

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New York City’s Fair Chance Act (FCA), which took effect October 27, 2015, imposes affirmative obligations on covered employers and employment agencies regarding when they may conduct criminal background checks on job applicants, and what process must be followed before making an adverse decision on the basis of an applicant’s criminal history.  It is one of the nation’s most comprehensive "ban the box" laws restricting employers’ use of criminal history in the employment process.1  The New York City Commission...

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  On March 3, 2017, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) unexpectedly announced that it would temporarily suspend its premium processing service for all H-1B petitions received on or after April 3, 2017. The premium processing program allows a petitioner to receive a decision on its case within 15 calendar days in exchange for payment of an additional government filing fee to USCIS. In the initial announcement, USCIS indicated that the suspension could remain in effect for up to six...

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  Authors: Grant D. Petersen (Tampa), Simon J. McMenemy (London), Hendrik Muschal (Berlin) On June 29, 2017, the Article 29 Working Party (the EU body representing the data protection authorities (DPA) of each EU member country) issued an updated opinion regarding the processing of personal data in the workplace. Recognizing that employers are rapidly adopting new information technology, the opinion updates the Working Party’s 2001 opinion regarding processing data in the employment context and 2002 opinion regarding the surveillance of electronic communications in the workplace. Additionally, the...

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