On December 15, the Department of State (DOS) announced it will expand its social media vetting requirement to additional nonimmigrant visa classifications, including H-1B, H-4 dependents, F, M, and J. As a result of this expansion, all applicants for such visas will be instructed to adjust the privacy settings on “all of their social media profiles to public.” Those profiles will then be subject to review as part of their visa application process for entry into the United States.  Additionally,...

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You can argue that commercial real estate investors have become bullish. That's a good thing if you're in the deal-making business. The signs are everywhere. Transaction activity, involving both property sales and lending, has increased, driven in large part by the greater liquidity in the market. Loan spreads—the risk premiums that lenders apply in order to come up with coupons—have tightened and a greater number of lenders, including banks, are now competing for the best loans. Cementing that thinking is the...

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Given the size of the Swiss pension fund market, it presents a highly attractive opportunity for non-Swiss fund sponsors – especially as Swiss pension funds increasingly seek international diversification. In this two-part series, we provide a hands-on guide to the key steps and legal considerations for successfully marketing to Swiss pension funds (Volume 1), and the regulatory requirements for onboarding them (Volume 2) . Volume 2 – Onboarding Swiss pension funds The Swiss pension fund market ranks among the largest in...

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Given the size of the Swiss pension fund market, it presents a highly attractive opportunity for non-Swiss fund sponsors – especially as Swiss pension funds increasingly seek international diversification. In this two-part series, we provide a hands-on guide to the key steps and legal considerations for successfully marketing to Swiss pension funds (Volume 1), and the regulatory requirements for onboarding them (Volume 2) . Volume 1 – Marketing to Swiss pension funds The Swiss pension fund market ranks among the largest...

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By Shannon Meade Executive Director, Workplace Policy Institute, Jim Paretti, Alex MacDonald, and Maury Baskin, Shareholders, Littler Washington, D.C. NLRB Challenges California Over New Labor Law  The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on Thursday filed suit against the state of California and the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California over the state’s newly enacted labor law (AB 288), which grants broad authority to the state’s PERB to regulate private sector labor disputes...

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By Alison Finn, Sr. Associate, Littler Dublin & Guillaume Desmoulin, Shareholder Littler Paris The dramatic growth of international conflict and significant political change has created a situation where personal expression and professional environments now often collide.  For international employers, this shift presents a pressing and complex challenge—how to manage political expression in a way that encourages individual viewpoints, while maintaining a respectful and inclusive environment. The growth of “culture clash”  In today’s increasingly polarized climate, political opinions are no longer confined to private...

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