By Sally A. Painter and Mathilde Defarges, with contribution from Jeremiah Baronberg  | BlueStar Strategies Helping companies smartly navigate a new era of globalization through conscientious local engagement. This is a critical time for the United States, Europe, and the transatlantic partnership. On both sides of the Atlantic, societies are revolting against policy elites. Nationalism, identity, and sovereignty are the order of the day. Protectionist and isolationist sentiment and threats of trade wars are common headlines. Calls for a “pullback” from globalization...

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By William K. Doran (Washington DC)  President Trump has nominated a retired coal company executive to head the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). The White House announced that David G. Zatezalo, the former chairman of Rhino Resources, would be the next Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health. Zatezalo’s nomination must be confirmed by the United States Senate. There was no immediate indication of when that confirmation vote might happen. Zatezalo has wide-ranging experience in the coal industry....

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Stout proudly announces that Steven Rathbone has joined the firm as Managing Director in its Investment Banking group. Mr. Rathbone brings deep industry expertise to the firm's Business Services and Diversified Industrials practice areas. Mr. Rathbone has more than 15 years of experience providing strategic advisory and corporate financial services, with a primary focus on sell-side mergers and acquisition transactions. His experience spans a wide range of industries but is most concentrated in business services (information technology and managed services;...

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By Sean M. McCrory  Maury Baskin  Robert F. Friedman  Tammy D. McCutchen On August 31, 2017, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas granted summary judgment for a diverse coalition of 55 business groups, led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and joined by numerous state governments, challenging the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) redefinition of who qualifies as an exempt employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).1  The decision effectively nullifies the DOL rule in...

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By Jorge R. Lopez  Shireen A. Judeh  Sean M. McCrory As a reminder, on July 17, 2017, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a revised version of the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, which employers must begin using no later than September 18, 2017. Many of the changes are subtle, focusing on revising the form’s instructions and wording, and clarifying the list of acceptable documents. Key revisions include: Addition of Form FS-240, Consular Report of Birth Abroad to List...

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By Rebecca L. Sigmund  (Greenville) On August 25, 2017, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) confirmed that, as part of President Trump’s “extreme vetting” directives, potential legal immigrant workers will be required to undergo in-person interviews with USCIS. The interview requirement will apply to anyone moving from an employment-based visa to lawful permanent residency. The new mandate will also require visa holders who are family members of refugees or individuals who receive asylum to undergo an in-person interview when they...

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By Floris ten Have On 22 August 2017, the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) published a study into the market for online video streaming platforms. Although the study did not find any indications of anticompetitive conduct or dominant market power, the authority warned that it will keep a close eye on developments in this sector. On 22 August 2017, the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) published a study into the market for online video streaming platforms. Although...

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By Karine Audouze |Ogletree Deakins As President Emmanuel Macron had promised, major employment reforms are under way in France and the related ordinances have been published on August 31, 2017, after extensive negotiations with national unions, concerning, in particular, the following issues: Capping Damages Awarded by Employment Tribunals in Unfair Dismissal Cases Damages will now be capped at three months’ salary for employees with two years of seniority (employees with fewer than two years of seniority will be entitled to an award equal...

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BY MARGA CAPRONI On September 5th, the Grand Chamber of European Court of Human Rights has announced a judgment in the Bãrbulescu case. Mr Bãrbulescu was terminated after his employer had discovered through monitoring that he had been using Yahoo Messenger during working hours for personal purposes, which was prohibited by a company policy. The termination was confirmed by the Romanian employment tribunal. The ECHR has now ruled that the national courts had violated Mr Bãrbulescu’s right to privacy (article 8 of...

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By Susan Gault-Brown and John Sullivan The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) sponsored a symposium in July 2017 at which U.S. regulators discussed the use of distributed-ledger technology (also referred to as blockchain) in the financial services industry and the regulatory significance of blockchain. The U.S. regulators in attendance included FINRA, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Federal Reserve Board. Prior to the symposium, FINRA...

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