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...

Read more

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...

Read more

  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...

Read more

  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...

Read more

Wins and Updates Estée Lauder, the American cosmetics company, is expanding its presence in the canton of Schwyz. Its goal is to centralize its regional supply chain in Wollerau creating up to 160 new jobs. (more) Iowa based Principal Global Investors is opening an office in Zurich as part of its European expansion. The fund already has branches in London, Amsterdam and Munich. (more) Maxwell Technologies, the high-voltage capacitor manufacturer based in San Diego CA, is planning a 30% expansion of its Rossens...

Read more

  The Luxembourg law on the exploration and use of space resources of 20 July 2017 entered into force on 2 August 2017 and placed Luxembourg among the most innovative space-oriented nations in the world.   The new law provides a legal framework for the “new space” activities. It aims at the further development of the constantly growing Luxembourg space industry employing already more than 700 highly skilled workers.   As initially proposed, the new law consists of two main parts dealing respectively with...

Read more

By Allan E. Goodman, President and CEO, Institute of International Education According to the Institute of International Education’s most recent data, there are more than one million international students attending U.S. colleges and universities. Students tell us they come to the United States for higher education because of the high quality of our colleges and universities, and the wide range of educational opportunities they offer.  Each year, more than 300,000 students arrive to start new programs. This year, we have heard...

Read more

Economic Uncertainties Address to IVY, New York, July 27, 2017. By William R. Rhodes President and CEO of William R. Rhodes Global Advisors, LLC and author of Banker to the World: Lessons from the Front Lines of Global Finance Introduction It is a pleasure for me to join you this evening. The world economy faces serious challenges, especially as the political landscape of the developed industrial nations is being transformed by rising nationalism, populism and protectionism. This is starkly highlighted by the election here of Donald...

Read more

  August FX outlook – USD weakness hard to oppose, but stabilization may be seen USD weakness accelerated in July as the continued lack of action (and some signs of disintegration) from the Trump administration combined with continuing evidence of recovery elsewhere. Tightening of monetary policy in Canada and indications of a potential tapering of monetary accommodation in the Eurozone come the autumn added to pressure on the USD, as did evidence of weak inflationary pressures in the US and consequent...

Read more