By Caroline Fagard, Director at Forensic Risk Alliance and Jesica Lindgren, General Counsel at Blue Star Strategies, LLC On 24 April 2013, the Rana Plaza factory building in Dhaka (Bangladesh) collapsed, killing more than 1,000 workers and wounding more than 1,500. Thirty-two U.S., Canadian and European labels and retailers were outsourcing garments to Rana Plaza factories, including a number of French ones. Following the tragedy, French members of parliament are proposing to implement a “Duty of Vigilance” or “Duty of Care” on...

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By Edward Ellis, Earl (Chip) M. Jones III, and Whitney Caldwell of Littler Mendelson P.C. on November 18, 2015 Compliance professionals and attorneys received confirmation on Tuesday of what many have long expected:  the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission whistleblower program is steadily growing in scope and impact, and the SEC is taking more aggressive positions to obtain information from whistleblowers and protect informants from retaliation.  These developments have profound implications for corporate business conduct and the compliance industry. On November 16, the...

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The $37.2 million Prince George Center II loan was recently put into special servicing according to an email alert from Fitch late last week. The loan makes up 3.89% of MLCFC 2006-1 and is backed by a 394,578 square-foot suburban office property in Hyattsville, Maryland. While the note is scheduled to mature in December 2015, the borrower may face refinancing difficulties due to the upcoming lease expiration of lead tenant GSA. Occupying over 99% of the building, the Government Services Agency has been the main tenant in the building since...

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