On October 21, 2015, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law a number of bills intended to advance women’s equality in the workplace. The bills address pay equality, sexual harassment, discrimination on the basis of sex, family status discrimination, and pregnancy discrimination. Employers should familiarize themselves with these bills before they become effective on January 19, 2016. Moreover, employers should review their relevant employment policies and pay practices to ensure compliance and decrease their risk of exposure....

Read more

The European Court of Justice recently rendered an important judgment on jurisdiction over claims of Dutch companies against directors residing outside the Netherlands. The main issue was whether the Dutch courts had jurisdiction over such claims or whether such jurisdiction was limited to the courts of the EU member state in which the director resided, in this case Germany. Facts/background In the proceedings leading to this judgment, a German former director of a Dutch BV and of its three German subsidiaries...

Read more

On 1 November 2015 the Accounting Directive Implementation Act entered into effect. This legislation implements Directive 2013/34/EU in Dutch law. The most important changes under this Act are higher thresholds for determining the "size" of legal entities (and hence the applicable rules regarding annual accounts) and shorter deadlines for the filing of annual accounts and annual reports. Thresholds for "size" of legal entities The size of a legal entity in terms of (a) the value of its assets according to its...

Read more

A Guide for International Students and Professionals The Institute of International Education (IIE) has just published the 2016 edition of its annual print directory Funding for United States Study: A Guide for International Students and Professionals, the print companion to IIE's online search engine www.fundingusstudy.org. With over 800 grant and scholarship listings, Funding for United States Study is the most comprehensive directory on finding funding for study in the United States, making it an invaluable resource for advisers and international students worldwide. Funding for...

Read more

1.   U.S. Tightens Eligibility for Visa Waiver Program In the wake of the terror attacks in Paris, the White House announced immediate changes to the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), which permits visa-free travel to the U.S. for citizens of 38 program partner countries around the world. Most notably, the U.S. will bar from the VWP anyone who has traveled to a country that State Department officials consider a “terrorist safe haven”, such as Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Lebanon or Libya. Citizens...

Read more