Business, Management, Marketing, Money, Tax, Law, People

Independent obligations endure: CCAA releases don’t extinguish surety indemnity claims

In Intact Insurance Company v. Edward Collins Contracting Limited, 2026 NLSC 49, the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador dismissed an application to strike a surety’s claim under an indemnity agreement, confirming that releases granted in Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) proceedings do not automatically extinguish independent contractual obligations of indemnitors. Case summary: Intact v. Collins Contracting (2026 NLSC 49) Background: surety claim and CCAA release defence The plaintiff (Intact)…

  • Post category:BLG law firm
  • Reading time:4 mins read
Continue ReadingIndependent obligations endure: CCAA releases don’t extinguish surety indemnity claims

Ontario court awards over $22 million in landmark clinic surveillance privacy class action

In J.C. et al. v. Jugenburg et al., 2026 ONSC 3061, the court found that a plastic surgeon breached his duties to patients and intruded on their privacy by installing surveillance cameras throughout his clinic. This is the first time a court has found that recording footage alone, even if it was not viewed or shared, can result in liability for the tort of intrusion upon seclusion. The court awarded…

  • Post category:BLG law firm
  • Reading time:5 mins read
Continue ReadingOntario court awards over $22 million in landmark clinic surveillance privacy class action

HHS Restructuring and New Enforcement Signal Increased Focus on Privacy, Security, and Health Plans

Quick Hits OCR will be divided into three divisions: the Conscience and Religious Freedom Division, the Civil Rights Division, and the Health Information Privacy, Data, and Cybersecurity Division. HHS and plan sponsor Star Group (SG) reached an agreement to resolve alleged HIPAA violations related to Star Group’s health plan, imposing $245,000 in fines and an extensive corrective action plan. The two-year corrective action plan will require the health plan to…

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:5 mins read
Continue ReadingHHS Restructuring and New Enforcement Signal Increased Focus on Privacy, Security, and Health Plans

La Cour supérieure du Québec annule une sentence arbitrale et balise l’utilisation de l’IA

La décision Association des ressources intermédiaires d'hébergement du Québec (ARIHQ) c. Santé Québec - Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux du Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, 2026 QCCS 1360,rendue par la Cour supérieure le 22 avril 2026, balise l’utilisation de l’intelligence artificielle (IA) pour la rédaction de sentences arbitrales et, par ricochet, de décisions judiciaires. La Cour supérieure, sous la plume de l’honorable Martin F. Sheehan, J.C.S., a annulé une sentence…

  • Post category:BLG law firm
  • Reading time:5 mins read
Continue ReadingLa Cour supérieure du Québec annule une sentence arbitrale et balise l’utilisation de l’IA

Bacteria Can Learn and Form Memories Without a Brain

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have shown that bacteria can learn from past experiences, store memories across generations and adapt their behavior to changing environments all without a brain or nervous system. The research could shape how scientists think about bacterial infections and antibiotic treatment.In a study published in PRX Life(opens in new window), researchers from CMU’s Ray and Stephanie Lane Computational Biology Department(opens in new window) and Mellon College of Science(opens in…

  • Post category:Carnegie Mellon
  • Reading time:4 mins read
Continue ReadingBacteria Can Learn and Form Memories Without a Brain

Beyond Disclosure Day: The Real-World Protocols

"The information environment we operate in today is vastly more complex than it was in 2010," said Professor Michael Garrett, Chair of the IAA SETI Committee. . "In an era of deepfakes, automated misinformation, and instant global connectivity, a single unverified claim could trigger confusion or panic. These new protocols ensure that scientists maintain the highest standards of evidence before making announcements to the world."Adapting to a new era of…

Continue ReadingBeyond Disclosure Day: The Real-World Protocols

Streaming Performers Win New Jersey Classification Fight Despite FLSA Loss

Quick Hits A federal district court in New Jersey ruled that adult performers on an online streaming platform are independent contractors under the FLSA but qualify as employees under New Jersey’s stricter ABC test. The court found that the performers could not be classified as independent contractors under the ABC test because they operated within the operator’s usual course of business and not outside its places of business by providing…

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:7 mins read
Continue ReadingStreaming Performers Win New Jersey Classification Fight Despite FLSA Loss

Rules of Survival in a New World

Second, the changing nature of warfare—in the present and future—demands a fundamental rethink of military strategy. This is evident not only in the growing impact of unmanned technologies (already in the air and at sea, soon on land) on combat, but also in the asymmetry of responses. Take the US Iran conflict: Valdai experts concluded that under altered conditions, a great power can no longer defeat a medium power that,…

Continue ReadingRules of Survival in a New World

Central and Eastern Europe in the Midst of Change

Population ageing and labour shortages, slowing economic growth, and the inevitable attempts to address economic and demographic problems by increasing the inflow of labour migration will, over the coming decades, lead to profound transformations in both the political and cultural landscape of Central and Eastern Europe, writes Maria Pavlova. Following Peter Magyar’s victory in Hungary’s parliamentary elections, discussions emerged both within the country and abroad regarding changes in Budapest’s policy…

Continue ReadingCentral and Eastern Europe in the Midst of Change

California Compliance Refresher: Immigration Enforcement Without the Missteps or Miscalculations

For many California employers, immigration enforcement no longer appears as a dramatic but rare worksite event. Recent enforcement activity has required employers to shift from a reactive posture to one that is proactive and compliance focused. Even as public attention shifts, the intersection of California and federal law continues to create meaningful risk for employers that do not approach this area with care. California employers, along with employers in Oregon,…

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:8 mins read
Continue ReadingCalifornia Compliance Refresher: Immigration Enforcement Without the Missteps or Miscalculations

FLSA Does Not Recognize Overtime ‘Gap Time’ Claims, 3rd Circuit Says

Quick Hits The Third Circuit ruled that the FLSA does not recognize claims for “gap time,” which refers to unpaid hours that do not exceed overtime limits.  The court declined to rely on the DOL’s guidance suggesting gap time claims are cognizable, finding the FLSA to be unambiguous and the DOL’s guidance otherwise unpersuasive.  This decision eliminates certain gap time claims in the Third Circuit, an area of aggressive DOL…

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:7 mins read
Continue ReadingFLSA Does Not Recognize Overtime ‘Gap Time’ Claims, 3rd Circuit Says

Next-Generation Education: CMU Welcomes Summer K-12 Scholars

In the summer, Carnegie Mellon University opens its doors to K-12 students locally and from around the world, offering a firsthand look at its classrooms and community.Carnegie Mellon's Pre-College programs(opens in new window) will begin on June 20, bringing a premier on-campus opportunity to rising high school juniors and seniors from around the world. The programs, which invite around 800 students to campus each year, allow students to explore their interests…

  • Post category:Carnegie Mellon
  • Reading time:6 mins read
Continue ReadingNext-Generation Education: CMU Welcomes Summer K-12 Scholars

Making Humanity Great Again

On June 4, the Valdai Club held its session at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum under the title “Shared Future, Universal Good: How to Manage Competition for Resources and Spaces”. Andrey Bystritskiy, Chairman of the Board of the Foundation for Development and Support of the Valdai Discussion Club, opened the session with remarks outlining the numerous challenges facing states and societies in a rapidly changing international system fraught with…

Continue ReadingMaking Humanity Great Again

Employee Workation in the EU—What are the Pitfalls in Germany?

Quick Hits Unless there is an individual or collective agreement in place, employees in Germany generally have no legal right to workation. Without an A1 Certificate, employers risk a double obligation to pay social security contributions. German law remains applicable during short-term workation within the EU, and mandatory foreign employee protection laws may also apply. A recent study by the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering and Organization shows how popular…

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:4 mins read
Continue ReadingEmployee Workation in the EU—What are the Pitfalls in Germany?

Louisiana’s ‘Behind the Counter Protection Act’: What Retail and Food-Service Employers Need to Know

Quick Hits Louisiana’s newly enacted workplace violence prevention law, the “Louisiana Behind the Counter Protection Act,” will take effect on August 1, 2026. The law gives employees in customer-facing roles, primarily in retail and hospitality establishments, stronger protection against violence at work. The new law increases criminal penalties against offenders for threats and acts of violence against covered employees. Louisiana’s ‘Behind the Counter Protection Act’ The “Louisiana Behind the Counter…

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:3 mins read
Continue ReadingLouisiana’s ‘Behind the Counter Protection Act’: What Retail and Food-Service Employers Need to Know

Making Magic for 6 Decades

Growing up in Norristown, Pa., Jules Fisher was fascinated with science and magic — the former for the results he saw science achieve and the latter because it delighted people with its mysteries. Fisher used tenets of both in his decades-long career as a lighting designer to thrilling success in productions for the theatre, film, ballet, opera, television and concert tours. A 1960 School of Drama(opens in new window) alumnus of Carnegie…

  • Post category:Carnegie Mellon
  • Reading time:4 mins read
Continue ReadingMaking Magic for 6 Decades

If Employer Doesn’t Know, Then Plaintiff Can’t Show (Disability-Related Liability)

Seyfarth Synopsis: The California Court of Appeal affirmed summary judgment for an employer on claims for disability discrimination, failure to accommodate, and failure to engage in the interactive process because the employer did not know, and could not reasonably have inferred, that the employee had a disability. The Court emphasized that erratic or unusual behavior alone is insufficient to impute knowledge of a disability unless the disability is the only…

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:5 mins read
Continue ReadingIf Employer Doesn’t Know, Then Plaintiff Can’t Show (Disability-Related Liability)

Virginia Expands Provisions for Paid Sick Leave and Paid Family and Medical Leave

Quick Hits Virginia Governor Spanberger has signed legislation that expands paid sick leave to all public and private employees. The paid sick leave legislation mandates one hour of paid sick leave for every thirty hours worked, with an annual accrual and use cap of forty hours, and includes provisions that could create challenges for employers, including very loose requirements on the notice employees must give before taking leave. The paid…

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:7 mins read
Continue ReadingVirginia Expands Provisions for Paid Sick Leave and Paid Family and Medical Leave

A tale of two energy crises – initial conditions matter

3 June 2026By Óscar Arce, Niccolò Battistini, Othman Bouabdallah, Eliza Lis and Matthias Mohr The current energy shock is significant and global, but it is also hitting a euro area economy that is more balanced than when Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022. History and analysis show that context matters a lot for how shocks propagate to inflation.Energy prices have risen sharply since early 2026 when war broke out again…

Continue ReadingA tale of two energy crises – initial conditions matter

The Middle East Crisis: Tectonic Shifts and Challenges for Central Asia

Iran’s Civilisational Memory However convincing the structural interpretation of the crisis may appear, it is impossible to avoid reference to Iran’s cultural code—a factor consistently underestimated by Western analysts. Washington’s strategists sought to force Tehran into a public “capitulation” akin to the “Road to Canossa” (January 1077)—that is, submission and humiliation—in exchange for a possible reduction in military pressure. Such an outcome is unacceptable within Iranian political culture. The narrative…

Continue ReadingThe Middle East Crisis: Tectonic Shifts and Challenges for Central Asia

Virginia Enacts Wide-Ranging Set of Employment-Related Reforms

Quick Hits Virginia has enacted laws prohibiting certain noncompete agreements for healthcare professionals and restricting the enforceability of noncompete agreements for discharged employees. HB1 and SB1 establish a multiyear schedule to increase Virginia’s minimum wage to $15 per hour by January 1, 2028, with further adjustments based on the Consumer Price Index starting in 2029. SB790 introduces health insurance coverage for menopause and perimenopause symptoms. Limitations on Noncompete Agreements for…

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:9 mins read
Continue ReadingVirginia Enacts Wide-Ranging Set of Employment-Related Reforms

Talking It Out: Pakistani Mediation in the US-Iranian Conflict

Second, the personality of the current US president appears to have played its part. In May 2025, Donald Trump declared that another escalation in the conflict between India and Pakistan had ended precisely thanks to his own mediation efforts. The Indians did not appreciate the statement, whereas the Pakistanis enthusiastically embraced it. As a result, Prime Minister Sharif and Field Marshal Munir allegedly succeeded in winning the favour of the…

Continue ReadingTalking It Out: Pakistani Mediation in the US-Iranian Conflict

The Carnegie Mellon Connection Behind Broadway’s ‘The Lost Boys’

“The Lost Boys” just might be Broadway’s “most” show this season — most spectacular, most rock-and-roll, and most Tony-nominated. It also has the most Carnegie Mellon University alumni as part of its production team, racking up seven of CMU’s 15 nominations this year. The show’s three lead producers, James Carpinello (CFA, 1997), Marcus Chait (CFA, 1997) and Patrick Wilson (CFA, 1995) met over 30 years ago in the School of…

  • Post category:Carnegie Mellon
  • Reading time:6 mins read
Continue ReadingThe Carnegie Mellon Connection Behind Broadway’s ‘The Lost Boys’

Piero Cipollone: Europe needs to act to strengthen the role of its currency

2 June 2026By Piero Cipollone, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB The euro’s international use has grown in recent years, but largely by circumstance rather than by design. In a more contested global monetary system, Europe needs to act deliberately to strengthen the role of its currency – building on solid foundations, keeping pace with global shifts and matching policy ambition with concrete steps. The international monetary system…

Continue ReadingPiero Cipollone: Europe needs to act to strengthen the role of its currency

Psychological course could be game changer for carers of people with dementia

Empowered Conversations uses evidence based psychological and communication theories to support carers to improve relationships and reduce stress.For example, it uses Mentalisation Theory, which is about understanding our own thoughts and feelings while recognising that others have their own minds with different perspectives.Professor Berry from The University of Manchester is also Mental Health Co-Theme Lead at the NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre and Co-Director of the Complex Trauma and Resilience…

Continue ReadingPsychological course could be game changer for carers of people with dementia

Supreme Court Affirms the Transportation Worker Exemption Can Apply to “Last-Mile” Drivers, Allowing Them to Bypass Arbitration Under the FAA

Seyfarth Synopsis: The U.S. Supreme Court has resolved a circuit split, holding “last mile” drivers transporting goods within a single state can, but do not necessarily, fall within the transportation worker exemption under section 1 of the Federal Arbitration Act. As a result, such workers may be allowed to bypass mandatory arbitration agreements governed by the FAA. Flowers Foods, Inc. v. Brock stems from a proposed class action filed in…

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:5 mins read
Continue ReadingSupreme Court Affirms the Transportation Worker Exemption Can Apply to “Last-Mile” Drivers, Allowing Them to Bypass Arbitration Under the FAA

Will Banning Personalized Pricing Work?

Setting prices differently for different customers has been a practice for a long time. Are AI tools making personalized pricing more common or more effective?Yes. Firms have often tried to charge different customers different prices, but AI makes this practice easier, cheaper, and more precise. In the past, price discrimination often relied on fairly broad categories: business versus leisure travelers, coupon users versus non-coupon users, students versus non-students. Today, firms…

Continue ReadingWill Banning Personalized Pricing Work?

Over the (Very) Long Run, Stock Bubbles Are Rare

Professor William Goetzmann has a longstanding interest in long-term financial returns. “Financial history helps you estimate and plan,” he says. “Five years doesn’t help you with the trend. If you’ve got 150 years or more, that’s a good foundation for understanding where you may end up.”Last year, Goetzmann began preparing a volume of articles for the 50th anniversary of his colleague Roger Ibbotson’s book Stocks, Bonds, Bills, and Inflation (SBBI),…

Continue ReadingOver the (Very) Long Run, Stock Bubbles Are Rare

Live at the Yale Innovation Summit 2026

Howie is joined by guest host Megan Ranney, dean of the the Yale School of Public Health, for a live episode recorded at the Yale Innovation Summit, featuring conversations with five innovators at the intersection of healthcare, public health, and entrepreneurship. Jaya Dadwal, a recent graduate of the School of Public Health and founder of forEVA Health, focused on raising healthcare standards for the female body Monique Rainford, a Yale…

Continue ReadingLive at the Yale Innovation Summit 2026

Beyond the Pattern: The World of Real Multipolarity

This report is the second collective work produced by participants in the Valdai—New Generation project, bringing together, in a shared intellectual endeavour, a large cohort of young—yet already accomplished—researchers from Russia, China, India, Brazil, Tajikistan, Italy, Colombia, Turkey, and the Republic of Korea. Over the course of a year, all of them prepared and published original commentaries on the Valdai Club’s website, addressing the most pressing issues in today’s world. They…

Continue ReadingBeyond the Pattern: The World of Real Multipolarity

New Jersey’s Appellate Court Rules on Who Can Sue for Cannabis Law Violations

Quick Hits In Sanders v. The Levari Group, LLC, the Appellate Division found that CREAMMA provides an implied private right of action against employers that refuse to hire individuals based on positive cannabis tests. CREAMMA provides that “[n]o employer shall refuse to hire or employ any person or shall discharge from employment or take any adverse action against any employee … because that person does or does not … use…

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:4 mins read
Continue ReadingNew Jersey’s Appellate Court Rules on Who Can Sue for Cannabis Law Violations

Adjustment Ambiguity: What Employers Should Know About USCIS’s New Policy Direction

This significant development may have wide-ranging impacts, as Adjustment of Status is a pathway available to family, employment-based, and investment-based (EB-5) immigrants and organizations. On Friday, May 22, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a Policy Memorandum (Memorandum) that could meaningfully affect how Adjustment of Status applications (Adjustment) are adjudicated moving forward, though USCIS implementation details remain limited and operational impacts are still developing. While the Memorandum does not…

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:6 mins read
Continue ReadingAdjustment Ambiguity: What Employers Should Know About USCIS’s New Policy Direction

CRA delays GST/HST changes on trailing commissions to 2028

On May 13, 2026, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) advised industry groups that the application of its revised administrative position on the taxability of trailing commissions will not proceed on July 1, 2026, as previously indicated. Subsequently on May 26, 2026, the CRA released a revised version of GST/HST Notice 344 – Application of the GST/HST to Mutual Fund Trailing Commissions (Notice 344), formalizing the previously announced deferral of enforcement…

  • Post category:BLG law firm
  • Reading time:3 mins read
Continue ReadingCRA delays GST/HST changes on trailing commissions to 2028

A dangerous dam‑building race is threatening South Asia’s shared rivers

Bangladesh has just approved one of the largest river engineering projects its history: the Padma Barrage, a vast river-control project intended to restore water in the country’s drought-prone southwest.It comes at a dangerous moment for South Asia’s rivers. China is building the world’s largest hydropower dam upstream on the Brahmaputra, India is accelerating its own dam-building programme, and the treaty governing Ganges water-sharing between India and Bangladesh expires in December…

Continue ReadingA dangerous dam‑building race is threatening South Asia’s shared rivers

Supreme Court Says Last-Mile Delivery Drivers May Be Exempt from FAA

Quick Hits The Supreme Court held that delivery drivers who deliver goods originating from out of state may fall under the FAA’s exemption for certain transportation workers “engaged in … interstate commerce,” even if they do not cross state lines or interact with vehicles that do. The decision is the latest in a series of Supreme Court rulings in recent years interpreting the transportation worker exemption in the FAA. While…

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:3 mins read
Continue ReadingSupreme Court Says Last-Mile Delivery Drivers May Be Exempt from FAA