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King County Considers New Labor Standards Office Focused on Unincorporated Communities

Seyfarth Synopsis: King County Executive Girmay Zahilay proposed funding for a new Office of Labor Standards focused on unincorporated King County. The proposal does not itself create new substantive workplace requirements, but employers with operations in those areas should monitor the budget process and the office’s development. What the Proposal Would Do The proposed office would be housed within King County’s Department of Local Services and would initially focus on…

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The Dedicated Employee: Volunteering and German Employment Law

Quick Hits Volunteering may trigger certain duties of consideration (Rücksichtnahmepflichten) for employers. The specific activity is decisive, however, so each case must be assessed individually. As a general rule, volunteering remains a private matter. What Is Volunteering? Volunteering (Ehrenamt) generally means a voluntary activity that is not aimed at generating profit and benefits the public good. An expense allowance may be paid in the form of money, provided there is…

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New IRS Guidance Addresses SECURE and SECURE 2.0 Amendment Deadlines

Quick Hits The IRS and Treasury Department confirmed that most employer-sponsored retirement plans generally have until December 31, 2026, to adopt discretionary amendments implementing SECURE and SECURE 2.0 provisions, with later deadlines for collectively bargained, governmental, and public school 403(b) plans. Required amendments, and future guidance relating to discretionary amendments that have already been adopted, may have later deadlines tied to future IRS Required Amendments (RA) lists. The IRS and…

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How the New York Times’ Framing Shaped the Story of the Israel-Hamas War

In the eight months after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, the New York Times published more than 1,500 articles about the ensuing conflict. New research from Edieal Pinker, BearingPoint Professor of Operations Research and special advisor to the dean, finds that the framing of that coverage presented Israel as the driving force in the ongoing war, while Hamas largely receded from view. The result, Pinker argues, was a…

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Strategies for a multigenerational workforce

In our latest Q5 Foundation webinar, we explored what it really takes to create inclusive, high-performing workplaces across generations. From moving beyond generational stereotypes to rethinking flexibility, knowledge sharing and the impact of AI, the session brought together different perspectives and practical ideas for organisations navigating an increasingly age-diverse workforce. Watch the full webinar below and sign up to receive future Q5 Foundation event invites and updates. Reading time: 4…

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Canada proposes new Productivity Mega Deduction

On Sept. 15, 2026, the federal government announced a proposed Productivity Mega Deduction (PMD) that would significantly expand immediate expensing for capital investments by Canadian businesses. The announcement stems from the inaugural Canada Investment Summit, where Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled broader measures to encourage domestic and foreign investment. Draft legislative proposals released with the announcement provide important details regarding eligible taxpayers, qualifying property and applicable limits. Providing further context on…

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SCC clarifies when administrative errors are “irregularities” requiring annulment of election

In Sinclair-Desgagné v. Canada (Chief Electoral Officer), 2026 SCC 31, the Supreme Court of Canada, in a 6-3 decision, annulled the 2025 federal election in the electoral district of Terrebonne, Québec, after concluding that a mail-in ballot was not counted because of a serious administrative error by Elections Canada. The majority held that an “irregularity” under s. 524(1)(b) of the Canada Elections Act includes a serious administrative mistake, even where…

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On the Sault Dock-et: Court of Appeal for Ontario updates test for leave to appeal

What is the test for leave to appeal in civil matters to the Court of Appeal for Ontario? The guiding principles were laid down over fifty years ago in the seminal decision of Sault Dock.1 Under the Sault Dock test, a proposed appeal must raise an “arguable” question “of general interest to the public or a broad segment of the public”. Sault Dock identified several kinds of questions that might…

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Will AI Eliminate Jobs or Create New Ones? Probably Both.

By some estimates, one out of every 13 working women in the United States in 1950 was employed as a telephone switchboard operator. But with the rise of automatic switching systems in the 1960s, the job all but disappeared.A decade later, as computers gradually moved to the center of American working life, the ranks of information technology workers, such as computer programmers, began to swell—from 450,000 in 1970 to 4.6…

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Greater Manchester’s deep tech accelerator launches applications for its second cohort

Why apply?Teams selected for cohort #2 of the programme will receive £25,000 in equity-free funding, alongside dedicated commercialisation support, access to specialist mentors and industry experts, customer discovery and market validation frameworks, and training on how to pitch effectively to investors.Each venture will also benefit from support from experienced University of Manchester MBA students and the opportunity to present to investors and strategic partners at a dedicated demo day.The programme…

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Freedom Vans Is Still Driving New Moonlighting Litigation in Washington

A growing wave of class actions is testing whether routine employment policies can trigger liability under Washington’s Noncompetition Covenants Act. Plaintiffs' position is that compliance depends not just on what these provisions say, but also on how they are communicated to employees. Previous class actions challenged the substance of everyday workplace policies related to conflicts of interest, outside-employment, confidentiality, and moonlighting. The new lawsuits argue that employers either failed to…

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New York Proposes Opioid Antagonist Requirements for the Workplace

On September 23, 2026, the New York State Department of Labor published, on page 9 of the New York State Register, a proposed rule, “Opioid Antagonists in the Workplace,” clarifying how employers must comply. The rule addresses how many opioid antagonists employers must keep on-site, where to store them, and how to train employees. This proposed rule is open for public comment until November 22, 2026. Quick Hits Covered employers…

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Canada Investment Summit 2026: Turning investment commitments into economic growth

The Summit brought together international investors from nearly 30 countries, representing more than $100 trillion in assets, and generated nearly $500 billion in new investment commitments. The critical challenge is converting this momentum into active development and long-term economic growth. To explore what comes next, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG), PwC Canada, Ontario Centres of Innovation and Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network convened a closed-door discussion with senior leaders from government, industry…

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A United or a Disunited Kingdom?

The meeting in Cardiff of the Scottish National Party leader, Plaid Cymru leader, and Sinn Féin’s Northern Ireland leader—all three of whom simultaneously serve as First Ministers of their respective regional governments—together with the President of Sinn Féin in the Irish Republic, who is Leader of the Opposition in the Irish parliament, testifies to a sharpening of the national question within the United Kingdom, believes Konstantin Khudoley, Professor, Head of…

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Allegheny County, PA, Makes Revisions to Proposed Paid Parental Leave Ordinance

Quick Hits The Allegheny County Board of Health is reviewing amendments to a proposed paid parental leave ordinance issued in May 2026 that would shorten the length of paid leave from eighteen to twelve weeks and revise employer eligibility from all employers to those with fifteen or more employees. The Board will vote on whether to approve the paid parental leave policy as amended on September 28, 2026. In May…

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Productivity Mega Deduction could reshape mining flow-through financings

The federal government’s proposed Productivity Mega Deduction (PMD) may have significant implications for Canada’s mining sector, particularly for companies that rely on flow-through share financings. (See the latest article “Canada proposes new Productivity Mega Deduction”.) While much of the discussion surrounding the PMD has focused on immediate expensing of capital property, the draft legislation also introduces 100 per cent deduction for qualifying Canadian development expenses (CDE), which can be renounced…

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Slowing Frontier AI Won’t Hold Back the AI Economy

This commentary was originally published in Fortune. The views expressed are the authors’ own.Washington and Silicon Valley have found a new fight to pick over artificial intelligence in “pacing,” or the deliberate throttling of frontier model development until safety, alignment, and society at large can catch up. To its detractors, pacing is unilateral disarmament in the race with China. To its champions, pacing is the only responsible path for a…

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Expanding the Reach of Pediatric Cardiology with Emily Bucholz

Howie and Harlan are joined by pediatric cardiologist Emily Bucholz to discuss her work treating fetal heart abnormalities across a multistate region and the challenges of bringing specialized pediatric care to patients far from major medical centers. For Suicide Prevention Month, Howie examines evidence that restricting access to lethal means can prevent suicide; Harlan pays tribute to the late Yale political scientist Theodore Marmor and remembers a moment when Marmor’s…

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Twelve Years of Aleksandar Vučić: A Balance Sheet

By setting himself and his electorate of “guardians” against the intellectuals, Vučić deepened the divide within Serbian society and allowed the protest movement to draw almost the entire academic and professional community—historically the most respected strata of Serbian society—over to its side, writes Ekaterina Entina. Vučić, despite all his foreign-policy and foreign-economic successes, has unfortunately missed the chance to emerge from this period as a legitimate rather than merely a…

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Q5 strengthens Australia team with appointment of Susie Mogg

Q5 has welcomed Susie Mogg as an Associate Partner in Australia. Susie has spent more than 25 years working with leaders and organisations, helping people reach their potential and organisations get the best from their people. Reading time: 3 minutes Q5 has welcomed Susie Mogg as Associate Partner in Australia, bringing more than 25 years’ experience across leadership, talent and executive development. Susie joins Q5 following a career spanning consulting…

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Stop Corporate Takeovers of Physicians Act: A Possible Shift in Healthcare Private Equity

On September 16, 2026, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), along with Representatives Val Hoyle (D-Ore.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), and Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.), introduced the Stop Corporate Takeovers of Physicians Act, proposed federal legislation that would significantly restrict common management services organization (MSO) and “friendly physician” structures used in physician practice arrangements. According to a press release issued by Representative Ocasio-Cortez, the proposed legislation would:…

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Tenth Circuit Reverses District Court Decision on Arbitration Exemption

Quick Hits In Joyner v. Frontier Airlines, the Tenth Circuit reversed a district court’s ruling that customer service agents at a Denver airport were transportation workers exempt from federal arbitration law. The Tenth Circuit found the lower court had improperly relied on the work the named plaintiffs had actually performed, rather than what a typical class member did. The case hinged on whether the employees regularly handled passengers’ bags and…

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New AI safety standard relevant to Canadian school boards

As of September 2026, Microsoft has signed a new AI Safety and Privacy Standard (the Standard) that establishes detailed contractual protections for certain AI products used in U.S. schools. The Standard does not presently give Canadian school boards a right to those protections, but it indicates what Microsoft has accepted as contractually feasible for educational AI. American school boards can use the Standard to: seek equivalent protections from Microsoft and…

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How policymakers’ speeches and interviews move markets

24 September 2026By Klodiana Istrefi, Florens Odendahl, and Giulia SestieriSpeeches and interviews given by policymakers between ECB Governing Council meetings can move financial markets just as much as the monetary policy decisions themselves. This blog shows how they can also help measure the effects of monetary policy on euro area inflation and unemployment.The formal policy announcement that follows each Governing Council meeting – held approximately every six weeks – is…

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Germany’s Federal Labor Court Limits Employer Information Requests

Quick Hits An employer may request that the employee disclose which job offers the employee received from Germany’s Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit) or Jobcenter. The employer does not have an independently enforceable right to information about applications and their outcomes. The right to information under Section 242 of the German Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (BGB)) extends only as far as the employer needs information to trigger the employee’s…

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Serbia’s 2026 Elections: Vučić’s Gamble and the Road Ahead

Even if the Republic of Serbia is unlikely to be admitted to the European Union soon, as an island surrounded by the European Union and NATO, it must stick to the European path in order to avoid the interruption of Western investments and the introduction of a visa regime. That would cause additional revolt and would serve as an essential internal trump card for the further destabilisation of the government…

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Real Estate: Market Pulse (September 2026)

Growth Concentrates in Data Centers and Industrial While Office Recovery Continues Seyfarth’s real estate team provides a bird's-eye view of the current state of commercial real estate throughout the country—highlighting which markets and major asset types are active, slowing down, or experiencing shifts. Seyfarth’s Take: What to Know ✔ Opportunities: AI continues to drive commercial real estate demand, particularly in Boston and San Francisco, where technology investment is supporting data…

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Missouri Court of Appeals Applies EFAA, Vacates Order Compelling Arbitration

Quick Hits On August 11, 2026, the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western District granted mandamus relief in State of Missouri ex rel. Waddell v. Atkins and ordered a trial court to vacate an order compelling arbitration. The court held that a case relates to a sexual misconduct dispute when the asserted causes of action arise from alleged sexual assault or harassment, and that the EFAA invalidates a predispute…

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Simple test could take the pain out of womb cancer check

A new test to identify cells collected from urine and vaginal fluid could help rule out womb and other cancers in most women who experience bleeding after the menopause, find University of Manchester researchers.Their study published in Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Women's Health on 22/09/26 say the test could potentially reduce the need for invasive hospital investigations, easing anxiety during what can be a distressing time for many women.The research…

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Provider Enforcement Takes a Hit: What NSA IDR Litigation Means for Health Plan Sponsors

Seyfarth Synopsis: Recent litigation is reshaping the No Surprises Act (NSA) federal Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR) landscape in ways that matter directly to group health plan sponsors and their claims administrators. While the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and the Treasury (the “Departments”) have finalized operational rules for the federal IDR process (the “Final Rule”), the more significant story may be the litigation over who can enforce…

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FAR Council Proposes to Embed Contractor Debarment and Suspension for Noncompliance With FAR DEI Clause

Quick Hits Noncompliance with the DEI anti-discrimination clause at FAR 52.222-90 can result in debarment or suspension, a sanction on par with fraud, bribery, and antitrust violations as grounds for a governmentwide exclusion from federal contracting. The FAR Council proposed a rule on September 18, 2026, that would stamp the three-tier enforcement structure of the DEI clause into the FAR: contract-level remedies (cancellation, termination, or ineligibility), governmentwide exclusion (debarment or…

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Three Manchester researchers awarded Future Leaders Fellowships

Dr Lukas Hughes-Noehrer Dr Lukas Hughes-Noehrer: Manchester Digital Health Living LabWearable devices can monitor vital signs such as heart rate, activity and sleep, providing clinicians with valuable data to inform on-going patient care. The NHS 10 Year Health Plan identifies them as one of its “5 Big Bets” for transforming healthcare, but their use across the health service remains patchy, with benefits not reaching all communities equally. Through his fellowship,…

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Hungary’s Foreign Policy Is Adapting to the European Mainstream

Hungary’s foreign policy has changed dramatically. The sovereigntist approach has been replaced by federalist thinking, under the cover of which Budapest is fully merging with the European mainstream, which in a global sense is being marginalised and is becoming increasingly dangerously aggressive. In this way, the Hungarian government is narrowing its own foreign-policy room for manoeuvre, which is currently most visibly reflected in the development of Hungarian-Russian relations, writes Gábor…

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The capability risk insurers can’t ignore

UK insurers have spent years transforming their technology. But as AI accelerates change across the sector, the next constraint on performance may not be technology at all. It may be the organisation itself. Download our latest insurance point of view to explore why workforce capability and operating model design are becoming critical to growth, productivity and successful transformation. Reading time: 4 minutes Insurance has always been an industry built around…

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Andrew Melchior appointed Honorary Professor in Computer Science

The University of Manchester has appointed internationally recognised creative technologist Andrew Melchior as an Honorary Professor in the Department of Computer Science.The three-year appointment will support research, teaching and knowledge exchange at the intersection of artificial intelligence, creative practice, copyright and digital provenance. It builds on a collaboration initiated through Creative Manchester, beginning with Melchior’s two-day visit to the University in May 2026.An artist, composer and creative technologist, Melchior has…

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Outcomes of the 2026 BRICS Summit in New Delhi: The African Dimension

New Delhi Summit demonstrated that expansion has not deprived BRICS of its ability to find common ground, and that African interests are increasingly becoming part of the group’s collective agenda. The heightened representation of Africa within BRICS sends a powerful signal: African states are eager to help shape a new, non-Western-centric global architecture and are ready to advance their own development agendas. The New Delhi summit was attended by the…

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The Future of Media: From Reach to Relationships

At this year’s Future of Media Technology Conference, leaders from across digital media, news and publishing came together to explore the strategies, technologies and ideas shaping the future of the industry.  Across the discussions, five themes stood out:  1. The industry continues to double down on relationships – and independent creators are raising the bar  The shift away from reach alone is well underway. The challenge now is turning audiences…

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New Brain Health Centre marks a step change in dementia diagnosis and prevention

Michelle Dyson CB, Alzheimer’s Society Chief Executive Officer, said: “Dementia is the UK’s biggest killer, but it is not an inevitable part of ageing. Nearly half (45%) of dementia cases worldwide could be prevented or delayed by addressing health and lifestyle factors, throughout our lives, like high blood pressure.“If we can identify people early enough, we can significantly improve their brain health and help put the brakes on dementia. The…

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Chaos as a Generator and Rational Control

As it happens, we are the first generations of people simultaneously capable of engineering a genuine apocalypse and of averting it, perhaps at the very last moment. It seems to me that one of the reasons for the current, rather lamentable, state of affairs in the world owes much to humanity’s lack of experience in handling the power that has fallen into its hands. Historically, cosmogony has, on the whole,…

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Executive Order Calls for Interagency Review of Employer Layoffs in H-1B Filing Process

Quick Hits The executive order directs the secretaries of state, labor, and homeland security to consider whether an employer conducted layoffs within the prior year or plans future layoffs affecting similarly situated U.S. workers when adjudicating H-1B-related filings. Employers could see additional scrutiny at multiple points in the H-1B process, including DOL Labor Condition Application (LCA) review, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) petition adjudication, consular visa issuance, and admission…

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