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New York’s “Trapped at Work Act” Takes Effect: What Employers Need to Know

Seyfarth Synopsis: As we close out 2025, Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law an amendment to the New York Labor Law, entitled the New York Trapped at Work Act, which bans “employment promissory notes” and similar stay‑or‑pay clauses used as a condition of employment.  The statute took effect immediately on December 19, 2025. New York’s Trapped at Work Act (the “Act”) prohibits employers from requiring workers or job applicants to sign…

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Illinois Unveils Draft Notice Rules on AI Use in Employment Ahead of Discrimination Ban

Quick Hits The Illinois Department of Human Rights unveiled draft rules for implementing Illinois’s new ban on AI discrimination in employment, clarifying potential notice and recordkeeping obligations for employers regarding their use of AI. The draft rules would apply broadly to all employers under the Illinois antidiscrimination law and would necessitate notice whenever AI is involved in covered employment decisions, regardless of whether it leads to unlawful discrimination. Under the…

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Québec to enhance consumer remedies and expand rules on online subscription renewals and ticket resales

On December 2, 2025, the Québec Minister of Justice tabled Bill 10, An Act to protect consumers against abusive practices in ticket reselling and online subscription renewal (the Bill), which proposes multiple amendments to the Consumer Protection Act (CPA). The Bill targets key areas that have seen a rise in consumer complaints, including online subscription renewals, ticket reselling practices, and the right of consumers to post reviews or share feedback.…

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Why central bank independence matters – lessons from the past 50 years

23 December 2025By Alexander Jung Are independent central banks better at ensuring price stability? A study of 155 central banks over 50 years shows why independence makes a difference. Central banks that are shielded from government control are able to pursue more credible monetary policies and are therefore better at keeping prices stable.Recent political pressure on central banks in some countries to ease their policy rates irrespective of the macroeconomic…

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Indo-Pacific Meets Africa: Japan’s Strategy Between Leadership and Compromise

Instead of megaproject headlines used in the previous TICADs, TICAD 9’s signature is the Enhanced Private Sector Assistance for Africa (EPSA) scale-up with the African Development Bank, up to US$5.5 billion (2026–28), paired with a stronger emphasis on concessionality and covering risks. That pivots the narrative from “how much” to “on what terms,” aligning with debt-sustainability concerns that were less central in earlier cycles. TICAD has always prized “quality infrastructure,”…

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Security in a Multipolar World: From the Brink to a Better Future

On December 22, 2025, the Valdai Club hosted an expert discussion titled "(Non)strategic Stability – 2025: A Year in International Security". Moderator Fyodor Lukyanov described 2025 as a watershed year in many ways. The erosion of the previous global order and the crisis of institutions have been discussed at length, but now a qualitative leap has occurred. While previously the main players had merely offered little resistance to the crisis…

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When Night Falls, ADA Still Applies: Sixth Circuit Recognizes Night Blindness as a Disability

Quick Hits In Edwards v. Shelby County, Tennessee, the Sixth Circuit recently held that an employee’s night blindness may qualify as a disability that would require a reasonable accommodation under the ADA. Night blindness is not automatically a disability but may constitute one, depending on the individual’s functional limitations, consistent with the ADA’s fact-specific inquiry. This decision reinforces the ADA’s broad protections after the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA). Background on…

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Federal Financial Institutions Legislative and Regulatory Reporter – August 2025

The Federal Financial Institutions Legislative and Regulatory Reporter (the Reporter) provides a monthly summary of Canadian federal legislative and regulatory developments of relevance to federally regulated financial institutions. It does not address Canadian provincial financial services legislative and regulatory developments. In addition, purely technical and administrative changes (such as changes to reporting forms) are not covered. August 2025 Published Title and Brief Summary Status (if applicable) Office of the Superintendent…

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Pop-Up insights 2025: what charities need now

Four key trends shaping growth, fundraising and organisational health Charities are facing fewer donors, rising costs, and increased competition. Through 18 Pop-Ups in 2025, we identified four trends shaping the sector: sharper fundraising strategies, growth through collaboration, rethinking operating model,s and strengthening culture. These insights highlight how leaders can adapt and build resilience for 2026. Reading time: 4 minutes During the Covid-19 pandemic Q5 founded Pop Up Consulting, an initiative…

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Federal Financial Institutions Legislative and Regulatory Reporter – September 2025

The Federal Financial Institutions Legislative and Regulatory Reporter (the Reporter) provides a monthly summary of Canadian federal legislative and regulatory developments of relevance to federally regulated financial institutions. It does not address Canadian provincial financial services legislative and regulatory developments. In addition, purely technical and administrative changes (such as changes to reporting forms) are not covered. September 2025  Published Title and Brief Summary Status (if applicable) Office of the Superintendent…

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India’s Perspective on Central Asian Security

Every year since 2022, India has held India-Central Asia Summits, where the parties systematically take stock of their relations, focusing on regional and global issues. Both global and regional powers are vying for influence in Central Asia, including Russia, China, the US, the EU, Turkey and Iran, as well as several GCC countries. The new Great Game is already playing out. Moscow and Beijing have reached a certain understanding, at…

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Under the bright lights: CSA & CIRO illuminate enhanced expectations in phase 2 client-focused reform sweep

Unveiled at last On Dec. 10, 2025, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) and Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) published their much-anticipated findings from recent regulatory compliance sweeps of 105 registered firms in Staff Notice 31-368 Client Focused Reforms: Review of Registrants’ Know Your Client, Know Your Product and Suitability Determination Practices and Additional Guidance (the Report).   Casting a spotlight on compliance programs The Report summarizes findings and provides guidance…

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Federal Financial Institutions Legislative and Regulatory Reporter – October 2025

The Federal Financial Institutions Legislative and Regulatory Reporter (the Reporter) provides a monthly summary of Canadian federal legislative and regulatory developments of relevance to federally regulated financial institutions. It does not address Canadian provincial financial services legislative and regulatory developments. In addition, purely technical and administrative changes (such as changes to reporting forms) are not covered. October 2025 Published Title and Brief Summary Status (if applicable) Office of the Superintendent…

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NLRB Quorum Restored: U.S. Senate Confirms President Trump’s Board Nominees

Quick Hits The U.S. Senate confirmed President Trump’s nominations of James D. Murphy and Scott Mayer to the NLRB, and Crystal S. Carey to be the NLRB’s general counsel. The confirmations restore a quorum of three members on the NLRB, enabling the Board to function and decide cases. Carey’s appointment is expected to shift enforcement policies at the NLRB in line with the Trump administration. Despite having a quorum, the…

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Key takeaways from BLG’s 37th Annual Maritime Law Seminar

Maritime law practitioners and industry stakeholders gathered in Montréal on Dec. 5, 2025, for BLG's flagship maritime event BLG's Shipping Group recently hosted its 37th Annual Maritime Law Seminar in Montréal, bringing together leading maritime law practitioners, industry representatives, and government officials to discuss the latest legal developments affecting Canada's shipping sector. The seminar featured four focused sessions covering critical topics from marine casualty response to evolving trade regulations, container…

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Litigation plans matter: Players’ appeal denied in Ontario junior hockey league class action

In Carcillo v. Ontario Major Junior Hockey League, the Court of Appeal for Ontario upheld the motion judge’s decision refusing certification of a proposed class action alleging systemic abuse of young players in major junior hockey leagues. The Court of Appeal held that the proposed class action was of “an unprecedented scale and complexity” and that the lack of a workable litigation plan meant that the motion judge was justified…

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Free the Mind, Free the Land

Neoliberalism raged triumphantly, with some even suggesting the End of History, as many non-capitalist economies collapsed in the last decade of the 20th century. Yusuf Serunkuma from Uganda posed the following prescient question in the Review of African Political Economy in 2022: “With all the evidence in our midst–foreign monopolies in mining, banking and the coffee trade, humongous profit expropriation, policy double-standards, direct foreign aggression such as foreign capital land…

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An Ongoing Conversation about Health and Healthcare

In the 200th episode of Health & Veritas, Harlan offers end-of-the-year reflections on medicine drawn from his editor’s notes in JACC (the Journal of the American College of Cardiology), and Howie provides updates on gun violence, flu, measles, and the health benefits of yoga. Show notes: Editor’s notes by Harlan Krumholz “The Day I Became a Doctor” “When Your Patient Dies” “Rethinking Physician Certification: A Call for a Modern, Meaningful…

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South Korea: a year after the political crisis, markets are buying the promise of stability

Markets are buying President Lee’s promises Renewed political stability is undoubtedly one of the factors behind the surge in South Korean stock prices. During the presidential election campaign, Lee pledged to lift South Korea’s main stock market index, the Kospi, which in April stood at just over 2,500 points, to 5,000 points. With the index closing at around 4,000 points in recent weeks, this goal now appears to be within…

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The Repeal of the Treaty of Portsmouth: An Unnoticed Anniversary

The year 2025 marked a series of anniversaries. Chief among them are the end of World War II and the subsequent establishment of the UN. Eighty years ago, the foundation of the world order was laid, a legacy that endures to this day. One of the most important results of World War II for Russia was the "nullification" of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. The repeal of the Treaty of…

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OSHA’s Nondelegation Challenge: Stakes and Arguments

Quick Hits Two Texas produce associations filed suit against OSHA, challenging the constitutionality of its general safety standards. The plaintiffs argue that OSHA’s broad mandate lacks the necessary intelligible principle required by the U.S. Constitution. The lawsuit seeks to invalidate OSHA’s general safety regulations, potentially impacting federal workplace safety enforcement. That motion mounts a frontal attack on the Occupational Safety and Health Act’s (OSH Act) core delegation for general safety…

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International collaboration launches largest-ever therapeutics trial for patients hospitalised with dengue

The DEN-HOST trial - a multi-site, placebo-controlled, randomised adaptive trial - is being delivered through a collaboration between the Pandemic Sciences Institute, the Programme for Research in Epidemic Preparedness and REsponse (PREPARE) under the Communicable Diseases Agency in Singapore, and the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU). It will initially involve trial sites in ten countries across Asia and Latin America, where dengue is endemic and represents a major public…

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World’s first Phase II Nipah virus vaccine trial launch

The University of Oxford has launched the world’s first Phase II clinical trial of a Nipah virus vaccine candidate.The trial, conducted in Bangladesh in partnership with the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), and funded by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), will assess the safety and immune response of the ChAdOx1 NipahB vaccine in a region where the virus causes recurrent outbreaks.The trial started earlier this…

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The University of Manchester works with Rolls-Royce to test how to limit damage to jet engines

The University of Manchester has played a central role in helping Rolls-Royce double the durability of some components in its jet engines operating in the Middle East.Engineers and geologists in the “DUST” group at the University have developed a synthetic test dust supported by an EPSRC IAA Proof of Concept grant, led by Dr Merren Jones and Dr Alison Pawley, that accurately replicates the fine, talcum-powder-like particles commonly found in…

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Preparing for the UK Employment Rights Bill

Quick Hits The UK Employment Rights Bill has been described as “the biggest upgrade in employment rights for a generation.” The scope of the bill covers permanent and agency workers, maternity and bereavement leave, statutory sick pay, flexible working, whistleblowing protections, collective redundancy, trade union reform, outsourcing, and seafaring. On 1 July 2025, the government published a roadmap for the delivery of the Employment Rights Bill. Its purpose was to…

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Russia’s National Interests as the Primary Guideline in Shaping Approaches to Ensuring Security in Eurasia

So, the first, vital interest is the prosperity and preservation of Russia as a sovereign, free country, and the prevention of a universal catastrophe, a global nuclear war. Its implementation must be based on powerful deterrence forces and efforts to maintain strategic stability, which, in turn, implies maintaining constructive relations with potential adversaries among the great powers. Second, the creation of a security belt and good-neighbourhood along the perimeter of…

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Oxford-built multi-agent assistant for cancer care to be piloted in collaboration with Microsoft

Through a strategic collaboration with Microsoft, the AI assistant has been integrated into Microsoft Teams and will be piloted at Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) NHS Foundation Trust, marking one of the earliest deployments of 'agentic AI' within a clinically realistic tumour board setting.Multidisciplinary Tumour Board meetings (MDTs) are the gold standard for cancer treatment planning in the UK, convening radiologists, pathologists, surgeons, and oncologists to review diagnostic results and formulate…

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Our Most-Read Stories of 2025

January 06, 2025We asked Yale SOM faculty for their best tips on living happily, healthily, and productively in the new year.January 21, 2025Ordinary investors generally can only see an average of analysts’ target prices for a given stock. In a new study, Yale SOM’s Thomas Steffen and Frank Zhang find that when the degree of variation within that “consensus” figure is large, it’s a bad sign for future returns.January 30,…

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Agentic AI and the Future of CP Marketing

Key Points: CP Marketing + Agentic AI Agentic AI is reshaping consumer products marketing by shifting manual, fragmented workflows to autonomous AI agents that plan and optimize campaigns, enabling faster decisions and scalable personalization once core data foundations are established. Organizational readiness will determine real competitive advantage, with governance to guide safe and brand-aligned AI use, and project management to coordinate implementation across functions. Marketers will shift into more strategic…

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Justice Department Erases Disparate Impact Liability From Title VI Enforcement Regulations

Quick Hits The U.S. Department of Justice recently published a final rule eliminating liability for disparate impact discrimination for organizations that receive federal money. Intentional discrimination, including disparate treatment based on race, color, or national origin, remains unlawful under Title VI. The rule took effect immediately. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in any program or activity…

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Infringement by common design found in Canadian case

Introduction Infringement by common design was established for the first time in Canada by the Federal Court (FC) in the decision Adeia Guides Inc. v. Videotron Ltd, released on Nov. 14, 2025. The FC found Videotron liable for infringement of two patents on the theory of common design. Discussing the concept of infringement by common design, the FC stated at paragraph 476: The concept stems from the principle of holding…

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When AI Learns the Why, It Becomes Smarter—and More Responsible

Which headline are you more likely to click on?Headline A: “Stocks Plunge Amid Global Fears.”Headline B: “Markets Decline Today.”Online publications frequently test headline options like this in what’s called an A/B test. In this case, a publication shows headline A to half of its readers, headline B to the other half, then measures which receives more clicks.Marketers have long used A/B tests to determine what drives engagement. Generative AI is…

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Expert Comment: Why has the price of chocolate become so volatile?

Dr Tonya Lander. As the holidays approach, many of us will be buying chocolate as gifts for loved ones, but chocolate can no longer be relied on as an ‘affordable luxury.’ For the last 25 years, the price of cocoa was fairly stable, at around 2-3,000 GBP/metric ton. During the first half of 2024 and the start of 2025, however, the price quadrupled to over 8000 GBP/metric ton. Even though…

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First global study finds young people redefining sexuality around the world

A major new global study led by a researcher at The University of Manchester has found that younger generations around the world are embracing a more diverse and fluid understanding of sexual identity than ever before.The research - which analysed data from over 900,000 users of the queer women’s and nonbinary dating app Zoe - offers one of the first truly global pictures of how people identify their sexuality in…

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Expert Comment: How can we effectively regulate international trade in wild species?

Dr Dan Challender. Photo credit: David Fisher. Overexploitation (harvesting at a rate that exceeds the ability of populations to recover) is a major driver of biodiversity loss. Globally, tens of thousands of animal, plant and fungi species are used and traded at different scales for purposes including food, fashion, medicine, pets, and building materials, among many others. Some of this use and trade is legal and sustainable and some not.…

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2026 Washington State Minimum Wage Update

Quick Hits The Washington State minimum wage for nonexempt employees sixteen years of age and older will increase 2.8 percent over the 2025 rate to $17.13 per hour in 2026. In order to qualify as an overtime-exempt worker, an employee must be paid at least 2.25 times the minimum wage rate, or $80,168.40 annually, regardless of the size of the employer. Several localities, including Seattle, Bellingham, Burien, Everett, Renton, SeaTac,…

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CSA Proposals on Liquidity Risk Management

On November 27, 2025, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) published for comment proposed amendments to National Instrument 81-102 Investment Funds (NI 81-102) and its Companion Policy, and issued a related consultation paper. Why now? In 2020, the CSA issued CSA Staff Notice 81-333 Guidance on Effective Liquidity Risk Management for Investment Funds (LRM Guidance). In 2022, the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) published a report assessing how IOSCO’s member…

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The Prospects for Russia’s Strategic Engagement with the Organisation of Turkic States

Russia’s prospective engagement with the Organisation of Turkic States cannot be treated as a linear policy option. It is, instead, a multidimensional issue shaped by institutional constraints, normative tensions, ethnic relations, geopolitical rivalries, and symbolic considerations, writes Lucas Leiroz de Almeida. The author is a participant of the Valdai – New Generation project. A growing discussion has recently emerged over how Russia could engage more systematically with the Organisation of…

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Mayoral Override: NYC Employers to Face New Pay Data Reporting Obligations

Quick Hits The New York City Council enacted two new pay data reporting laws, requiring large employers to submit annual reports detailing pay data by race, ethnicity, and sex. The designated agency will collect demographic information modeled after the former federal EEO-1 Component 2 reports and will have the authority to modify reporting requirements, including options for different gender identities. Employers face penalties for noncompliance, including written warnings and fines,…

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Fast-tracking Canada’s future: Recent projects announced by the Major Projects Office

Further to our recent article discussing the Building Canada Act and the announcement by the federal government to launch the Major Projects Office (MPO) to facilitate the advancement of major infrastructure and energy projects that are of national interest, the federal government has announced the first and second tranches of nation-building projects that have been referred to the MPO. Per the federal government’s recent statement, the projects referred to the MPO…

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