Uncertainty has long been part of the business landscape — and it’s one we’ve helped our clients navigate time and again. Over the years, we’ve worked alongside leadership teams through global financial crises, Brexit, political turbulence, and a pandemic that fundamentally reshaped global commerce. What we are facing today, however, is not a temporary disruption or a single event. It is a more persistent, structural shift — one that is…
In 2018, Washington enacted a Fair Chance Act, requiring covered employers to wait until after considering an applicant to be “otherwise qualified” for the position at issue to inquire about or consider criminal history when making hiring or other employment decisions. There are exceptions for, among others, financial institutions and certain regulated employers. Starting on July 1, 2026, however, unless an exception applies, Washington employers with 15 or more employees…
Quick Hits Washington State is on track to enact a “mini-WARN Act” requiring employers with fifty or more employees to provide at least sixty days’ notice before business closures or mass reductions in force. The Washington bill’s notice requirements would go beyond the federal WARN Act. The legislation includes protections for employees on paid family or medical leave, preventing them from being included in mass reductions, except in limited situations.…
A continuation in our series for Canadian employers addressing the U.S. tariff effect. For more information, check out BLG's Tariffs and Trade Resource Centre. The recent imposition of tariffs, and the resulting “tariff uncertainty”, is posing real and immediate challenges to employers and unions in industries that rely on the exportation of their goods, products and materials, such as automotive, manufacturing, steel, aluminum, agriculture and forestry. At least for the…
Young people with a diagnosable mental health condition report differences in their experiences of social media compared to those without a condition, including greater dissatisfaction with online friend counts and more time spent on social media sites.This is according to a new study led by the University of Cambridge, which suggests that adolescents with “internalising” conditions such as anxiety and depression report feeling particularly affected by social media. Young people…
Nancy Huddleston Packer, award-winning writer who served as director of Creative Writing Program, has died | Stanford Report Skip to content
On April 15, 2025, the federal government announced three new measures to aid Canadian businesses and entities affected by the ongoing tariff dispute with the U.S. These measures are: conditional remissions on CUSMA-compliant auto imports; temporary tariff relief on goods for critical industries; and a loan program for large businesses. Remissions for automakers The government intends to implement a performance-based duty remission framework for automakers. The measure will allow Canadian…
5 May 2025By Gert Bijnens, John Hutchinson and Arthur Saint Guilhem Lasting high energy prices are putting pressure on industries all across Europe. This is hitting some regions, such as southern Germany, the Ruhr and northern Italy, harder than others. The ECB Blog examines the implications for employment. High energy costs threaten the competitiveness of European firms and weigh on employment. Based on firm-level data, we estimate that a permanent…
On April 20, 2024, the Government of Canada issued a Notice pursuant to section 46 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA) mandating that certain entities report information on the quantities and types of plastics that they manufacture, import, produce and place on the Canadian market. Reporting requirements are being rolled out in three phases with the first reporting due by Sept. 29, 2025. Those caught by the reporting…
Patients with severe dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, or EB, have skin so fragile, the slightest touch can lead to blistering and, eventually, large, open wounds that never heal, causing immense pain.A treatment developed at Stanford Medicine, skin grafts, can treat those large, open wounds. Genetically engineered from a patient’s own cells, the grafts were granted approval as an EB therapy on April 29 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “I’m…
On March 27, 2025, the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) published for comment Phase 5 of its Rule Consolidation Project (the Proposals) relating to the consolidation of the two sets of rules currently applicable to investment dealers (IDPC Rules) and mutual fund dealers (MFD Rules) into one. Our assessment is that the Proposals – which address significant differences between the IDPC Rules and MFD Rules that could have potential material impacts…
Quick Hits On April 24, 2025, the Florida Legislature passed legislation (HB 1219) to permit two new forms of allowed noncompete provisions under Florida law. The new provisions include a covered garden leave provision and a provision limiting a noncompete to a specific geographic area and time period, both of which would be enforceable through injunctive and other relief. If enacted, HB 1219 will become effective on July 1, 2025.…
On March 4, 2025, the United States imposed by Executive Order a 25 per cent tariff on the importation of nearly all Canadian-origin goods (10 per cent on certain energy-related exports). The tariffs were implemented under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Days later, the United States announced that goods imported from Canada that qualify for duty-free preferential treatment under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) would be exempted from…
Stanford University Libraries has acquired the only known prototype of the MingKwai Chinese typewriter (明快打字機), the first Chinese typewriter to possess a keyboard. ‘It weighs a ton!’ Earlier this year, the Facebook messages and Reddit threads began circulating among antiquarians. While cleaning out her late grandfather’s basement in New York state, Jennifer Felix and her husband discovered an odd object that looked like a 40s-era typewriter with Chinese characters on the keys.…
This is a continuation in our U.S. tariff effect series, a national analysis of the impact of tariffs on Canadian employers. For more information, check out BLG’s Tariffs and Trade Resource Centre. Over the past couple of months, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) has announced a series of temporary, expanded employment insurance (EI) measures. These are meant to assist employers experiencing a decline in business activity connected to the…
A global system of full economic integration—the aspiration of decades of negotiations and the worldwide underpinning of corporate strategy—has never been fully realized. The latest round of global trade talks sputtered to an inconclusive end in the early 2010s. But even as views on the benefits and fairness of the system diverged among countries, there was no overt challenge to the framework of global trade. That changed on April 2,…
In today’s business landscape, more and more companies are focused on reducing both carbon emissions and costs simultaneously. This dual mission is not just a strategic choice but a necessity driven by rising costs and increasing regulatory pressure, such as from Europe’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and European Trading Scheme (ETS, now extended under ETS2), and new disclosure standards taking effect in Australia and Japan. Yet to date, only…
Quick Hits During the first one hundred days of his second term, President Trump implemented a series of executive orders to reshape employer obligations and compliance programs across various sectors, including artificial intelligence, higher education, and DEI programs. Key actions include rescinding previous AI safeguards and eliminating DEI programs, which have impacted and will continue to impact the legal landscape for employers. In total, President Trump has signed 143 executive…
As outlined in our December 2024 article, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) has proposed updates to its Rules of Procedure as part of an ongoing effort to reduce delays and address its backlog of cases. The stated intent of the proposed changes is to streamline processes, improve efficiency, and shorten the average lifecycle of cases—while continuing to promote fair and timely resolution of human rights claims. The HRTO…
In a world shaped by accelerating change, resilience is essential for both survival and success. Today’s leaders are increasingly seeing that resilience is about not only enduring crises but also thriving in the face of them. Strikingly, research from the World Economic Forum (WEF) and McKinsey suggests that 84 percent of companies report being underprepared for current trends and uncertainties. To understand the role resilience plays in large, global organizations, McKinsey…
Scientists from the Ineos Oxford Institute for antimicrobial research (IOI) have developed a new screening method to tackle bacterial resistance to the tetracycline class of antibiotics. The results from this method provide the starting point to develop new drugs to treat drug-resistant infections. The findings have been published in Chemical Science. Tetracyclines are among the most widely used antibiotics to treat respiratory tract infections, sexually transmitted diseases, and urinary tract…
‘Re-Thinking Food’ symposium launches interdisciplinary effort to reimagine global food systems | Stanford Report Skip to content
Four academics from the University of Oxford were elected this year as international members.Véronique Gouverneur, Waynflete Professor of Chemistry, Department of Chemistry. Professor Véronique Gouverneur. Credit: Stephen Cannon. Professor Gouverneur is renowned for her contributions to fluorine chemistry which have tackled some of the biggest challenges of this area. Her achievements include developing new fluorination processes for producing diagnostics and pharmaceutical drugs, and advancing safe and sustainable manufacturing of fluorochemicals that…
Quick Hits Implementing an internal process for managing individual rights requests will be key to organizations remaining compliant with applicable data protection laws and managing compliance costs. The role of artificial intelligence and individual rights may lead to organizations undertaking excessive, unnecessary, and costly work when responding to requests. Organizations that fail to respond to DSARs continue to be actively investigated and penalized by regulators in the EU, the UK,…
In a significant development for Canadian capital markets, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) have introduced a trio of blanket orders that ease certain prospectus and disclosure requirements. These changes are designed to reduce the financial and administrative burden associated with going public in Canada, enhance capital raising flexibility for issuers that have recently completed an initial public offering (IPO), and better facilitate exempt market capital raising. These changes provide welcome…
Bridgerton actor Simone Ashley and Surface star Gugu Mbatha-Raw will join industry practitioners and Oxford academics for this celebration of the women shaping the film industry, and explore changes in (and challenges to) the perception and representation of women in the industry.Other leading industry voices will also share their experiences behind-the-scenes to audiences, including:Lucy Bevan, casting director for major films like Barbie and The Batman.Finola Dwyer, two-time Oscar-nominee and BAFTA-winning producer…
Profitability and growth dynamics in the semiconductor industry have shifted dramatically in recent years. The industry as a whole has experienced impressive economic profit growth, rising from $38 billion in the 2000–09 period to $450 billion in 2010–19, according to McKinsey analysis. In October 2024, the McKinsey Global Institute noted semiconductors as one of 18 industries poised to transform the future business landscape, with anticipated value of between $1.7 trillion and…
The emergence and evolution of civilizational consciousness and identity in Africa unfold within a context marked by profound identity crises and shifting mentalities, shaped by contemporary sociocultural and political transformations, Elena Kharitonova writes. African history, marked by profound sociocultural, political, and psychological upheavals, brings to the fore the complex issue of identity. These transformations – whether affecting individuals, communities, ethnic groups, or entire civilizations – sharply raise questions of self-determination…
As our America at 250 series highlights, today’s public sector leaders must navigate choppy seas—and the winds of change may only intensify. For both new and established government leaders, reality may look quite different from the bridge of their ship than from how they imagined it would be based on previous experiences. They must be prepared to learn and adapt. As retired US Navy Admiral Eric Olson notes in McKinsey’s new…
Quick Hits A federal judge blocked the U.S. Department of Education’s “Dear Colleague Letter” that threatened funding cuts for schools with DEI programs, protecting the plaintiff organizations. The court found the letter vague and a potential infringement of First Amendment rights due to its lack of clear compliance guidelines for schools. The judge noted that the risk of federal funding loss could harm institutions, leading to censorship of DEI discussions.…
Le 23 avril 2025, le gouvernement du Québec a publié dans la Gazette officielle du Québec le nouveau projet de Règlement sur les paiements et le règlement rapide des différends en matière de travaux de construction1 (le « Projet de règlement »). Ce dernier fait suite au Projet pilote visant à faciliter le paiement aux entreprises parties à des contrats publics de travaux de construction ainsi qu’aux sous-contrats qui y sont liés2…
Howie and Harlan are joined by Joel Bervell, a recent medical school graduate who uses social media platforms to combat misinformation and explain racial biases in healthcare. Harlan discusses his new Wall Street Journal commentary highlighting the link between viral infections and chronic diseases; Howie reports on powerful new evidence for the effectiveness of the HPV vaccine and warns of the dangers of a vaccine-skeptical presidential administration. Links: Viral Infection…
When is a medical-device manufacturer not just a medical-device manufacturer? When it’s also an online marketplace for consumers to buy wellness products and get advice from healthcare providers. Amid unrelenting pressure from digital-first competitors, McKinsey analysis finds that established companies across sectors are increasingly building new business-to-consumer (B2C) businesses to capture their share of the $25 trillion B2C market. B2C business building is gaining traction because the traditional corporate strategy…
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) announced 120 newly elected members, including seven Stanford University researchers. Scientists are elected to the NAS by their peers “in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.” The NAS provides advice to the United States government on matters related to science, engineering, and health policy. The new members from Stanford are: Shanhui Fan: the Joseph and Hon Mai Goodman Professor and professor of electrical…
On March 27, 2025, the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed Mr. Furtado’s application for leave to appeal the Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision, where the Court of Appeal upheld the denial of coverage under a Directors and Officers liability policy as Mr. Furtado failed to meet a condition precedent under the claims-made and reported policy. Key facts Mr. Furtado, the directing mind of Go-To Developments ("Go-To"), sought coverage under a…
Quick Hits The Supreme Court of Missouri recently upheld Proposition A that raised Missouri’s minimum wage on January 1, 2025, and requires employers provide paid sick time to most Missouri employees, starting May 1, 2025. The court found that the summary statement and fiscal note in the 2024 ballot measure were not misleading and did not result in election irregularities. The court dismissed arguments that the initiative violated the Missouri…
On April 16, 2025, the Government of Ontario announced the most significant unilateral removal of provincial trade barriers in Canada’s history through Bill 2, Protect Ontario Through Free Trade Within Canada Act (Bill 2). In 2023, trade between Ontario and its provincial and territorial counterparts totalled $326 billion. Statistics Canada estimates that impediments to interprovincial trade are equivalent to a 7 per cent ad valorem tariff on goods. The Government…
By Tahir Mahmood | 25 Apr, 2025 You have packed your bags, said goodbye to the place you have called home for the past ten years, and made the move to the UK, land of drizzle and double-decker buses. Welcome (or welcome back)! HMRC has a shiny new tax regime just for you — and it is called the Foreign Income and Gains regime, or FIG. What Is the FIG…
Individual and collective health are paramount to productivity, happiness, and overall societal progress in America. Truly enhancing well-being requires adopting an approach to health that adds not only years to life but also life to years. Health is “not merely the absence of disease or infirmity,” according to WHO. Good workplace health involves holistic health, which is an integrated view of an individual’s mental, physical, spiritual, and social functioning. To…
Pioneering Māori scholar, Mākereti Papakura, will receive a posthumous degree from the University of Oxford nearly 100 years after she began her studies.Born in Aotearoa New Zealand in 1873, Mākereti is believed to be the first indigenous woman to matriculate to the University, and news she would be posthumously awarded the degree of MPhil was announced by the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography on Wednesday 30 April. Pioneering scholarStudio…