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Q5 welcomes Helen Kewell as Associate Partner

Q5 strengthens organisational transformation and leadership capability with Associate Partner hire, Helen Kewell Q5 has appointed Helen Kewell as Associate Partner, strengthening its expertise in organisational transformation, culture and leadership development. With more than 25 years’ experience across multiple sectors, Helen brings deep expertise in behaviour change and organisational effectiveness, helping clients build healthier, more connected and higher-performing organisations through sustainable transformation. Reading time: 3 minutes Helen joins Q5 as…

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Fifth Circuit Rules Employee’s Conduct, Not Pregnancy, Drove Firing

Quick Hits The Fifth Circuit rejected a plaintiff’s argument that the employer’s statement, “[Y]ou’re about to go on leave so … I can’t lose two people when you’re going to be taking leave soon,” constituted direct evidence of discrimination as it was too attenuated. The Fifth Circuit analyzed the plaintiff’s pregnancy discrimination claim under both the “but-for” and “mixed-motive” causation standards and found her evidence insufficient under either standard. The…

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U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs update: Relief, more of the same or more extreme industrial policy?

The world of tariffs used to be sedate and boring. There were times in the Times Before when glaciers appeared more agile than trade policy. Those days, of course, are gone. We can hope not for ever; we can look into the horizon and pine for a Return to the Mundane. For now, change is the order of the day. Rapid, dizzying, change – it’s difficult to keep up; even…

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Webinar – Fair Hiring in Focus: Background Checks, AI, and Emerging Compliance Risks

Tuesday, May 19, 20263:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Central1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Mountain12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Pacific About the Program Recent developments in background screening, fair hiring laws, and the use of artificial intelligence in employment decisions continue to create significant compliance challenges for employers nationwide. Expanding Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) theories, increased regulatory scrutiny, and evolving state and local fair chance…

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Fifth Circuit: When Telework Isn’t a Reasonable Accommodation

Quick Hits On May 8, 2026, the Fifth Circuit upheld a lower court’s decision to dismiss a disability discrimination claim because the plaintiff could not return to work in person, which was one of the essential functions of the job. The employer satisfied its obligation to provide a reasonable accommodation by offering telework two to three days a week, which the employee rejected. The employee’s inability to perform the essential…

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The “deal”: U.S. “Reciprocal Trade Agreements” in Southeast Asia

In Episode Four of the “Tariff Home Companion” – BLG’s trade and tariff podcast  – we heard about business concerns over the continued lack of certainty in Canada-U.S. trade relations. These concerns are real. As we have chronicled over the past fifteen months, that lack of certainty arose, in the first place, when the United States announced the imposition of punishing tariffs on Canadian exports, ostensibly because of lack of…

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Substandard bowel cancer care for people with learning disability highlighted

People with a learning disability are at higher risk of developing bowel cancer, yet face significant barriers at nearly every stage of the care pathway, University of Manchester and Christie NHS Foundation Trust have found.The population-based study of more than two million people showed individuals with an intellectual disability are more likely to develop bowel cancer, especially before the age of 50.Funded by the National Institute for Health and Care…

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MSHA’s 2027 Budget Proposal Signals Leaner Staffing, Tech-focused Enforcement

Quick Hits MSHA’s FY 2027 budget justification seeks nearly a 10 percent funding cut while preserving core inspection duties and shifting resources toward training, regulation, data analytics, and technology. The proposal would reduce funded staffing through attrition, eliminate the Brookwood-Sago mine safety grants program, and pursue AI tools for inspectors. Mine operators can expect MSHA to maintain regular inspections despite fewer enforcement positions. Overall, MSHA is requesting nearly a 10…

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Plead carefully: SCC clarifies cause of action estoppel and limits on relitigation

In Patrick Street Holdings Ltd. v. 11368 NL Inc., 2026 SCC 15, the Supreme Court of Canada held that cause of action estoppel barred the appellant from advancing a new theory in a second proceeding to support its entitlement to mortgage proceeds. The Court’s decision is an important reminder that litigants must bring forward all reasonably available arguments in the first proceeding, and subsequent attempts to relitigate the same underlying cause of action will…

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Solving Operational Problems Is the Real Engine of CarMax’s Success

Austin Ligon co-founded CarMax in 1991 as an executive at Circuit City and served as president and CEO of the spun-off company until 2006. Today he is an angel investor and advisor to retail, service, and educational startups.Q: Where did the idea for CarMax come from?We were looking for areas that no big-box retailer had put effort into. Automobiles were obvious, but new cars are heavily controlled by franchise laws…

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Russia and Central Asia in Greater Eurasia: From an Action Plan to a Working Architecture

Climate and Water: A Topic Which Deserves More Attention The transport agenda is articulated in detail in political discourse. Climate and water are significantly less significant, and this imbalance seems difficult to explain: in terms of the scale of long-term consequences, it is the water issue that is comparable to trade and transport. Since 1930, Central Asian glaciers have lost approximately 30 percent of their area. According to estimates made…

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The Pennine hills are full of holes – here’s how they’re helping fight climate change

Thousands of holes are appearing in the Pennine hills, as part of efforts to improve carbon storage by restoring damaged peatland.Peat itself is carbon rich and so as it grows it will help to capture the CO₂ that is produced by industrial fossil fuel use that is warming the atmosphere.Meanwhile, damaged or drained peatlands turn into a carbon source, releasing greenhouses gases themselves. About 15% of the world’s peatlands have…

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Booking site crackdown failed to cut online hotel prices – but unlocked cheaper deals offline

A major French policy designed to make hotel prices more competitive online may not have worked as intended, but it did unlock cheaper deals for customers booking directly with hotels.A new study of European hotel markets finds that banning ‘price parity clauses’ – rules which stop hotels from offering lower prices outside major booking platforms – had little impact on publicly advertised online prices.Instead, savings appeared in less visible places…

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German Federal Labor Court Rules on Right to Information in Suspected Gender Pay Bias

Quick Hits Under German labor law, employees claiming unequal treatment in relation to a “comparator” must specifically demonstrate in court that they perform the same or equivalent work as the comparator. Anyone seeking to sue for “equal hourly wages” must specifically demonstrate the number of working hours on which their own monthly salary is based; without a verifiable gross hourly wage for the plaintiff, a comparison with the comparator’s gross…

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Loose lips sink ships: SCC upholds restrictions on Parliamentarians’ right to disclose national security information

In Alford v. Canada (Attorney General), 2026 SCC 14, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the constitutional validity of the limit on parliamentary privilege imposed by s. 12 of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians Act, S.C. 2017, c. 15 (the NSICOP Act). Section 12 prohibits members of Parliament and the Senate who sit on the committee established by the NSICOP Act from claiming immunity based on parliamentary privilege…

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Military Stress Test: The War on Iran and BRICS Institutional Reform Combat injury or a disability?

If the bloc fails to propose an alternative security model (not necessarily a military alliance, but a diplomatic platform for conflict prevention), its less influential members and partner countries will begin seeking guarantees individually from the United States or China. BRICS would then become a declarative club, while real influence would shift to bilateral alliances—particularly if the West, driven by a survival instinct (a determination to prolong its dominance and…

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Q5 wins Better Society Award

Recognising the power of giving back together We are proud to have been named Pro Bono Company of the Year at the Better Society Awards 2026. The award recognises the commitment, energy and expertise of Q5ers across the globe who continue to use their skills to create meaningful impact through pro bono work, community partnerships and social impact initiatives. Reading time: 2 minutes We have been named winner of the…

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New York Legislature Passes Sweeping “Anti‑Waiver of Employment Rights Act”

Seyfarth Synopsis: The “Anti‑Waiver of Employment Rights Act” (S4424‑A) would broadly invalidate contractual provisions waiving or limiting employees’ rights under the New York Labor Law and Human Rights Law. The law—if signed by the Governor—would significantly expand employee protections in New York and may expose existing agreements to challenge. Both chambers of the New York Legislature have passed the “Anti‑Waiver of Employment Rights Act.” The legislation would establish that rights under…

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Proposed Rule Aims to Expand Fertility Benefits

Quick Hits A new proposed rule from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and U.S. Department of the Treasury would allow employers to provide coverage for fertility treatments as a limited excepted benefit. Employees would be able to enroll in excepted benefit fertility coverage without having to enroll in the employer’s group health plan. This excepted benefit coverage would apply only to…

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Supreme Court of Canada recognizes tort of intimate partner violence: Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia

In Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia, 2026 SCC 16, the Supreme Court of Canada recognized a new tort of intimate partner violence, centred on coercive and controlling conduct within intimate relationships. The case arose from a long-term marital relationship characterized by a pattern of abuse extending beyond discrete incidents of physical violence. The plaintiff sought damages not only for specific acts of assault, but a broader and sustained course of coercive, controlling,…

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Delphi Group Uses Data To Forecast the Flu and Other Epidemics

Working to help officials manage future public health emergencies, Carnegie Mellon University researchers want to forecast infectious disease outbreaks like meteorologists predict the weather.Outbreaks of diseases like COVID-19, or a resurgence of one like monkey pox, can happen any time of year, said Roni Rosenfeld(opens in new window), University Professor(opens in new window) of machine learning, language technologies, computer science and computational biology in the School of Computer Science(opens in new window)…

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What the British Commonwealth Teaches About Contemporary History

US policy under Trump isn't a sudden rupture but an acceleration of decline, mirroring Britain's Commonwealth. As global power shifts, America faces a choice: build a colonial-style Commonwealth or enable a European federation. Europe must unite or accept subordination. The initiatives undertaken by President Trump in the first year of his second term have astonished the world. No one expected such a radical shift in US policy, and many have…

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Quick Alert: Somalia’s TPS End Date Extended

By: Dawn M. Lurie and Selene Malench* On May 15, USCIS updated its guidance related to Somalia noting: “When completing the Expiration Date (if any) fields on Form I-9, input ‘as per court order’ in Section 1 and ‘July 1, 2026,’ in Section 2 along with a note in the ‘Additional Information box.’ This update revises our prior blog post on the status of TPS EAD extensions. With this change, all…

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From ‘keeping the lights on’ to powering AI and beyond

Why utilities must redesign for growth in the AI era AI-driven data center growth is reshaping the utility sector, pressuring operating models built for stability rather than rapid expansion. Utilities that succeed will combine infrastructure investment with faster decision-making, stronger commercial capabilities, proactive regulatory alignment, and stakeholder engagement, all while maintaining the reliability and affordability customers expect. Reading time: 4 minutes Data center electricity demand is accelerating fast. EPRI has…

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Why Do Moderate Voters Support Extreme Candidates?

Americans are frustrated by their increasingly polarized government. Their trust in government is at an all-time low, with just 4% saying that the political system is working extremely or very well. And yet political scientists have demonstrated that voters routinely elect politicians whose views are more ideologically extreme than their own. The seemingly incompatible match between moderate public opinion and politicians’ extremism can be accounted for by rational individual behaviors…

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Connecticut Expands Scope of Its ‘Stay or Pay’ Prohibition

Seyfarth Synopsis: Connecticut has enacted amendments to its longstanding prohibition on “stay‑or‑pay” agreements that expand the law’s application to all employers and reinforce restrictions on agreements requiring repayment as a condition of employment. While the core prohibition remains unchanged, the expanded coverage reflects a broader national trend limiting the use of such arrangements. Employers should evaluate their existing agreements and consider whether state‑specific or national compliance strategies are appropriate. Connecticut has…

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SCOTUS Settles Federal Jurisdiction Question When Claims Are Stayed Under the FAA

Quick Hits In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court ruled that federal courts that have stayed claims in pending actions under Section 3 of the FAA maintain jurisdiction to confirm or vacate the resulting arbitral awards under sections 9 and 10 of the FAA. In this case, the original employment discrimination claims were sufficient to establish the federal district court’s jurisdiction. The Court ruled that the original claims also established…

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How cross-border flows via non-bank financial institutions constrain financing for euro area firms

15 May 2026By Dorian Henricot, Caterina Mendicino, Luis Molestina Vivar, Wouter Wakker, and Jakob WenzlNon-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) are on the rise. This blog shows how shifts in their borrowing and investment portfolios constrain financing for euro area firms and affect the transmission of monetary policy.Two trends have diverted financing away from euro area firms in recent years. First, euro area NBFIs have shifted their portfolios towards foreign assets –…

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The Horn of Africa: Between Peace and War

Finally, Ethiopia faces yet another issue: the presence on its territory—in the northern border areas of the Tigray regional state—of a 20,000-strong Eritrean military contingent, deployed there at the outset of the Tigrayan armed uprising under the aegis of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front . Initially, this suited Addis Ababa, as it diverted significant forces of the Tigrayan rebels, but after the signing of the Pretoria and Nairobi peace agreements…

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If your strategy isn’t felt, is it working?

How leaders can create and deliver ‘immersive’ strategy that people can actually see themselves in Successful strategy execution depends not only on the quality of the strategy itself, but on leadership’s ability to build belief, trust and organisational alignment. This article explores how leaders can make strategy truly land by shaping culture, modelling consistent behaviours and creating systems that enable execution, supported by real-world business examples and research. Reading time:…

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Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Law Update: Expanded Employer Authority and New Limits on Safety Sensitive Positions

Seyfarth Synopsis: Oklahoma has enacted new amendments to its medical marijuana law that further define employer rights and obligations in the workplace. Under Oklahoma’s amended law, employers are required to apply zero‑tolerance drug and alcohol standards to applicants for and employees in safety‑sensitive positions. The amendment eliminates the employer’s “reasonable belief” standard from the definition of “safety‑sensitive” and appears to  define positions as safety‑sensitive only where the job involves one…

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Supreme Court Holds Freight Broker Liable for Negligent Hiring

Quick Hits The Supreme Court recently found that freight brokers can be sued for negligent hiring after accidents involving motor carriers selected for interstate transport of goods. The FAAAA does not override state laws concerning negligent hiring of unsafe motor carriers. The FAAAA preempts state laws related to prices, routes, and services for commercial trucking companies and brokers. However, a safety exception allows states to maintain safety regulatory authority with…

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A Guide to Getting Agentic AI Right

This commentary was originally published in Fortune. The views expressed are the authors’ own.In April 2025, an AI agent named “Sam” working in customer support for the developer tools company Cursor told users that their licenses worked on only one device. Subscriptions were canceled, complaints flooded Hacker News, and the company scrambled to clarify that no such policy existed. Sam had invented it. The technology took on a life of…

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Towards the Bishkek SCO Summit: Priorities and Initiatives

Following the Tianjin SCO summit held in September 2025, Kyrgyzstan became the next member state to assume the chairmanship of the organisation. Shumkarbek Adilbek uulu, Director of the National Institute for Strategic Initiatives (NISI) under the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, explores the initiatives and vision Bishkek brings to the table, assessing what lies ahead for the SCO 25 years after its Shanghai Five predecessor was founded. Over its 25-year…

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Connecticut Enacts Sweeping Employment Law Updates

Seyfarth Synopsis: Connecticut has enacted significant changes across multiple areas of employment law. Key developments include expanded pay transparency requirements, a broad prohibition on “stay‑or‑pay” agreements, new wage and hour notice obligations, and enhanced employee protections. Many of the provisions take effect October 1, 2026. Connecticut has enacted a broad workforce bill that expands existing employment protections and introduces new compliance obligations in a range of subject areas. While many provisions build…

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From Water Resources to Women’s Rights: Security Challenges in South Asia

It is no coincidence that South Asian experts themselves emphasise that the majority of the population is primarily concerned with more prosaic, yet vital, security issues—access to electricity, adequate water resources and food supplies, and protection from the consequences of climate change. Resource Scarcity Energy security issues are acute across the region: South Asian countries are net importers of energy resources, and their availability determines not only overall macroeconomic growth…

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