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Two More Down as the Bell Continues to Toll for TPS

Just hours after publication of our earlier alert, USCIS issued updated guidance confirming that Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for both Burma (Myanmar) and South Sudan is terminated effective August 7, 2026. USCIS stated that TPS-based Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) issued under categories A12 and C19 for beneficiaries from both countries are no longer valid, and employers must reverify affected employees who previously presented those documents. The announcements supersede all prior…

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California Appellate Court Affirms Restraining Order Based on Harassment

Quick Hits In Adelanto Elementary School District v. Krause, a California appellate court upheld the bulk of a restraining order against a former school district superintendent who later was elected to the school district’s board of trustees. The court found the former superintendent exhibited a pattern of stalking and harassing texts that were “alarming and frightening” to employees. The court shortened the duration of the restraining order and removed a…

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Africa-Russia Academic Mobility: From Soviet Legacy to New Horizons

Graduates of Soviet higher education institutions have shaped contemporary Africa, returning home with invaluable skills in spheres ranging from medicine and agriculture to energy and mining. Today, Russia is once more emerging as an educational and academic hub for African students, with much to offer aspiring specialists from the continent. Yet, tapping into this potential will require more than just political will on its own, writes Souleymane Anta Ndiaye, Former…

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The Bell Rings Louder: TPS Deadlines Draw Near

The pace of change in employment authorization policy has long been relentless, but the developments of the last several days have been particularly significant. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released updated guidance, courts permitted several Temporary Protected Status (TPS) terminations to proceed, and a stay was denied in litigation challenging the TPS provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). Judge Lifts Haiti Stay; USCIS Issues Additional Guidance…

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CCAA vesting orders and Crown royalty arrears: Alberta Court of Appeal confirms finality

In Alberta (Energy and Minerals) v Spartan Delta Corp,1 the Court of Appeal held that Alberta Energy’s claims for both pre-filing and post-filing royalty arrears under leases sold subject to a CCAA vesting order were barred by operation of the joint, but not several, liability created under the Mines and Minerals Act, RSA 2000, c M-17 (MMA) and the wording of the vesting order. Spartan has important implications and provides…

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Senate Confirms 2 NLRB Members, Creating 3–1 Majority

Quick Hits The U.S. Senate confirmed two nominees for the NLRB to new five-year terms. The confirmations give the Board a 3–1 Republican majority that will allow it to overturn precedential decisions. Despite the new additions, one vacancy on the five-member Board remains. The Senate confirmed Republican James Macy, a U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) official and former management-side labor attorney, and Democrat David Prouty, who was renominated for a…

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Build Canada Homes’ first moves: 4,000 direct-build units and a controversial B.C. condo conversion push

On Sept. 14, 2025, the Canadian government launched Build Canada Homes, a new federal agency designed to increase Canada’s housing supply by building affordable housing at scale. Build Canada Homes will work with provinces, territories, municipalities and Indigenous communities to build affordable community housing for low-income households, while also partnering with private developers to deliver affordable housing for middle-class Canadians. The federal government introduced Bill C-20, the Build Canada Homes…

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Texas Pauses Pending Data Center Grid Interconnections for Project-by-Project Audit

Key Takeaways Governor Greg Abbott has directed the PUCT and ERCOT to pause pending data center interconnection requests until each project completes a comprehensive audit. The audit will examine project power demand and generation strategy, water use, public incentives, community impacts, and ownership. ERCOT’s existing Batch Zero schedule calls for initial project classifications by August 7, but neither ERCOT nor the PUCT has publicly announced how the new audit will…

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Senate Confirms 2 New NLRB Members, Creating 3–1 majority

Quick Hits The U.S. Senate confirmed two nominees for the NLRB to new five-year terms. The confirmations give the Board a 3–1 Republican majority that will allow it to overturn precedential decisions. Despite the new additions, one vacancy on the five-member Board remains. The Senate confirmed Republican James Macy, a U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) official and former management-side labor attorney, and Democrat David Prouty, who was renominated for a…

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Ontario Court of Appeal rules on ESA termination clauses: The Baker and Li decisions

Two recent Ontario employment law decisions, Baker v. Van Dolder’s Home Team Inc., 2025 ONSC 952, and Li v. Wayfair Canada ULC, 2025 ONSC 2959, have renewed scrutiny of termination provisions that limit employees to minimum statutory entitlements under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the ESA). Although both cases address “ESA only” drafting, the lower courts had reached opposing conclusions. Both appeals were argued on March 25, 2026, and the Court…

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DOL Opens 2026 VETS-4212 Filing Platform: Covered Contractors and Data Requirements

Quick Hits The 2026 VETS-4212 reporting platform opened on August 1, 2026. All 2026 VETS-4212 filings are due by September 30, 2026. Federal contractors and subcontractors with a single covered contract of $200,000 or more are required to file VETS-4212 reports. Who must file VETS-4212 reports? Federal contractors or subcontractors with a single contract of $200,000 or more for the procurement of personal property or nonpersonal services, regardless of the…

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From oil to electrons: lessons from the 1970s energy crises

7 August 2026By Daniela Arlia and John HutchinsonEurope’s electricity mix has become cleaner and less exposed to fossil fuel price swings. The challenge now is to extend electrification to transport, heating and industry. The lesson from the 1970s is that we must not just diversify energy supply but push for structural change too.Europe is once again confronting the macroeconomic consequences of its dependence on imported energy. This is not a…

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India and the SCO

India’s CHS presidency India assumed the presidency of SCO CHS (the Council of Heads of State) on September 16, 2022 at the Summit in Samarkand and virtually hosted the SCO-CHS Summit on July 4, 2023. Prime Minister Narendra Modi articulated India’s priorities as moving towards a ‘SECURE’ SCO – Security, Economic Development, Connectivity, Unity, Respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as environmental protection. During the course of its…

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Seyfarth Further Expands National Trial Capabilities by Adding Leading Litigator Nathan Muyskens in Washington, DC

August 6, 2026 -  Seyfarth Shaw LLP continues to extend its litigation and investigations platform with the addition of nationally recognized trial lawyer Nathan Muyskens as a partner in Washington, DC. Muyskens will serve as co-chair of Seyfarth's White Collar practice and as a key member of the firm's national Trial team. Muyskens’ arrival at Seyfarth follows months after another preeminent trial lawyer, Marc Mukasey, moved to Seyfarth along with…

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Ontario Court of Appeal Clarifies Interpretive Framework for Termination Clauses in Employment Contracts

Quick Hits In Baker v. Van Dolder’s Home Team Inc. (2026 ONCA 568), the Ontario Court of Appeal unanimously held that without-cause termination provisions containing the words “at any time” or “at any time and for any reason” are not, by that language alone, inconsistent with the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) and are therefore enforceable. The decision provides an authoritative interpretive framework: termination provisions must be read in context,…

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Why Soft is One of the Most Expensive Words in Your Business

Everyone says culture matters.   Very few organisations account for it that way.  Culture is the first thing cut when money gets tight and the last thing measured when it doesn’t. Not because leaders stop believing in it, but because they can’t defend it and tell you what it’s worth. Marketing has revenue forecasts. Technology has business cases. Operations have productivity metrics. Every significant investment arrives with a number attached. Culture arrives with an engagement score.   And anything that everyone agrees matters, but no one…

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State Department Finalizes Visa Bond Program for B-1/B-2 Visitor Visa Applicants

Quick Hits On August 3, 2026, the State Department published a final rule, effective immediately, that establishes a permanent visa bond program. The rule allows consular officers to require certain B-1/B-2 visa applicants from designated countries to post bonds of $10,000, $15,000, or $20,000 based on an applicant’s individual circumstances. A visa bond may be forfeited if the visa holder violates the bond’s terms and conditions, including by overstaying or…

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Threading the Needle: The Global South Faces the West

Despite mounting tensions and fundamental disagreements on the structure of the international order, the Global South grouping of countries is not in a hurry to sever its ties with the West. Oleg Barabanov, Programme Director of the Valdai Discussion Club, describes the Global South’s uncertain position in a world defined by competition between Washington and its primary adversaries—Moscow, Tehran, and Beijing. One of the important themes in world politics is…

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Indoor air quality: heat and wildfire smoke leave households with hard choices, find researchers

Being inside with the windows closed does not completely protect you from the smoke caused by wildfires, early findings by University of Manchester researchers suggest.And opening windows during hot weather, they show, almost certainly exacerbates the problem of indoor air pollution caused by the fires.The University’s Cystic Fibrosis Hub Air Quality Research team analysed real time indoor air-quality records from 23 Greater Manchester homes monitored between 1 and 26 July…

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Beyond the Data, Part I: Using AI Tools to Turn Workforce Data Into Preventive Compliance

Artificial intelligence (AI)–assisted workforce analytics and simpler changes to how reports are generated and reviewed can both help employers continuously monitor that data and correct issues earlier, reducing wage-and-hour exposure in California and beyond. This article opens a new series, “Beyond the Data,” on turning existing workforce data into a preventive compliance program. It also introduces a simple, five-stage framework that the rest of the series will build on. Quick…

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Rare Stellar Explosion Gives Astronomers a Front-Row Seat to a Massive Star’s Death

A Carnegie Mellon University-led team coordinated a global observing campaign that began within hours of the explosion and continued for months, using space- and ground-based telescopes to reconstruct the event in unprecedented detail. Their observations revealed that the supernova, designated SN 2026gzf, shares many characteristics with the powerful stellar explosions typically associated with gamma-ray bursts, yet showed no evidence of producing one. The findings, published in a new paper(opens in new…

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Harvesting rainwater from rooftops could help cities stay cool and cut the number of heatwave days

Collecting rainwater from rooftops and using it to spray buildings during hot weather could help cities cut air conditioning use, lower urban temperatures and lessen the impact of heatwaves, according to new research from The University of Manchester.Cities around the world are facing rising temperatures, putting pressure on public health, infrastructure and energy systems. As people rely more on air conditioning to stay cool, energy demand increases and waste heat…

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The Problems with the Paramount–Warner Merger

This commentary was originally published in Fortune. The views expressed are the authors' own.David Ellison finally got the “yes” he wanted. After eight rejections, a hostile tender offer, a Delaware lawsuit, and a bidding war that Netflix declined to escalate, Paramount Skydance signed its $110 billion agreement to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in February. In Hollywood romance terms, the boy got the girl. But every must-watch franchise gets a sequel.…

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New Digital Authentication Process for the Mexican Institute of Social Security

Quick Hits The Mexican Tax Authority’s tax electronic signature (e.firma) will now be the only digital credential for ALL employer procedures before the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS). Employers have until October 14, 2026, to update their credentials. The agreement (ACDO.AS2.HCT.160726/3.P.DIR) is the result of a transition process intended to digitalize all IMSS processes. Main Modifications and Procedures The implementation of this agreement represents that the e.firma will be…

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Building resilience: how energy prices boost home efficiency

5 August 2026By Desislava Rusinova and Marco WeisslerHigh energy prices have sparked new interest in energy-related renovations and non-fossil heating systems. This blog post argues that such investments cushion the impact of energy shocks on the building and construction sector.When energy prices skyrocket, that often comes as a heavy blow to the real estate and construction sector. Construction and building maintenance costs rise, and mortgages often become harder to arrange…

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Kyrgyzstan’s Strategy and New Horizons for Cooperation Among the Central Asian Five

Central Asia is a region that finds itself playing an increasingly important logistical, economic, and strategic role in contemporary Eurasian and global affairs. In this environment, Kyrgyzstan charts its foreign policy course with an emphasis on healing long-standing rifts with neighbours and bolstering regional integration—an approach that would facilitate the country’s emergence as a fully-fledged pole in the international system, writes Dr. Esen Usubaliev, Dean of the Faculty of International…

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Seyfarth Expands Seattle Labor & Employment Capabilities with Partner Meg Burnham and Six Other Lawyers

August 4, 2026 – Seyfarth Shaw LLP has significantly boosted its Seattle Labor & Employment practice with the addition of partner Meg Burnham and six other lawyers, building on the firm's recent additions of leading employment litigators Kathryn (Katie) Rosen and Devin Smith. Burnham is being joined in Seyfarth’s Seattle Labor & Employment practice by senior counsel Scott Prange and Darrah Hinton, counsel Rebecca Lynch, and associates Katie Gould, Kathleen…

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What the DOJ’s Religious Freedom Guidance Means for Private Employers

Quick Hits The DOJ recently published guidance that clarifies legal protections for religious beliefs and practices in the federal workplace, consistent with recent executive orders and decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court. The U.S. Constitution, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA) protect religious expression and practices by individuals and organizations. The new guidance is directed to federal agencies,…

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Data centre regulation in Alberta

Alberta has emerged as one of Canada’s most proactive jurisdictions for the development of large‑scale data centres, particularly those supporting artificial intelligence (AI). Through a combination of targeted legislation, intergovernmental coordination, and policy direction to energy regulators, the province has adopted a regulatory approach that departs in important respects from the traditional treatment of large industrial electricity loads. Key takeaways for proponents Alberta is modernizing its regulatory framework to accelerate…

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Can Investors Make a Profit by Saving Bats?

In a 2022 agreement, an international coalition of countries set a daunting goal: to come up with an additional $700 billion per year to address biodiversity loss. These funds are needed to stave off extinctions of about one million species and preserve nature’s benefits to humanity, including food, medicine, clean water, and protection from floods and other hazards. “Biodiversity is fundamental to human well-being, a healthy planet, and economic prosperity…

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California OSHA Standards Board Releases Updated Draft Workplace Violence Prevention Regulation

Quick Hits On July 22, 2026, the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board released a revised draft workplace violence prevention regulation that clarifies and narrows employer-provided transportation to only include “employer-provided transportation under the employer’s control.” The revised draft regulation no longer includes the previous exception to “Threat of Violence” that provided “The employer is not responsible for texts, electronic messages, or personal social media that are not brought…

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Data centre regulation in British Columbia – Competing for a limited supply

British Columbia recently introduced legislative amendments that will restrict the electrical capacity available for new data centre projects within the Province. As of Feb. 1, 2026, the allocation of new electrical capacity for data centre purposes in British Columbia is subject to system-wide aggregate limits that are allocated under a competitive process administered by the British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority (BC Hydro). As outlined below, these limits are both…

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The SCO and Financial Security

The Islamic Republic of Iran, for instance, is subject to the most extensive American financial and trade sanctions of any country. In 2025 and 2026, these were compounded by military campaigns. Earlier attempts to resolve the accumulated burden of problems through multilateral diplomacy came to nothing. Although Iran withstood the military strikes, it remains, to a considerable extent, in a state of economic isolation. The absence of normal financial links…

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Pay Transparency Compliance Underway Across the EU

Quick Hits To date, only five countries in the EU have fully implemented the rules outlined in the EU’s pay transparency directive. The remaining EU countries are working toward implementing the directive, but have not done so yet, although the deadline for implementation has passed. The deadline for member states to transpose EU Pay Transparency Directive 2023/970 into national law was June 7, 2026. Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, and Slovakia…

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Data centre regulation in Ontario

In Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, the development and connection process for data centres is driven by Ontario-specific electricity rules and institutions. Grid access and connection obligations are governed primarily by the Electricity Act, 1998,1 the Ontario Energy Board’s (OEB) Transmission System Code2 (TSC) and Distribution System Code3 (DSC), and the Independent Electricity System Operator’s (IESO) connection approval and market participation requirements. Recent policy initiatives, such as Bill 40, signal increasing scrutiny…

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Webinar – Decoding Data Privacy: Vendor Contracting at the Intersection of Employment and Commercial Litigation

Thursday, August 6, 20262:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Eastern1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Central12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Mountain11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Pacific About the Decoding Data Privacy Series Data privacy and cybersecurity have become critical business risks for companies as they increasingly rely on technology to collect, store, monitor, and manage employee and customer information. From biometric data, workplace monitoring tools, marketing-based communication systems and connected tracking technologies, and AI-enabled…

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Data centre regulation in Québec: From honeyed promise to iron control

Since 2016, Québec has actively positioned itself as a prime destination for data centres, leveraging its abundant renewable energy, competitive electricity rates, and ambition to strengthen digital sovereignty. Supported by a government-owned utility that controls electricity generation, transmission and distribution, the province offered a compelling value proposition: low-cost power and a naturally cold climate that reduces cooling costs. This strategy has been successful. The number of data centres has grown…

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Between Impression and Experience: Can Generative AI Move Beyond Affect?

To understand why Rancière’s vision of politics and the power of sensory impression takes on particular urgency in the age of generative AI, it is necessary to distinguish between two levels of impression. The philosophical foundations for their distinction were laid by Jean-François Lyotard and Jacques Derrida. Lyotard, developing Kant’s analytics of the sublime, insisted that it is an experience that fundamentally exceeds the capacity for representation and comprehension. In…

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