Still Waiting—Massachusetts Pay Reporting Guidance Not Yet Published

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:4 mins read

Quick Hits On July 31, 2024, Governor Maura Healey signed into law legislation requiring Massachusetts employers with one hundred or more employees and subject to EEO-1 reporting obligations to provide a pay report to Massachusetts by February 1 of each year. Covered employers are required to complete their EEO-1 pay…

Ontario’s new Consumer Protection Act: Proposed measures

  • Post category:BLG law firm
  • Reading time:12 mins read

On December 12, 2024, the Ontario government launched a consultation for the regulations (the Consultation) under Ontario’s new consumer protection legislation. On December 6, 2023, the new Consumer Protection Act, 2023 (the New CPA) received Royal Assent as part of the Bill 142, the Better for Consumers, Better for Businesses…

Finding Your Fit: How to Uncover a Company’s True Culture

  • Post category:INSEAD Knowledge
  • Reading time:12 mins read

We are relatively cautious about what we buy when the stakes are high. But do we apply the same level of scrutiny to the most important investments of our lives – choosing a partner or a career path? Divorce and turnover rates suggest not. While we won’t weigh in on the…

Economic empowerment made-to-measure: How companies can benefit more people

  • Post category:McKinsey & Company
  • Reading time:36 mins read

At a glance The ‘empowerment line’ measures progress toward a world where everyone’s essential needs are met. About 40 percent of the global population lives above the empowerment line—they can afford a standard basket of essential goods and services and begin to save. The rest live below the line, mostly…

How a 160-Year-Old Startup Uses AI: The Heineken Company’s Ronald den Elzen

Topics Artificial Intelligence and Business Strategy The Artificial Intelligence and Business Strategy initiative explores the growing use of artificial intelligence in the business landscape. The exploration looks specifically at how AI is affecting the development and execution of strategy in organizations. In collaboration with More in this series Get updates…

From Waste to Wealth: Navigating the Ownership of Produced Water and Lithium in Texas

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:5 mins read

The ownership, use, and monetization of produced water have rapidly transformed what was once a liability into a valuable asset, creating significant legal and economic uncertainty for operators and landowners alike. With advancements in water recycling technologies and operators discovering new revenue opportunities from produced water byproducts, disputes surrounding produced…

Global Employment Law Update: A Quick Look Back at Key Legislative Changes in 2024

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:5 mins read

Quick Hits Italy introduced new parental leave benefits, effective January 1, 2024. Singapore expanded paternity leave benefits and undertook comprehensive workplace fairness legislation. China (Shanghai) implemented penalties for unequal pay in labor dispatch. Brazil and the European Union (EU) focused on gender pay equity with new reporting obligations. Middle Eastern…

Canada’s new Clean Electricity Regulations

  • Post category:BLG law firm
  • Reading time:13 mins read

Introduction On Dec. 18, 2024, the finalized Clean Energy Regulations (the Regulation) were published in the Canada Gazette, Part II. Aligning with the release of the final version of the Regulation, the Government of Canada published Powering Canada’s Future: A Clean Electricity Strategy (the Electricity Strategy) on Dec. 17, 2024,…

A new ultrathin conductor for nanoelectronics

​​As computer chips continue to get smaller and more complex, the ultrathin metallic wires that carry electrical signals within these chips have become a weak link. Standard metal wires get worse at conducting electricity as they get thinner, ultimately limiting the size, efficiency, and performance of nanoscale electronics.In a paper…

Origins of black holes revealed in their spin, study finds

The size and spin of black holes can reveal important information about how and where they formed, according to new research. The study tests the idea that many of the black holes observed by astronomers have merged multiple times within densely populated environments containing millions of stars.The team, involving researchers…

World – 2025-2026 scenario: a conditional scenario, more than ever

  • Post category:Credit Agricole
  • Reading time:8 mins read

Drawing the contours of the US (and therefore global) scenario requires making assumptions about both the scale of the measures likely to be implemented and their timing, depending on whether they fall within the prerogatives of the president or require the approval of Congress.As far as tariffs are concerned, Donald…

Gaining Real Business Benefits From GenAI: An MIT SMR Executive Guide

Topics How to Maximize the Business Value of Generative AI The promise of generative AI is value — higher revenue, streamlined efficiencies, and more innovative decision-making. Achieving this value isn’t easy. Maximizing it is even harder. This MIT SMR Executive Guide offers expert insights into the strategies needed to get…

Massachusetts Pay Data Reporting Deadline Almost Here – What do Employers Need to File?

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:5 mins read

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (EOLWD) has confirmed that employers subject to the new Massachusetts pay data reporting law will only have to submit their most recent EEO forms even though (in most instances) those forms do not contain employee compensation data. As we…

2025 ACA Compliance Updates: Essential Insights for Employers

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:4 mins read

Quick Hits Starting with ACA reporting for 2024, employers and health insurance providers are only required to send Forms 1095-B and1095-C to covered employees upon request. Employers can distribute Forms 1095-B and1095-C electronically. Employers now have ninety days to respond to 226-J letters. Paperwork Burden Reduction Act The Paperwork Burden…

Sex differences in brain structure present at birth

While male brains tended to be greater in volume than female brains, when adjusted for total brain volume, female infants on average had significantly more grey matter, while male infants on average had significantly more white matter in their brains.Grey matter is made up of neuron cell bodies and dendrites…

10 Essential Leadership Tips for 2025

subscribe-icon Subscribe Share Nick Purser/Ikon Images If you want to be a successful leader in 2025, you might want to put the two C’s at the top of your list: communication and culture. Indeed, looking back at MIT SMR’s most popular articles in recent months, it’s striking how many of…

Small Changes, Big Results: Research-Backed Tips for Living a Good Life in 2025‌‌

Think local and escape echo chambers‌ Todd Cort, Senior Lecturer in Sustainability; Faculty Director, Sustainability Program, MBA for Executives; Faculty Co-Director, Yale Center for Business and the Environment‌ In 2025, I anticipate that climate action will go local. Sometimes we rely on national governments too much to take on the…

How beauty players can scale gen AI in 2025

  • Post category:McKinsey & Company
  • Reading time:18 mins read

Beauty is no longer in the eye of the beholder; it’s at the fingertips of the generative AI (gen AI) prompter. Gen AI could add $9 billion to $10 billion to the global economy based on its impact on the beauty industry alone, and early movers have already begun testing…

Logged tropical forests are still valuable for biodiversity, study finds

A researcher measures a small mammal. Image credit: Ed Turner. Understanding how different aspects of tropical forests are affected by logging and conversion to oil palm plantations is important for identifying priority habitats for conservation and restoration. It can also help aid decisions on land use – for instance, whether…

Is India the Next Global Luxury Hub?

  • Post category:INSEAD Knowledge
  • Reading time:6 mins read

India’s luxury landscape is at a crucial juncture. With a booming economy, the world’s largest population and a dynamic, youthful demographic, the country has been dubbed the next luxury hub, especially at a time when luxury consumption in China is declining as spending softens. Is the centre of the world’s luxury market shifting from…

Piotr Owczarek: Can Human Creativity Exist Alongside AI’s Generative Potential?

  • Post category:Important
  • Reading time:10 mins read

  Prometheus's gift of fire to humanity ignited progress but came at a personal cost. Today, businesses face a similar crossroads with generative AI: harness its power wisely or risk unforeseen consequences. By: Piotr Owczarek As AI revolutionizes industries, what becomes of human creativity? More businesses of all sizes begin…

January 2025 Visa Bulletin: Key Highlights and Implications

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:5 mins read

By: Dawn Lurie, Mahsa Aliaskari, and Brooke Gary Along with the New Year, January 1st also marks the implementation of a new Visa Bulletin by the U.S. Department of State. Each month, the United States Immigration and Citizenship Services (USCIS) chooses whether it will follow the Dates for Filing Visa…

AI hallucinations in legal practice: risks, real cases, and solutions

  • Post category:Logan & Partners
  • Reading time:7 mins read

Generative AI has rapidly entered the legal industry, offering tools for document drafting, legal research and case analysis. While these tools promise increased efficiency, they also present significant risks – one of which is AI hallucinations. These occur when AI generates content that appears plausible but is entirely inaccurate. In…

Beyond normal: A year in review from McKinsey Talks Operations

  • Post category:McKinsey & Company
  • Reading time:24 mins read

At the end of 2023, the final McKinsey Talks Operations podcast of the year concluded that there was no such thing as normal for operations leaders. Looking back on the 12 months since then, it seems the sentiment holds true—both everything and nothing has changed. In this episode, hosts Christian…

2024 Year in Review – Hong Kong Employment Law

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:22 mins read

The year 2024 brought about notable changes in employment law in Hong Kong. This article provides a brief overview of the key developments that occurred over the past year and a look forward at the expected changes as we transition into 2025. For the full version of this article, please…

From engines to algorithms: Gen AI in automotive software development

  • Post category:McKinsey & Company
  • Reading time:19 mins read

Companies in the automotive and industrial sectors are rewiring to become software-enabled enterprises. As in-vehicle software emerges as a critical differentiator, companies have started to reevaluate the role of software and overhaul their development approaches. Today, software serves as the backbone for advanced features and safety-critical functions while enhancing operational…

The Post Office: an emblem of the UK’s relationship with the state, sliding into dystopia

The Horizon scandal, which led to the wrongful prosecution of hundreds of subpostmasters, has severely dented the public’s perception of the Post Office as an institution. Against this backdrop, branch closures are planned across the Post Office network. These further cuts to a system already struggling can only do further…

It’s Official: The EU Platform Work Directive Is Here

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:8 mins read

Quick Hits The EU Platform Work Directive took effect on December 1, 2024, but EU member states have until December 2, 2026, to implement it into national law and develop appropriate guidance for the classification of platform workers as independent contractors versus employees. The directive imposes obligations on digital platforms…

Remote-driving services: The next disruption in mobility innovation?

  • Post category:McKinsey & Company
  • Reading time:13 mins read

Self-driving cars once seemed beyond the realm of possibility, but they are now being piloted on city streets. Now another mobility innovation has emerged that could accelerate and complement autonomy: remote driving.By combining sophisticated communication systems with real-time video feeds, remote-driving systems can instantly convey information about road conditions, traffic,…

Software-defined hardware in the age of AI

  • Post category:McKinsey & Company
  • Reading time:13 mins read

Over the past two decades, the shift from fixed-function hardware to software-defined hardware has revolutionized industries ranging from networking to mobile communications. With software-defined hardware, developers can improve products and services by continually updating software rather than undertaking more costly and time-consuming hardware upgrades. Devices that were once rigid and…

California Labor Code Section 132a—When Claims of Discrimination Are Brought Before the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:4 mins read

Quick Hits California prohibits employers from discriminating against workers who suffer workplace injuries or who have filed or made known their intention to file a claim for compensation under an employer’s workers’ compensation insurance policy. Discrimination can include discharging, threatening to discharge, or retaliating against a worker in any manner…

Getting on board with shared autonomous mobility

  • Post category:McKinsey & Company
  • Reading time:10 mins read

Shared autonomous vehicles (AVs) now operate in more than ten cities worldwide, including Beijing, Oslo, Phoenix, and San Francisco. More deployments are planned in other regions as AVs with level four capabilities—those that can handle most functions without human intervention—become increasingly sophisticated. While engineers have overcome many technological hurdles for…

Loneliness linked to higher risk of heart disease and stroke and susceptibility to infection

Researchers from the UK and China drew this conclusion after studying proteins from blood samples taken from over 42,000 adults recruited to the UK Biobank. Their findings are published today in the journal Nature Human Behaviour.Social relationships play an important role in our wellbeing. Evidence increasingly demonstrates that both social…

Greater Eurasia: Challenges and Hypotheses

To some extent, it is generally typical of the entire World Majority — the world outside the community of Western countries, united around one leader and professing common interests and values ​​in relations with the outside world. In turn, the countries of Greater Eurasia do not have comparable opportunities to consolidate their interests and strategic aspirations. There is no dispute that…

Seven Essential Hybrid Work Tips for Leaders in 2025

subscribe-icon Subscribe Share Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images Leading teams in a hybrid work environment is still a relatively new science — and presents many types of challenges. Hybrid team leaders need to identify the best team norms around communication, refine the workplace culture to foster collaboration and community,…

Future-Proof Jobs? AI in the Swiss Labor Market – 2025

  • Post category:Avenir Suisse
  • Reading time:7 mins read

Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to transform the world of work. Case studies show that AI applications, including the latest large-scale language models, can significantly increase productivity in professions such as customer service and management consulting. Swiss companies also seem to share this view. Investments in IT, communication and…

Hope Is a Skill We All Need to Practise

  • Post category:INSEAD Knowledge
  • Reading time:6 mins read

We're often warned against opening Pandora's box, a metaphor for unleashing a torrent of evils on the world. Yet, we forget an essential detail: Elpis – the spirit of hope – remained within the box. Even when the world seems consumed by chaos, hope endures.Throughout history, philosophers and leaders have…