EPA-pocalypse Now!

Seyfarth Synopsis: A second Trump administration is likely to bring sweeping changes to environmental regulatory and enforcement agendas. During the first Trump term, his administration focused on significant deregulation in the environmental sector, including budget cuts and staff reductions at USEPA, and the rollback of key policies from the Obama administration. In his second term we expect further slashes in EPA staffing we sell as additional jurisdictional changes such as…

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DHS Finalizes H-2 Program Regulations, Expanding Worker Protections and Employer Hiring Options

Quick Hits DHS’s new final rule expands DHS’s authority to conduct site visits and impose penalties on employers that fail to follow the requirements of the program. The final rule expands H-2 worker flexibility and portability, includes expanded grace periods at the beginning and end of the H-2 petition validity period, and establishes the ability of an eligible H-2 nonimmigrant worker to begin working for a new employer upon the…

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:10 mins read
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FTC Posts $20 Million Settlement With Dealer Group For Alleged Deceptive Practices

On Thursday, December 19, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Illinois Attorney General announced a massive $20 million settlement with Leader Automotive Group, the operator of 10 dealerships in and around Bloomington, Illinois, for alleged unfair and deceptive acts and practices in connection with the sale of motor vehicles in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act and Illinois state law. The FTC reported that the $20 million…

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New Illinois Law Prohibiting Employment Discrimination Against Caregivers to Take Effect January 1, 2025

Quick Hits Illinois enacted a law prohibiting discrimination against employees who must care for family members at home. The law will not require employers to make accommodations or modifications to reasonable workplace rules and policies to allow employees to fulfill their caregiving responsibilities. The law will take effect on January 1, 2025. On August 9, 2024, Governor JB Pritzker signed House Bill (HB) 2161, Illinois’s family caregiver discrimination legislation, adding…

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Reflecting on Season 3 of Learning Through Experience

Thank you for tuning in this season on the Learning Through Experience podcast! In this season 3 reflection episode, I take a step back to reflect on the key themes, conversations, and experiences that shaped the show. This season featured several insightful and impactful conversations. I highlight discussions with guests like Lisa Lahey on overcoming change, Mark Brackett on emotional intelligence and attunement, Liliana Milkova and Jenny Frederick on the…

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Global Economics Intelligence executive summary, November 2024

Economies continue to face a range of geopolitical, climatic, and inflation-led challenges, with some also feeling the effects of structural issues. Against this backdrop, China, India, and the US are outperforming other surveyed economies. Among developed economies, US GDP continues to eclipse European output. Real GDP in the US increased at an annual rate of 2.8% in the third quarter of 2024. In the second quarter, real GDP rose 3.0%.…

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  • Reading time:11 mins read
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The Prospect of Regaining Strategic Stability

Of course, in order for every country to focus on its own national economic development, a peaceful environment and the security of its borders are a prerequisite and of utmost importance. This requires all countries to respect the security concerns of others instead of pushing their own interests regardless. That brings us to the subject of how to regain our strategic stability, not only in Europe but also in a…

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Students help Stanford archivists preserve the past

In an office on the third floor of Green Library, senior Bradley Strauss sifts through a box of files donated to Stanford University Archives by Cathy Haas, a lecturer in the School of Humanities & Sciences."}">svg]:su-mt-3 md:[&>svg]:su--mt-2 lg:[&>svg]:su-mt-4 [&>svg]:su-w-41 [&>svg]:su-h-43 md:[&>svg]:su-w-[97px] md:[&>svg]:su-h-[102px] su-mr-8 lg:su-mr-19">nIn an office on the third floor of Green Library, senior Bradley Strauss sifts through a box of files donated to Stanford University Archives by Cathy Haas,…

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Leading with others: Embracing a new era of leadership

The landscape of leadership is evolving as newer generations challenge traditional hierarchies. Outdated practices, focused on a top-down power dynamic, have fostered an “us vs. them” mentality, stifling collaboration, slowing innovation, and hindering sustained growth. In response, Future Relevant Organizations are adopting “next practices” that recognize and celebrate contributions, influence, and impact of contributions at all levels of the organization. Central to this shift is the movement from “leading others”…

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Mexico’s ‘Chair Law’ (‘Ley Silla’) Set to Take Effect in 2025: What Employers Need to Know

Quick Hits Under Mexico’s Chair Law, the main obligations for employers are: (i) having enough seats with a backrest for employees’ use, and (ii) avoiding prohibiting employees from taking seated breaks when the nature of the works allow it. Noncompliance with the Chair Law could trigger fines. The Chair Law’s General Content and Employers’ Main Obligations Employers in the service and retail industries, and similar sectors, are the main covered…

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Owning a home linked to longer life in the US

Dr Casey Breen, Senior Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Oxford University’s Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science and Department of Sociology, conducted the study, published in Demography. The study found that homeownership was associated with 0.36 years of additional life expectancy for Black male Americans who were born in the early twentieth century, and 0.42 years for their White counterparts. Dr Casey Breen said ‘My study finds homeownership has a meaningful positive…

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Five books to help you disagree productively in 2025

Even in a time of sharp division, people can learn how to have more open, empathetic, and constructive dialogue in disagreements.Norman W. Spaulding, the Nelson Bowman Sweitzer and Marie B. Sweitzer Professor in Law, helps people do just that through ePluribus Stanford, an initiative that seeks to cultivate constructive dialogue on campus.“When we improve skills like active listening and attention to cognitive bias and the ability to charitably summarize what…

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FTC Cracks Down on Use of No-Hire Agreements As Anti-Competitive

On December 4, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) ordered building services contractor Guardian Industries, Inc. (“Guardian”) to cease enforcement of no-hire provisions it included in customer service agreements with residential building owners and building management companies, prohibiting the hire of Guardian’s employees. Guardian, which operates in New York and New Jersey, was on the receiving end of a complaint before the FTC, claiming that the use of no-hire agreements…

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The case for human-centered AI

Over the past two years, generative AI (gen AI) has been a rapidly evolving trend that has touched the lives of many around the globe. Which is why the design of these formidable systems must include experts from diverse backgrounds, says James Landay, a professor of computer science at Stanford University. On this episode of the At the Edge podcast, Landay talks with McKinsey senior partner Lareina Yee about how to…

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  • Reading time:19 mins read
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New study reveals the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on other causes of death

Researchers from the Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science, Australian National University and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, analysed cause-of-death data for 24 countries before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.The researchers found that life expectancy declined in 2020 for all but four of the 24 included countries, with the US experiencing the largest decline of 2.1 years for males. In 2021, most countries experienced further declines in life…

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Scaling a niche start-up into a necessary one: Insights from Arbol

Climate change is challenging the limits of traditional insurance by creating new risks and exacerbating old ones at an unprecedented scale. As weather events increase in frequency and severity, many businesses find themselves underinsured or unable to secure coverage. Arbol addresses these growing protection gaps with parametric insurance, which quickly assesses damage based on a predetermined set of markers informed by historical data. In an interview with McKinsey’s Fabian Metzeler,…

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  • Reading time:14 mins read
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Researchers develop a way to test the ability of red blood cells to deliver oxygen by measuring their shape

FlowScore - a formula developed at Oxford University in collaboration with NHS Blood and Transplant - predicts how quickly red blood cells release their oxygen. This process is important for oxygenating the body’s tissues, including organs and muscles, particularly in people receiving large transfusions.Healthy fresh red blood cells have a distinctive biconcave - or dumbbell - shape for efficient oxygen release. During refrigerated storage, red cells become energetically stressed and…

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Students take nuclear strategy ideas to the White House

Nuclear energy is poised to become the future of energy, and the global race to lead this industry is intensifying. But how can the United States compete and invigorate its nuclear energy industry, particularly amid the explosive growth of artificial intelligence? Stanford students Mandy Alevra, Nuri Capanoglu, Elena Kopstein, and Jackson Painter have ideas.Last week, they traveled to the nation’s capital to present proposals they developed in the fall quarter…

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Writing For Yourself and Writing to be Read

Writing has the power to transport us to the depths of the human experience – to illuminate the joys, sorrows and complexities that make us who we are. In this captivating final episode of Learning Through Experience Season Three, Amy Bloom and I explore the transformative power of the written word. Amy, an acclaimed writer and psychotherapist, shares a poignant reading from her memoir "In Love," which provides a deeply…

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Georgia on a Small Chessboard: Geopolitics and Self-Awareness

The nomination of Mikheil Kavelashvili, a family man with traditional values, for the presidency after Salome Zurabishvili, an ardent supporter of radical pro-Westernism is not a turn towards Russia, as many would like to claim, but a turn towards the majority of the Georgian population, which wants to be part of the Western world, but with certain “red lines” and traditional values. In its election race, Georgian Dream relied on…

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Here We Go Again? Government Shutdown and Impacts on Immigration

An all too familiar countdown once again as we wait to hear the fate of the latest temporary extension to continue funding the government after midnight on Friday, December 20th. Employers should be aware that a shutdown will likely impact processing of immigration cases. During a shutdown, all but “essential” personnel are furloughed and not allowed to work. This overview outlines how key immigration-related agencies are expected to operate during…

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Multiple Working for Workers Acts Were the Tale of Ontario’s 2024

Quick Hits Ontario’s Working for Workers Acts (Four, Five, and Six) have introduced changes to the ESA and the OHSA, impacting sick leave policies, job posting transparency, and workplace safety regulations. Some changes are already in force; others are coming in 2025 and 2026, including stricter job posting requirements. The proposed Working for Workers Six Act, 2024 includes unpaid leave provisions for child placement and long-term illness, as well as…

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  • Reading time:8 mins read
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Time to think big to close America’s small business productivity gap

Sector Variations in Small Business ProductivityAmerica's small businesses vary widely in productivity across different sectors. While U.S. MSMEs are on par with those in the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, and Italy in many areas, they lag significantly in mining, transportation and storage, and administrative services. The productivity ratio of MSMEs relative to large companies also varies by sector, with the mining sector facing the widest gap, followed by information and…

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Green-steel hubs: A pathway to decarbonize the steel industry

Green-steel manufacturing is crucial for the steel industry and the planet, but decarbonizing the global steel production chain is a massive undertaking. Today, the global steel industry is responsible for 7 percent of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Europe is likely to be the first region to decarbonize, with CO2 taxes and other legislation offering incentives for rapid emissions reductions there. Other regions are likely to follow, driven by similar…

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How Businesses Can Help Safeguard Human Rights

The director of NYU Stern’s Center for Human Rights and Business discusses the role companies can — and should — play in ensuring the health and safety of their global labor forces. Michael H. Posner, interviewed by Kaushik Viswanath December 19, 2024 Reading Time: 9 min  Marie Montocchio/Ikon Images Michael H. Posner has had a long career in the promotion and protection of workers and citizens around the world. He…

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Early warning tool will help control huge locust swarms

Desert locusts typically lead solitary lives until something - like intense rainfall - triggers them to swarm in vast numbers, often with devastating consequences. This migratory pest can reach plague proportions, and a swarm covering one square kilometre can consume enough food in one day to feed 35,000 people. Such extensive crop destruction pushes up local food prices and can lead to riots and mass starvation. Now a team led by…

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A Cheap Way to Change Lives‌‌

This commentary was adapted from episode 155 of the Health & Veritas podcast. Subscribe for weekly doses of expert insight on health and the healthcare industry.‌ It’s our last episode of the calendar year and in the spirit of the season, I thought I would share some positive news. In our Thanksgiving episode, I offered thanks for some of the many successes of the past year, and there are many…

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What it takes to make separations a competitive difference-maker

Every business has a best owner, which may—or may not—be your company. But recognizing that it’s time for a separation (which we define as spin-offs, split-offs, carve-outs, and other sales of businesses in a company’s portfolio) and actually executing separations effectively are very different propositions. Successful companies not only understand the separation imperative, but they also anticipate the challenges involved and take practical steps to meet them. As a result,…

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New knit haptic sleeve simulates realistic touch

Wearable haptic devices, which provide touch-based feedback, can provide more realistic experiences in virtual reality, assist with rehabilitation, and create new opportunities for silent communication. Currently, most of these devices rely on vibration, as pressure-based haptics have typically required users to wear stiff exoskeletons or other bulky structures.Now, researchers at Stanford Engineering have designed a comfortable, flexible knit sleeve, called Haptiknit, that can provide realistic pressure-based haptic feedback. Their design,…

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New study calls for radical rethink of mental health support for adolescents

The study, led by teams at the University of Oxford and University of Cambridge, found that adolescents access a variety of different types of support including informal (such as friends and family), semi-formal (like school-based support), and formal services (such as Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services).While support from friends and family was rated highly in terms of helpfulness, some services - including online support and helplines as well as…

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3 Stories That Prove Positive Culture Change is Possible

When SHRM launched their #CivilityAtWork initiative, it felt like a rallying cry for everything we believe in and have been fighting for these last 15 years. Respectful, thriving workplaces are the dream we all share, but let’s be real—getting there isn’t always easy. In fact, 70% of leaders admit they don’t know where to start. At Civility Partners, we’ve had the absolute joy of partnering with HR leaders who dared…

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How hyperscalers are fueling the race for 24/7 clean power

As companies across the globe pursue decarbonization targets and the need for green power generation grows, 24/7 clean power purchase agreements (PPAs) are playing an increasingly important role. With their unique ability to provide constant green power, time-matched to demand, these next-level PPAs are helping to unlock investment in nascent technologies and scale their deployment—especially combined with advances in storage and flexible generation. Demand from leading hyperscalers, including major cloud…

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How to Amplify the Advantages of Working at a Founder-Led Company

Mark Airs/Ikon Images When COVID-19 struck in early 2020, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky faced a devastating crisis: Bookings on his vacation-rental marketplace plummeted 80% almost overnight, and the company was forced to postpone its planned initial public offering. Chesky responded by abandoning what he has described as a hands-off leadership style. He laid off 25% of the workforce, reorganized the company from business divisions to functional teams, and consolidated product…

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Maximising value from M&A

Unlock M&A value through culture and leadership Over two-thirds of M&A activity fails to deliver value, often due to overlooked “People topics.” Our guide highlights how prioritising culture, leadership, and strategic alignment can drive performance across the transaction lifecycle. Download the full PDF to learn actionable strategies for defining priorities, minimising disruption, and achieving M&A success. Reading time: 2 minutes Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) are significant milestones for any business,…

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Maine Right to Repair Law Poised to Remain in Flux Even After January 2025 Effective Date

The Automotive Right to Repair Working Group convened by the Maine Attorney General will review proposed legislation that would substantially amend provisions of the Maine Right to Repair Law concerning access to mechanical data from telematics-equipped vehicles.  Meanwhile, it appears provisions of the law requiring manufacturers of vehicles that “use a telematics system” to comply with standards imposed by an “independent entity” designated by the Attorney General will take effect…

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Making Impact Investing Work for System Resilience—and Investor Profits‌

The world is facing a “polycrisis”—a confluence of environmental and social issues that risk destabilizing the vital systems of human civilization. Our survival hinges on building resilience—the ability of systems to bounce back from shocks and ideally emerge stronger—within our ecological and social as well as economic and financial systems against the ramifications of the interconnected and mutually reinforcing challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution on one hand…

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Procurement’s sustainable (r)evolution

New opportunities are coming for organizations to use procurement to gain a competitive edge and drive sustainability impact through innovation and strategic partnerships. However, the complexities of global supply chains and rapidly changing market conditions can make it hard to capture the available value. In this episode of McKinsey Talks Operations, Mauro Erriquez, McKinsey senior partner, and Dominique Lebigot, chief purchasing officer (CPO) of LVMH Wines and Spirits, discuss how…

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  • Reading time:21 mins read
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Massive black hole in the early universe spotted taking a ‘nap’ after overeating

Like a bear gorging itself on salmon before hibernating for the winter, or a much-needed nap after Christmas dinner, this black hole has overeaten to the point that it is lying dormant in its host galaxy.An international team of astronomers, led by the University of Cambridge, used the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope to detect this black hole in the early universe, just 800 million years after the Big Bang.…

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The ECB wage tracker: your guide to euro area wage developments

18 December 2024By Colm Bates, Vasco Botelho, Sarah Holton, Marc Roca I Llevadot and Mirko StanislaoThe growth of negotiated wages is expected to ease in 2025. This is the information emerging from the ECB wage tracker, which we will publish on a regular basis from now on. The ECB Blog explains the tool and how it can help monitor wage pressures in the euro area.Wages are an important driver of…

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A national effort seeks to advance semiconductor research

Your car, your cell phone, your LED holiday lights, even your credit card – all of them contain electronic chips made of semiconductors. These materials manipulate the flow of electricity and provide the foundation for modern electronics.Over the years, American investment in this essential technology has lagged, but the federal CHIPS and Science Act seeks to reinvigorate it. Passed in 2022, this legislation provides the U.S. Department of Commerce with…

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