Quick Hits In Perez v. Barrick Goldstrike Mines, Inc., the Ninth Circuit joined the Second, Fourth, Sixth, and Eighth Circuits in holding that an employer’s right to obtain a second opinion is permissive, not mandatory, under the FMLA. A jury may consider an employer’s nonmedical evidence in determining whether an…
Microsoft Research is the research arm of Microsoft, pushing the frontier of computer science and related fields for the last 33 years. Our research team, alongside our policy and engineering teams, informs our approach to Responsible AI. One of our leading researchers is Ece Kamar, who runs the AI Frontiers…
This commentary originally appeared in Time. Having studied leadership across sectors for nearly a half century, I’ve found that power sharing at the top is often harder than delegation and execution down the hierarchy of command. Leadership partnerships across sectors that work well have a secret recipe—which Kamala Harris seemed…
The pace of change in technology has created many opportunities—and raised as many challenges. Overcoming the challenges to grasp the opportunities requires tools and processes that nurture an engineering culture, build stable foundations for resilient technology operations, and manage complex cloud costs. Driving this shift requires modern technology leaders to…
In an effort to introduce a fully digital immigration system, the UK Government has announced that Biometric Residence Permits (BRP) and Biometric Residence Cards (BRC) will be phased out, and that as of January 1, 2025, they will no longer be in circulation. To address some concerns for employees and…
Quick Hits On July 31, 2024, Governor Maura Healey signed into law legislation requiring Massachusetts employers with twenty-five or more employees to disclose pay ranges. Employers with one hundred or more employees and subject to EEO-1 reporting obligations will be required to report aggregated wage data by race, ethnicity, sex,…
We are thrilled to announce the launch of OpenAI’s latest model, GPT-4o Next. We are thrilled to announce the launch of OpenAI’s latest model on Azure. This new model, officially named GPT-4o-2024-08-06, brings innovative features designed to elevate developer experiences on Azure. Specifically, the new model focuses on enhancing productivity…
Since the major part of Iran’s trade with Russia takes place with the western, more densely populated part of this country, including the cities of Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Kazan, Rostov and the North Caucasus, the main route of trade and transit between the two countries necessarily passes through the Republic…
Medical criticality refers to the clinical value of a drug. Life-saving drugs should always be considered high criticality (e.g. insulin, blood thinners, antibiotics for the treatment of sepsis, etc.), while drugs that improve lifestyle tend to be low in medical criticality. Other criticality factors include the number of people dependent on…
After nearly two years of debate, the verdict is in: generative AI (gen AI) is here to stay, and its business potential is massive. We’ve already witnessed an exponential rate of gen-AI-related innovation, which promises to accelerate automation and enhance productivity, innovation, and the quality of work, as well as…
Quick Hits OFCCP updated its guidance on protected veterans hiring obligations and affirmative action policies encouraging contractors to provide apprenticeship opportunities to protected veterans. OFCCP said protected veterans must be provided equal opportunity to participate in apprenticeship opportunities and that providing such opportunities can help contractors meet their obligations to…
Azure Data Box offline data transfer solution allows you send petabytes of data into Azure Storage in a quick, inexpensive, and reliable manner. Azure Data Box offline data transfer solution allows you send petabytes of data into Azure Storage in a quick, inexpensive, and reliable manner. The secure data transfer…
For many leaders, assuming the role of CEO is a key career goal and the culmination of decades of hard work. The CEO role is also among the most challenging and demanding positions in any organization—particularly during times of uncertainty and upheaval.About 100 CEOs have passed through the McKinsey Center…
Quick Hits DHS recently added Environmental/Natural Resources Economics to the STEM list of qualifying fields of study. More F-1 nonimmigrant students will be eligible for the twenty-four-month extension of their post-completion OPT. The STEM Designated Degree Program List is “a complete list of fields of study that DHS considers to…
Immigration will be a central issue in the upcoming US presidential election, just as it motivated the recent snap elections in France. After all, the number of migrants rose 27 percent to 281 million globally in 2020, compared with 2010, according to United Nations estimates. The number of individuals displaced…
AI-generated deepfakes are realistic, easy for nearly anyone to make, and increasingly being used for fraud, abuse, and manipulation – especially to target kids and seniors. While the tech sector and non-profit groups have taken recent steps to address this problem, it has become apparent that our laws will also…
Over the past few years, silicon carbide (SiC) has emerged as an attractive alternative to silicon as a semiconductor base material because it offers improved performance, most notably realized in applications requiring high power. Although various industrial devices now incorporate SiC, the majority of emerging demand will come from applications…
What does Gen Z really want from hybrid work? This brief video shares advice for leaders on how to turn Gen Z’s preferences into overall culture improvements. MIT Sloan Management Review August 06, 2024 Reading Time: 1 min subscribe-icon Subscribe Share [embedded content] Many stereotypes and anecdotes surround Generation Z’s…
This year’s Olympic Games have already been packed with compelling storylines. These storylines include the somewhat controversial opening ceremony to Yusuf “hold my beer” Dikec winning hearts and the silver medal in pistol shooting, and Simone Biles clinching her tenth gold medal (with more possibly on the way). Adding to…
The first article in this series provided a general overview of the OSH Act and OSHA; the second article examined OSHA’s rulemaking process; the third article reviewed an employer’s duty to comply with standards; the fourth article discussed the general duty clause; the fifth article addressed OSHA’s recordkeeping requirements; the…
Brian Kenny Since ChatGPT appeared on the scene back in the fall of 2022, newsfeeds have been flooded with claims that generative AI is going to change the world, so if you're suffering from a bit of GenAI fatigue, I get it, but even if it's not readily apparent to…
These measures come on top of a long list of tariff and non-tariff barriers imposed since the trade war broke out between the two countries in 2018. The Peterson Institute for International Economics, a research organisation, estimates that 66% of Chinese exports to the US were already subject to customs…
Employee recognition programs have long been touted as a key driver of engagement and retention. However, as organizations strive to create cultures of appreciation, it's crucial to understand that not all recognition efforts yield positive results. In fact, some well-intentioned programs can backfire, leading to unintended consequences that may harm…
Writing in Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association, the team from Cambridge Public Health argue that substantial challenges including the risk-benefit ratio, limited eligibility and high cost of roll-out will limit any benefits of these treatments.Alzheimer’s disease is often quoted as causing 70% of the 55 million…
Topics Frontiers An MIT SMR initiative exploring how technology is reshaping the practice of management. More in this series Andrew Baker/Ikon Images When I was managing director of the German subsidiary of U.S.-headquartered SC Johnson, I witnessed “not invented here” (NIH) syndrome in action. The larger company paid scant attention…
A group of conservationists from Bolivia, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, the US and the UK say that current conservation and development efforts will never sustain or scale without systemic changes in how economies are designed.Despite extensive destruction of the Amazon in the name of economic development, Amazonian communities have seen little…
As the travel industry began to recover in 2021, we expressed our view that the enduring allure of New York would continue to draw visitors back to the city. That projection is well on track, as more than 62 million people visited New York City in 2023, representing 93 percent of…
There are even two new BRICS members in this situation: Ethiopia and Egypt, the latter of which, as well as being a BRICS member, is also a member of the NDB, which has another member, Bangladesh, in the same situation. Ethiopia declared a default on its debt services in December…
Once generative AI (gen AI) hit the mainstream, in late 2022, it took little time for retail executives to realize the potential in front of them. Mentions of artificial intelligence (AI) in retailers’ earnings calls soared last year—which was no surprise, given that gen AI is poised to unlock between…
What really fuels a boom-and-bust cycle in the modern global economy? It’s not always household debt, says a new paper that parses in-depth data across 115 countries. Instead, rising corporate debt may flash the clearest warning that a fiscal crisis is on the horizon. In recent years, experts focused on…
By Tahir Mahmood and Marco Malagoni | 05 Aug, 2024 The next budget will be held on 30 October 2024 and we are now preparing for anticipated changes. Today, Tahir Mahmood and Marco Malagoni discuss the potential tax changes. Labour has proposed a comprehensive overhaul of the tax system, with…
Electric vehicles (EVs) are no longer a niche business. They now account for 16 percent of new-car sales in Europe, up from under 1 percent in 2019. Despite the removal of purchase subsidies in certain markets, such as Germany at the end of 2023, sales have remained stable. Since the…
The discovery suggests that the intense UV radiation from these flares could significantly impact whether planets around red dwarf stars can be habitable.“Few stars have been thought to generate enough UV radiation through flares to impact planet habitability. Our findings show that many more stars may have this capability,” said…
Politicians in American partner countries are obviously concerned that a new wave of crisis of investor confidence, provoked by the United States, will spread to their jurisdictions. Former British prime minister Rishi Sunak has repeatedly called for countries “to be bolder” in the confiscation of Russian assets; however, the confiscation…
Quick Hits The 2024 VETS-4212 reporting platform will open on August 1, 2024. All 2024 VETS-4212 filings are due by September 30, 2024. Federal contractors and subcontractors with a single covered contact of $150,000 or more are required to file VETS-4212 reports. The same data can be used for both…
Quick Hits Cal/OSHA released a revised discussion draft of a proposed workplace violence prevention standard for general industry (non-healthcare settings). The draft proposal includes definitions of engineering controls and work practice controls, and it would require employers to communicate with “authorized employee representatives” and employees regarding workplace violence matters. Comments…
Accounting firm deals often involve complex tax issues, and it is important to understand their implications. If you have any questions on this article, please do not hesitate to reach out to the author or Russell Shapiro, who leads LP’s Accounting Firm Practice. As part of our ongoing series on tax issues for…
Quick Hits The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida recently upheld an injunction against part of Florida’s Individual Freedom Act, also known as the Stop WOKE Act, which regulated the types of content that employers could include in employee training. The court found that a section of…
Have you ever invested due to a fear of missing out (FOMO)? Fearing that you’ll overlook the next big opportunity to grow your wealth might lead you to take on more risk or increase your exposure to a particular area or sector. Read on to find out how to boost…
Seyfarth Synopsis: The California Supreme Court reaffirmed that arbitration agreements are on equal footing with other types of contracts. Therefore, a court should apply the same principles that apply to other contracts to determine whether the party seeking to enforce an arbitration agreement has waived its right to do so.…