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Employee Benefits (ERISA)
New Federal Garnishment Rule Protects Certain Benefits Payments What Institutions Need To Know To Comply
A new federal rule that seeks to protect judgment debtors' federal benefit payments from attachment by a creditor will require banks and credit unions to change their handling of garnishments of their customers' accounts. Effective May 1, 2011, the U.S. Treasury and other federal agencies...
Read More"Have You Ever Been Convicted Of A Felony? Yes/No"
Employers are faced with a delicate balancing act in the hiring process - trying to identify and hire the best candidates for the job, obtaining criminal history or other background information about an applicant and making sure their inquiries regarding a candidate's criminal history, credit...
Read MoreSEC Proposes Amendments To Remove Ratings Standard From Rule 2a-7
At an open meeting on March 2, 2011, the SEC voted unanimously to propose that a money market fund (a fund) would no longer be required to limit its investments to those rated within the top two categories by rating agencies (or to unrated securities of comparable quality). Rather, the fund's...
Read MoreProtecting Arbitration Documents In Federal Courts
The confidentiality of information exchanged during alternative dispute resolution (ADR) processes, such as arbitration and mediation, is recognized as one of the many reasons why parties choose to resolve a dispute using ADR rather than litigation. The common and increasing use of arbitration may...
Read MoreSEC Adopts Final Rules: Say-on-Pay, Say-on-Frequency And Say-on-Golden Parachutes
On January 25, 2011, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) adopted final rules to implement Section 951 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the Dodd-Frank Act), requiring public reporting companies to conduct shareholder advisory votes with respect to...
Read MorePresident Obama Signs Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization And Job Creation Act Of 2010 Into Law
President Obama signed into law the "Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010" (the Act) on Dec. 17, 2010. The legislation represents an $858 billion tax deal negotiated by the president and Republican leaders. The heart of the Act is a two-year extension of...
Read MoreGoldman Sanction: FINRA Sends Message On Timely U-4 Amendment
On November 9, 2010, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced yet another sanction of Goldman Sachs & Co. (Goldman) arising out of the Abacus transaction. The basis for the sanction, the firm's failure to timely report that Goldman registered representative, Fabrice Tourre...
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