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First time of Starboard Waterline SUP on Horsetooth Reservoir

In mid-June, I went paddleboarding on Horsetooth Reservoir, starting from Soldier Cove in Lory State Park. I believe it is the shortest walk from the park to the water and puts you in the middle of somewhat protected and quiet […]





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Russian State TV Airs Melania Trump's Nudes on Prime Time

Russian state television network congratulated Melania Trump on her husband's reelection as president of the United States by showing nude photographs of her on live television, according to a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.




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The Small Intestine is Mapped in Detail for the First Time

The human small intestine is an essential organ that helps us absorb nutrients and vitamins from food. It is an average of 6 meters long and is covered wit



  • Cell & Molecular Biology

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BurstCube Satellite Detects First Gamma-Ray Burst in Milestone Achievement

CubeSats have become an excellent way to conduct scientific research on Earth and elsewhere due to their reduced costs and sizes, as some CubeSats are the



  • Space & Astronomy

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BurstCube Satellite Detects First Gamma-Ray Burst in Milestone Achievement

CubeSats have become an excellent way to conduct scientific research on Earth and elsewhere due to their reduced costs and sizes, as some CubeSats are the



  • Earth & The Environment

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The Small Intestine is Mapped in Detail for the First Time

The human small intestine is an essential organ that helps us absorb nutrients and vitamins from food. It is an average of 6 meters long and is covered wit




irs

The Small Intestine is Mapped in Detail for the First Time

The human small intestine is an essential organ that helps us absorb nutrients and vitamins from food. It is an average of 6 meters long and is covered wit




irs

IRS Issues Guidance on the American Rescue Plan Act COBRA Subsidy

On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) that contains a new, temporary COBRA subsidy. The ARPA COBRA subsidy requires employers to cover 100% of an employee’s cost of continuing group health coverage under COBRA from April 1, 2021 through September 30, 2021 for those who lost their health care coverage on account of a reduction of hours or an involuntary termination.




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Ontario, Canada Introduces Bill 79, Working for Workers Act, 2023 for First Reading

On March 20, 2023, Ontario introduced Bill 79, Working for Workers Act, 2023 for First Reading.




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Colorado Court Decides Issue of First Impression Regarding ERISA Preemption of State Divorce-Revocation Statute

The Colorado Court of Appeals recently decided an issue of first impression regarding the Employee Retirement Income Security Act’s (ERISA) preemptive power over Colorado’s divorce-revocation statute. The decision in Ragan v. Ragan, 2021 COA 75, settled an open question in Colorado regarding whether ERISA preempts “post-distribution” lawsuits under Colorado’s divorce-revocation statute. Specifically, the court held that ERISA preempts lawsuits against a former spouse to recover plan benefits that were distributed to the former spouse as the named beneficiary.




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First Circuit Creates New Fiduciary Duty Under ERISA for Insurers Accepting Group Premiums from Employers

  • First Circuit held that an insurer has a fiduciary duty under ERISA to verify individual employee eligibility for group benefit plan coverage at or near the time of enrollment.
  • Insurers can shift the duty of eligibility verification to employers through the plan’s language.




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Longtime Littler Litigator Becomes Its First Diversity Chief

Paul Bateman and Erin Webber share how Bateman’s new role will encourage Littler’s social justice initiatives.

Law360

View Article (Subscription required.)




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IRS Proposed Regulations Clarify Certain Equity Compensation Rules Under IRC Section 162(m)

Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code (the "Code") generally limits the deductibility of compensation paid by a publicly traded corporation to its top executive officers (the "covered employees") to $1 million annually (the "Million Dollar Cap"). However, this limit will not apply to certain amounts that qualify as "performance-based compensation." Compensation attributable to stock options, stock appreciation rights ("SARs") and restricted stock grants may qualify as performance-based compensation if they meet certain requirements.




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IRS Issues Proposed Regulations Under Code Section 457 Affecting Deferred Compensation Plans of Tax-Exempt Organizations

The Internal Revenue Service recently issued proposed regulations under Section 457 of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”) that prescribe rules regarding deferred compensation plans sponsored by state and local governments and tax-exempt organizations.  These regulations relate primarily to the taxes imposed (under Code Section 457(f)) on the organization at the time the individual’s right to compensation vests, without regard to actual time of payment. 




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Costa Rica Passes First “Whistleblower Law” to Protect Complainants and Witnesses of Possible Acts of Corruption

UPDATE: This law took effect on February 8, 2024.

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OFCCP’s First Webinar on its New Contractor Portal Leaves Most Questions Unanswered

On February 1, 2022, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) presented a webinar on its new contractor portal through which covered contractors are being asked to certify whether they are meeting their requirement to develop and maintain annual affirmative action programs.




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DOL to Require Successor Employers to Offer Right of First Refusal to Predecessor Employees Under Service Contract Act

On December 14, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor issued final regulations requiring the so-called “nondisplacement” of workers performing work on contracts for the federal government under the Service Contract Act (SCA). These regulations implement Executive Order 14055, “Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers Under Service Contracts,” President Biden signed on November 18, 2021.




irs

OSHA rules in crosshairs after court ruling

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s Loper decision, Jamie Spataro says existing regulations and standards that went through extensive rulemaking are ripe for being challenged.

Business Insurance

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irs

A Case Study on the First Amendment Defense for Entertainment Industry Employers

  • The Ninth Circuit might consider whether an entertainment employer’s First Amendment rights provides a strong enough defense in an employment dispute involving off-duty social media posts.
  • This case highlights the conflict between an employee’s lawful, off-duty political expression and an employer’s brand integrity.




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Gainesville First City in Florida to Pass Fair Chance Hiring Law Restricting Private Employers’ Use of Criminal History

  • The city of Gainesville has passed a Fair Chance Hiring law governing an employer’s use and consideration of a job applicant’s criminal history in making employment decisions.
  • In light of these changes, covered employers with operations in Gainesville that use criminal records to vet candidates should consider a privileged review of their policies, procedures, and other documents related to the screening process.




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IRS Releases 2022 Inflation Adjustments to Various Tax Limitations on Employer-Provided Benefits

On November 10, 2021, the IRS released Revenue Procedure 2021-45, which contains its annual inflation adjustments for over 60 tax provisions, including not only individual income tax rates and deductions, but also many employer-provided benefits.




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IRS Raises Standard Mileage Rate for July to December 2022

On June 9, 2022, the Internal Revenue Service issued Announcement 2022-13, increasing the optional standard mileage rate for the final six months of 2022 from 58.5 cents per mile to 62.5 cents per mile.  The new rate will be effective for traveling beginning on July 1, 2022, through December 31, 2022.  The old rate of 58.5 cents per mile will remain in effective through June 30, 2022.




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Department of Labor and IRS Intensify Cooperation on Worker Misclassification

On December 14, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) signed and published a Memorandum of Understanding for Employment Tax Referrals (the “MOU”). The MOU establishes a system for referrals from the DOL’s Wage & Hour Division (WHD) to the Small Business/Self Employed Specialty Employment Tax unit (“SB/SE”).




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IRS Updates FAQs on 1099-Ks Used for Gig Workers and Others

The IRS recently updated its guidance for completing Form 1099-K, used primarily by “gig” companies providing compensation using payment apps or online marketplaces and for individuals selling goods on online marketplaces such as Etsy. As background, in order to promote greater tax transparency and compliance, in 2008 Congress enacted Internal Revenue Code section 6050W to require that certain “third party network transactions” be reported on the then-new Form 1099-K.




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IRS Issues FAQs on Educational Assistance Programs

The IRS has issued a new fact sheet (FS-2024-22) to address frequently asked questions about educational assistance programs (EAPs), also known as Section 127 plans.1 EAP plans have been an effective recruitment and retention tool for many employers over the past two decades and remain popular with employees because the payments are tax exempt to employees and tax deductible to employers.




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Ontario, Canada: Bill 149, Working for Workers Four Act, 2023 Introduced for First Reading

UPDATE: On March 21, 2024, Ontario’s Bill 149 - Working for Workers Four Act, 2024 received Royal Assent. The amendments to the ESA made by Bill 149 came into force on the day it received Royal Assent, with the following exceptions:




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IRS to Launch Employment Taxes Audit of 5,000 Employers – Is Your Company Ready?

The Internal Revenue Services (IRS) has announced that beginning in November 2009 it will launch its latest National Research Program (NRP). This NRP will be focused on conducting detailed employment taxes examinations. Approximately 5,000 or more employers are to be randomly selected for audit. In addition to potential "assessments," these audits will provide the IRS with the statistical sample of overall employment taxes compliance. The audit program will be conducted over a three year period with at least 2,000 employment tax audits conducted per year.




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IRS Delays Launching Employment Taxes Audit Until February 2010. IRS Plans to Target 6,000 Employers Over 3-Year Period – Is Your Company Ready?

The Internal Revenue Services (IRS) has announced a delay in beginning a comprehensive employment tax audit program originally scheduled for November 2009 but now scheduled to begin February 2010. In February, the IRS will launch its latest National Research Program (NRP). This NRP will be focused on conducting detailed employment taxes examinations. Approximately 6,000 employers are to be randomly selected for audit. In addition to potential "assessments," these audits will provide the IRS with the statistical sample of overall employment taxes compliance.




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Littler Appoints New Practice and Industry Group Chairs

(October 14, 2020) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has announced a number of leadership changes throughout its various practice and industry groups.

“We congratulate this talented and diverse group of co-chairs,” said Tom Bender and Jeremy Roth, Littler co-managing directors, in a joint statement. “Their deep knowledge and extensive experience in their respective practice areas will continue to enhance the firm’s ability to advise and defend clients on myriad employment and labor law matters across all industries.”




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ETSI completed its first remote Mission Critical Plugtests event

ETSI completed its first remote Mission Critical Plugtests event

Sophia Antipolis, 11 February 2019

ETSI has just ended its third MCX Plugtests, which is the first remote PlugtestsTM within the MCX Plugtests programme, from 3 Dec 2018 until 31 Jan 2019.  

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ETSI releases first globally applicable standard for consumer IoT security

ETSI releases first globally applicable standard for consumer IoT security

Sophia Antipolis, 19 February 2019

The ETSI Technical Committee on Cybersecurity (TC CYBER) has just released ETSI TS 103 645, a standard for cybersecurity in the Internet of Things, to establish a security baseline for internet-connected consumer products and provide a basis for future IoT certification schemes.

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ETSI Open Source MANO: Orchestrating the 5G Orchestra in a world’s first

ETSI Open Source MANO: Orchestrating the 5G Orchestra in a world’s first

Sophia Antipolis, 19 March 2019

On Saturday, 16 March, the public was invited to experience musicians perform a fully synchronized concert across venues in Bristol and London.

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First ETSI NFV API conformance test event in remote mode

First ETSI NFV API conformance test event in remote mode

Sophia Antipolis, 10 May 2019

From February 4 to April 15, 2019, ETSI organized a remote NFV API Plugtests® event with the support of its Centre for Testing and Interoperability. The Remote NFV API Plugtests was not only the first to be entirely remote; it was also the first entirely dedicated to the testing of NFV APIs.

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First ETSI C-V2X interoperability event tests ETSI ITS and 3GPP standards

First ETSI C-V2X interoperability event tests ETSI ITS and 3GPP standards

Registration now open!

Sophia Antipolis, 8 November 2019

ETSI, with experts from its Center for Testing and Interoperability, in partnership with the 5GAA, is organizing the first C‑V2X PlugtestsTM event.

Hosted by DEKRA in its Connected Vehicle Test Development Centre in Malaga from 2-6 December 2019, the event will enable vendors to run interoperability test sessions to assess the level of interoperability of their implementations and validate their understanding of the standards. Interoperability testing checks that devices built to the same standards can work together and provide the functionalities specified in the standards.

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First ETSI C-V2X interoperability event: success rate of 95% achieved

First ETSI C-V2X interoperability event: success rate of 95% achieved

Sophia Antipolis, 11 December 2019

The first ETSI C-V2X PlugtestsTM, performed in partnership with 5GAA, came to a close with a success rate of 95% of the executed tests, showing an extremely positive level of multi-vendor interoperability. 320 test scenarios were executed in lab and field environments for interoperability with 70 people present onsite for testing.

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ETSI's Securing Artificial Intelligence group appoints Chair and Vice Chairs

ETSI's Securing Artificial Intelligence group appoints Chair and Vice Chairs

Sophia Antipolis, 27 January 2020

ETSI's new Industry Specification Group on Securing Artificial Intelligence (ISG SAI) met last week for its second meeting and appointed Alex Leadbeater (BT) as its Chair. Dr Kate Reed (NCSC) was appointed as First Vice Chair and Tieyan Li (Huawei) was appointed as Second Vice Chair. This second meeting, after the launch of the group last October, was also the place to discuss work priorities.

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ETSI OSM organizes its first fully remote Hackfest with a record number of participants

ETSI OSM organizes its first fully remote Hackfest with a record number of participants

Sophia Antipolis, 16 March 2020

These are special times where many face-to-face meetings are being postponed or canceled. But when the going gets tough, the tough gets going and ETSI OSM opted for reorganizing its Hackfest, originally planned as a physical event in Madrid from 9 to 12 March 2020, as a fully remote event. What originally seemed a huge challenge due to the hands-on approach and the high level of interaction required in a Hackfest, proved possible in a record time thanks to the outstanding engagement of the OSM community and the means provided by ETSI, making this Hackfest one of the best attended ever. The 4 days of Hackfest were run in parallel with the OSM Mid-Release EIGHT meeting and the OSM Ecosystem Day, also held remotely. 

Read More...




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ETSI virtual Security Week 2020: a record audience for first sessions

ETSI virtual Security Week 2020: a record audience for first sessions

Sophia Antipolis, 12 June 2020

Register for next week.

Our virtual Security Week started this Monday, 8 June and will end on 19 June with nearly 50 speakers discussing the latest updates and challenges of four different key topics around cybersecurity in 14 webinars.

Read More...




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ETSI Unveils First Cloud-Native VNF Management Specifications

ETSI Unveils First Cloud-Native VNF Management Specifications

Sophia Antipolis, 17 November 2020

The ETSI group on Network Functions Virtualization (ETSI Industry Specification Group NFV) is pleased to unveil its first specification enabling containerized VNFs to be managed in an NFV framework. The ETSI GS NFV-IFA 040 specifies requirements for service interfaces and an object model for OS (Operating System) container management and orchestration.

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ETSI Report Paves the Way for First World Standards in Securing Artificial Intelligence

ETSI Report Paves the Way for First World Standards in Securing Artificial Intelligence

Sophia Antipolis, 19 January 2021

The ETSI Securing Artificial Intelligence Industry Specification Group (SAI ISG) last month released its first Group Report, ETSI GR SAI 004, which gives an overview of the problem statement regarding the securing of AI. ETSI SAI is the first standardization initiative dedicated to securing AI.

The Report describes the problem of securing AI-based systems and solutions, with a focus on machine learning, and the challenges relating to confidentiality, integrity and availability at each stage of the machine learning lifecycle. It also points out some of the broader challenges of AI systems including bias, ethics and ability to be explained. A number of different attack vectors are outlined, as well as several cases of real-world use and attacks.

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ETSI unveils its Report comparing worldwide COVID-19 contact-tracing systems – a first step toward interoperability

ETSI unveils its Report comparing worldwide COVID-19 contact-tracing systems – a first step toward interoperability

Sophia Antipolis, 2 February 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has stretched the planet’s health systems to their limits and tested the measures adopted to alleviate difficulties. Contact tracking or tracing to identify infected people has been one such example. However, contact tracing based on interviews with identified or suspected patients presents known weaknesses from previous pandemics. Turning to digital means in a world where global mobility is the rule was therefore of the essence.

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ETSI blockchain group releases first Reports, targeting industry and governmental bodies

ETSI blockchain group releases first Reports, targeting industry and governmental bodies

Sophia Antipolis, 15 February 2021

The ETSI Industry Specification Group on Permissioned Distributed Ledger (ISG PDL) has recently released a number of Reports to support industry and government institutions needs for what is commonly known as blockchain. These Reports cover data record compliance to regulation, application scenarios and smart contracts.  

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ETSI Non-IP Networks releases first Reports

ETSI Non-IP Networks releases first Reports

Sophia Antipolis, 6 April 2021

The ETSI Non-IP Networking group (ISG NIN) has just released its first three Group Reports. The first one, ETSI GR NIN 001, details the shortcomings of TCP/IP for fixed and mobile networks; the second Report, ETSI GR NIN 002, considers testing Non-IP Networking over 5G cellular Radio Access Networks; and ETSI GR NIN 003 describes the networking model that is the foundation for the new technology.

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ETSI announces first interoperability event for future railway communication

ETSI announces first interoperability event for future railway communication

Sophia Antipolis, 19 April 2021

ETSI has announced that its Future Railway Mobile Communication System (FRMCS) Plugtests™ event will take place from 14 to 18 June 2021. Over 20 vendors and more than 80 participants will participate.

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ETSI releases a White Paper on MEC security, first initiative in this domain

ETSI releases a White Paper on MEC security, first initiative in this domain

Sophia Antipolis, 3 June 2021

ETSI publishes today a White Paper titled MEC security: Status of standards support and future evolutions written by several authors participating in MEC and other related ETSI groups. This White Paper, the very first initiative in this domain, aims to identify aspects of security where the nature of edge computing leaves typical industry approaches to cloud security insufficient. 

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ETSI releases the first Group Report on Encrypted Traffic Integration, protecting end users from malicious attacks

ETSI releases the first Group Report on Encrypted Traffic Integration, protecting end users from malicious attacks

Sophia Antipolis, 1 September 2021

ETSI’s Industry Specification Group on Encrypted Traffic Integration (ISG ETI) has concluded the early part of its work, by identifying problems arising from pervasive encrypted traffic in communications networks.

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ETSI launches first specification for the 5th Generation Fixed Network, F5G technology landscape

ETSI launches first specification for the 5th Generation Fixed Network, F5G technology landscape

Sophia Antipolis, 23 September 2021

ETSI's 5th Generation Fixed Network group (F5G ISG) has just released its first specification, ETSI GS F5G 003, entitled F5G Technology Landscape. In this specification, the ISG studies the technical requirements, existing standards and gaps for 10 different new use cases, for home, enterprises or industrial needs.

ETSI GS F5G 003 use cases include PON (passive optical network) on-premises and passive optical LAN. In this case, a PON system could connect end devices (like HDTV, HD surveillance cameras and VR/AR helmets) and provide higher data rate, better coordination and controlled latency than current Ethernet and Wi-Fi mesh.

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ETSI IPE releases the first IPv6 Enhanced Innovation Report, helping global industry players to reach consensus

ETSI IPE releases the first IPv6 Enhanced Innovation Report, helping global industry players to reach consensus

Sophia Antipolis, 15 October 2021

ETSI is pleased to announce the first ETSI IPv6 Enhanced Innovation (IPE) report ETSI GR IPE 001 “IPv6 Enhanced Innovation: Gap Analysis”. Jointly compiled by 15 leading IP industry players, this report comprehensively analyzes gaps based on requirements created by the new use cases and services like 5G and the cloud, to accelerate IPv6 deployment and innovations, and identifies recommendations of new features of the IPv6 enhanced innovations, paving the way for a consensus to be reached among global IP industry players.

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