US

Subscribe to US via RSS

On Friday, September 19, President Trump issued a proclamation imposing a new $100,000 fee on certain H-1B employers and beneficiaries. See Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers – The White House. The proclamation became effective 12:01 a.m. EDT Sunday, September 21, 2025 and expires after twelve months but may be extended.
 
When…

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has withdrawn its notices of appeal in cases before the Fifth and Eleventh Circuits that involved challenges to its proposed rule to ban most employee non-compete agreements. That FTC rule, issued under former FTC Chair Lina Khan in April 2024, was struck down by federal district courts in Texas and…

Driven by strategic, economic, and geopolitical factors, multinational companies are increasingly viewing expansion opportunities in the Middle East.

As one of the world’s most open and rapidly expanding economies, the region is a vital hub for global business, trade, and finance. Diversifying beyond oil and gas exports, the Middle East is now thriving across sectors…

On July 23, the White House unveiled its much-anticipated AI Action Plan. The Action Plan follows President Trump’s Executive Order 14179 of January 23 on “Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence”—which directed the development of the Action Plan within 180 days—and subsequent consultation with stakeholders to “define the priority policy actions needed to sustain and enhance America’s AI dominance, and to ensure that unnecessarily burdensome requirements do not hamper private sector AI innovation.” This update provides a summary of the Action Plan and key considerations for businesses developing or deploying AI.

The Action Plan is structured around three pillars: (I) Accelerating AI Innovation, (II) Building American AI Infrastructure, and (III) Leading in International AI Diplomacy and Security. Although, the AI Action Plan is not legally binding in itself, each pillar contains a number of policy recommendations and actions, which will subsequently need to be actioned by various government agencies and institutes.

Pillar I – Accelerating AI Innovation

Pillar I focuses on reducing the impact of regulation that may hamper AI development. To this end, the Action Plan instructs the Office of Management and Budget to “consider a state’s AI regulatory climate when making funding decisions and limit funding if the state’s AI regulatory regimes may hinder the effectiveness of that funding or award.” Pillar I emphasizes the need for workplace action that supports transition to an AI economy, citing AI literary and skill development among key workforce priorities.  The Action Plan also calls for federal- and state-led efforts to evaluate the impact of AI on the labor market. In order to promote advancements in American AI technologies, Pillar I specifically calls for investment in open-source AI models, support for the preparation of high-quality datasets for use in model training, and acceleration of the federal government’s adoption of AI.

Pillar II – Building American AI Infrastructure

Pillar II of the Action Plan includes actions aimed at strengthening the country’s AI infrastructure. The Action Plan seeks to streamline the expansion of America’s semiconductor manufacturing capabilities by removing extraneous policy requirements for CHIPS-funded semiconductor manufacturing operations.  Pillar II also focuses on the fortification of AI systems and other critical infrastructure assets against cybersecurity threats. In order to achieve these goals, the Action Plan proposes various measures to enhance cybersecurity protections such as sharing AI-security threat intelligence across critical infrastructure sectors and developing standards to facilitate the development of resilient and secure AI systems.Continue Reading US AI Vision in Action: What Businesses Need to Know About the White House AI Action Plan

For the first time in nearly twenty years, the SEC is considering on a holistic basis whether the current executive compensation disclosure rules serve their core function of efficiently providing investors with material information on which to make voting and investment decisions. 

On June 26, 2025, the SEC hosted a roundtable on executive compensation disclosure…

Overview

We reported in May on the provisions in the House’s One Big Beautiful Bill addressing two of President Trump’s campaign promises – no taxation of tips and overtime.  The Senate has now passed its version of the One Big Beautiful Bill, which includes its version of these provisions in sections 70201 and 70202.  See our prior blog post here for a detailed discussion of the House provisions.  While the basic structure of the provisions are similar, there are differences in the details. 

What Stays the Same

Above-the-line deductions for qualified tips and qualified overtime

Like the House bill, the Senate bill would give certain workers an above-the-line deduction for “qualified tips” and “qualified overtime compensation” included on an information return furnished to the individual or reported on a Form 4137 (for tips) for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2024, and ending for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2028.  This means the deductions are proposed to be retroactive and proposed to apply to amounts paid even before enactment of the bill.  Making this deduction available to the worker creates reporting and withholding obligations for the service recipient, as discussed in more detail below. 

In order to be deductible as qualified overtime compensation under the Senate provision, as was true with the House provision, the payment must be overtime paid as required under section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act that is in excess of the regular rate (as used in that section) at which such individual is employed. Qualified overtime compensation does not include any amount treated as a qualified tip.

In order to be deductible under the Senate provision, as was the case with the House provision, qualified tips generally must be paid voluntarily to a person who works in an occupation which traditionally and customarily received tips on or before December 31, 2024. The Secretary of the Treasury is directed to provide a list of occupations that traditionally and customarily received tips in 2024 and before within 90 days of enactment. 

As was the case in the House bill, the Senate bill provides that workers in certain specified businesses are not eligible for the tip deduction.  The businesses excluded are ones providing services in accounting, health, law, actuarial science, athletics, brokerage services, consulting, financial services, or the performing arts.  In the case of tips received in the course of a trade or business (other than as an employee of an employer), the deduction is limited to gross income from the business less other deductions allocable to the business.Continue Reading Senate Passes No Tax on Tips and Overtime Provisions

In a recent conversation with our colleagues across the Americas—in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Mexico and the United States—we examined the latest developments affecting multinational employers in the region. Please click here to tune in to the recording at your convenience. Read on for a preview of some of the key…