Labor laws in European countries might not be as clear as some employers believe, especially when companies try to engage workers as freelancers rather than full-time employees.
Recent cases culminating in fines, repayments, and compliance costs have shone a spotlight on how some companies operate in the “gig economy,” as well as how difficult it might be for businesses to legitimately contract out work on a rolling basis.
Toward the end of January, Spain’s labor ministry fined app-based food delivery company Glovo 56.7 million euros (then-U.S. $61.7 million) for breaking the country’s labor laws aimed at protecting gig economy workers, according to multiple reports, including from Spanish newspaper El Confidencial.
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New York-based broker-dealer Maxim Group agreed to pay an $800,000 fine in settling with the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding the firm’s alleged failures to file required suspicious activity reports and properly execute certain short sales.
The Federal Trade Commission is partnering with Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru to fight cross-border fraud, with other consumer protection authorities invited to join in the future.
Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of America agreed to pay penalties totaling $53 million across settlements with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission addressing alleged swap reporting failures among their respective affiliates.
Multinational health insurance company Cigna agreed to pay more than $172 million as part of a settlement with the Department of Justice addressing allegations it submitted and failed to withdraw false claims to Medicare.
Accounting firm Prager Metis violated auditor independence rules through use of indemnification provisions in its engagement letters hundreds of times during a period of nearly three years, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged in a lawsuit.
The American branch of South Korea-based Shinhan Bank agreed to pay $25 million across settlements with three separate regulators for admitted violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering requirements.
