H-2A program allows seasonal workers into the United States to fill temporary agricultural jobs. Citizens of 82 countries are eligible under this program. For fiscal year 2022, 295,385 H-2A workers were approved through this program. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FSLA) sets federal standards for minimum wage and overtime pay for any employer covered under this act. However, may some employers, mainly those hiring agricultural workers, including under the H-2A program, must meet certain requirements without which those enterprises are usually exempt from either paying minimum wage and/or overtime pay. One of those requirements is employing an agricultural worker for 500 or more man-days in any quarter in the previous calendar…

Photo Courtesy of TechCrunch. Data privacy protections in the wake of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) have set a high bar for compliance concerning companies’ handling of consumer data. Since its inception in May 2018, large and small companies interacting with E.U. member state citizens’ personal data have had to adjust their internal practices to ensure compliance with the GDPR requirements. This has impacted companies differently, as some have had to bear the burden of higher costs and more complicated means to achieve compliance. For those who fail to comply, the financial burden can be catastrophic. The baseline financial penalty sits at up to 4% of a…

Photo Courtesy of Cointribune Developments in digital technology in the financial services industry have led to dramatic growth in markets for digital assets. Digital assets provide possible opportunities for the U.S. to strengthen its leadership in the international financial system and remain at the technological frontline. However, based on the recent events in crypto markets, it is undisputed that they have their risks. Thus, The White House has announced its first-ever outline on what crypto regulation in the U.S. should look like — comprising ways in which the financial services industry should take steps to make borderless transactions (global payments) easier, and how to prevent fraud in the digital asset…

Photo Courtesy of Central European Times. The European Commission has proposed freezing €7.5 billion in European Union payments to Hungary, after experts believe that the country is no longer a democracy, but an ‘electoral autocracy.’ In fact, 80 percent of European Parliament members voted and declared that Hungary is no longer a “full democracy.” Much of the commission’s concerns stemmed from Hungary’s Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, who has been in power since 2010. There have been increased concerns over academic and religious freedoms within the country, the functioning of their electoral system, and rights of vulnerable groups like minorities and refugees.     In addition to his reputation as a leader,…

For the past two decades, the U.S. dollar had not been stronger than Euro. This, however, changed in July as the two currencies reached parity. For the first time since 2002, the U.S. Dollar and Euro had a 1:1 exchange rate. The dollar has continued to strengthen, as one American dollar is worth 0.98 Euros, as of September 11, 2022. What made the dollar so strong? One of the most consequential reasons that boosted the value of the dollar is the U.S. Federal Reserve’s announcement to raise interest rates. Generally, higher interest rates lead to a stronger currency. In addition, turmoil in the global economy, including skyrocketing gas prices and…

As the nation watches the war in Ukraine unfold, many are closely monitoring the response from the United States and its NATO allies. On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, and since then, the countries have been at war over the sovereignty of Ukraine. Ukraine is not a party to NATO; therefore, this has kept the allies from joining the battle itself. However, NATO and the United States, have placed what they hope to be crippling sanctions on Russia. The United States began by sanctioning Russia’s export systems and economy. Specifically, the United States targeted the 10 largest financial systems in Russia, hoping to undercut the ability of Russia to…

Written by Associate Editor: Tia Thevenin Many Binance users in Nigeria and other African Countries were facing issues participating in their routine trading of cryptocurrency. Users (around 281 total) were unable to initiate in or complete payments. Since its inception in 2017, Binance Holdings Ltd. has grown to be the top crypto exchange in the world processing nearly 76 billion dollars worth of cryptocurrency daily. Changpeng Zhao, Chief Executive Officer of Binance is on the ranks of the world’s top billionaires. Binance is also widely used in Nigeria. Nigerians use cryptocurrency as a method to protect the value of their money, which fluctuates as the naira loses value, and as…

Written by associate editor: Brian Harrison China’s economy has seen massive growth over the last several decades growing from $300 billion USD in 1990 to over $14.7 trillion USD by 2020. This immense growth caused there to be a burgeoning middle class that wanted to own homes and property, which helped increase demand in an already quickly growing property market. Much of this subsequent property development was funded through debt. Easy access to debt and good political connections allowed companies like Evergrande to be able to borrow vast sums of money to fund property development projects all over the country. After over two decades of operating, Evergrande now has financial…

Written by Associate Editor, Kevin Casserino US chipmaker Intel has removed references to Xinjiang, China in its most recent annual letter to suppliers.[1] This removal comes after Intel’s December 23 letter to its suppliers in which they stated that Intel had been “required to ensure that its supply chain did not use any labor or sourced any goods from the Xinjiang region.”[2] Following the December 23rd letter, Chinese social media users and Chinese state-run media denounced Intel for their specific mention of the controversial region.[3] Intel has since apologized and told Chinese social media users that the letter was written to comply with U.S. law and does not represent their…

            Written by Associate Editor: Sam Keller A death penalty case in Singapore has drawn large amounts of attention from all over the globe in recent weeks. Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, a mentally disabled man, was caught smuggling 1.5 ounces of heroin into Singapore from Malaysia in 2009 and was subsequently sentenced to death under the mandatory punishment for drug smuggling in 2010. Mr. Nagaenthran’s execution initially stayed in 2011 when Singapore’s parliament reviewed and amended the country’s death penalty, which took effect in 2013, that allowed death penalties to be reduced to life imprisonment if the offender was “suffering from an abnormality of the mind.” During Mr. Nagaenthran’s trial, he underwent…