Employment

“At-Will” Employment in the U.S. – It’s a Trap!

Many Canadian employers expanding into the U.S. believe the U.S. legal presumption of at-will employment will provide them with additional protection against wrongful termination claims. Unfortunately for those employers, this belief is a trap. In Canada, employees who are terminated without cause often must be paid severance. In the U.S. however, an employer is generally not obligated to pay severance when an employee is fired without cause unless there is a contract requiring severance. The reality in the U.S. is that essentially every employee falls into an exception to the at-will employment doctrine. Wrongful termination claims in the U.S. are almost always discrimination or retaliation claims. In the former claim, the employee alleges...

Capital Markets / SEC Rulemaking

Section 16 Reporting by Insiders of SEC-reporting Foreign Private Issuers: CANADA IS EXEMPT!

Good news! The SEC has issued exemptive relief under the Holding Foreign Insiders Accountable Act (the HFIAA). For those of you focused on more important things in life, like Major League Baseball’s opening day later this month, let us give you a brief recap of the HFIAA. The HFIAA was signed into law on December 18, 2025 and it subjected directors and officers of foreign private issuers to beneficial ownership and transactional reporting with the SEC if the issuer’s securities are registered under Section 12(b) or 12(g) of the Exchange Act of 1934.  Reporting commences on March 18, 2026, but the SEC was permitted to issue exemptive relief.  More detail about the HFIAA...

SEC Rulemaking / Securities

Dorsey Webinar: Preparing for Section 16 Reporting by Insiders of Foreign Private Issuers (1/29/26)

Directors and officers of SEC-reporting foreign private issuers will be required to report their beneficial ownership and transactions in company equity securities to the SEC beginning March 18, 2026, absent exemptive relief from the SEC. On Thursday, January 29th at 12:00 CT, Dorsey is presenting a complementary webinar that will provide an overview of the process of obtaining Edgar filing codes for your insiders, the information required for the initial Section 16 reports, and the basics of Section 16(a) reporting. More information, including the availability of CLE and CPD credits, and registration are available here.

SEC Rulemaking / Securities

Prepare for the Worst, and Hope for the Best: Time to Begin Preparing for Section 16 Reporting by Insiders of SEC-reporting Foreign Private Issuers

As you may recall, the Holding Foreign Insiders Accountable Act (the HFIAA) was signed into law on December 18, 2025. In a nutshell, this means that directors and officers of foreign private issuers whose securities are registered under Section 12(b) or 12(g) of the Exchange Act of 1934 will be required to report beneficial ownership and transactions in company equity securities to the SEC. The first report is due on March 18, 2026. More detail about this requirement is available here. Since the adoption of the HFIAA, we have been receiving numerous questions. When should we start the process to get Edgar codes for our insiders? How long will it take to get...

SEC Rulemaking / Securities

Section 16 Reporting Requirements Expanded to Directors and Officers of Foreign Private Issuers

Directors and officers of foreign private issuers take note: unless the SEC exempts you, you will be required to report beneficial ownership and transactions in your company’s registered equity securities to the SEC, and your first report is due on March 18, 2026. On December 18, 2025, President Trump signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), expanding reporting requirements under amended Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act of 1934 to directors and officers of foreign private issuers whose securities are registered under Section 12(b) or 12(g) of the Exchange Act of 1934. This includes, among others, issuers of securities traded on the NYSE, NYSE American or Nasdaq. More detail about this requirement is available...

Employment / Tax

New Proposed U.S. Excise Tax on Certain U.S. “Outsourcing” Payments

In September, a new bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate entitled the “Halting International Relocation of Employment Act” or “HIRE Act” (the “Bill”). Generally, the Bill proposes a 25% excise tax on certain outsourcing payments made by U.S. persons or entities to non-U.S. persons or entities. The Bill, if enacted, could have a significant impact on Canadian companies that are currently engaged in certain cross-border arrangements with U.S. companies, including subsidiaries or affiliates. In general, the Bill would impose a 25% excise tax on any premium, fee, royalty, service charge, or other payment made in the course of a trade or business by a U.S. person to any non-U.S. person if the...

Tax

IRS Form 8937 Reporting – An Often-Overlooked U.S. Tax Reporting Requirement

As discussed in our prior blog posting, Canadian companies should be aware that, if they engage in certain “organizational actions” (as discussed below) that affect the tax basis of their securities held by one or more U.S. persons, they may be required to evaluate the effect of such action on the U.S. holder’s tax basis and promptly disclose this information on a properly completed IRS Form 8937, Report of Organizational Actions Affecting Basis of Securities. Generally, Internal Revenue Code Section 6045B (including the Treasury Regulations promulgated thereunder) requires an issuer classified as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes of certain securities to report on an IRS Form 8937 any “organizational action”...

Natural Resources / SEC Rulemaking

Mining Companies May Not Total Inferred Mineral Resources With Other Resource Categories: SEC Guidance

In a recent development for the reporting of mineral resources, it’s come to our attention that the SEC’s staff has taken the position that a mining company subject to the SEC’s disclosure standards under Subpart 1300 of Regulation S-K cannot report “total” mineral resources in a way that would aggregate inferred resources together with any other category of resources, even if figures for measured, indicated, inferred, and measured + indicated resources are otherwise separately disclosed as required by Subpart 1300. While we understand that Canadian regulators have taken a similar position under Canada’s National Instrument 43-101, the SEC has, for the most part, allowed Subpart 1300 issuers to supplement required disclosures with additional...

Employment

Top U.S. Employment Law “Gotchas” for Canadian Companies

As a U.S. employment lawyer who advises numerous Canadian companies, I’ve seen several traps that Canadian companies frequently fall into. The first step in avoiding these traps is to identify them. At-Will Employment is Trap. One of the biggest differences between Canadian and U.S. Employment law is so called “at-will” employment. Theoretically, employers in the U.S. can fire employees without cause and not have to pay severance. But as I like to tell my clients, this means that you can fire employees in the U.S. for any reason you want … except for the 1.7 million reasons you can’t. If an employee is in a protected class (e.g. on the basis of age,...