A third-party arbitrator has ordered the IRS to restore telework for its employees. The agency has 30 days to decide if it wants to appeal the decision.
FILE - The exterior of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) building in Washington, on March 22, 2013. The IRS released details Thursday, April 6, 2023, on how it plans the $80 billon it's getting to improve operations, promising investments in new technology, hiring more customer service representatives and expanding its ability to audit high-wealth taxpayers. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
The European Union has placed Justin Sun-linked HTX among 18 crypto companies accused of helping Russian users evade financial sanctions. According to Reuters, the EU published the list on Friday after adopting its latest restrictions on Thursday, adding another regulatory…
Belarusian nationals and residents have been barred from owning, controlling, or managing crypto-asset service providers regulated under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets framework from Aug. 25, extending the bloc’s sanctions on the country. According to Council Decision (CFSP) 2026/1847,…
The European Union has targeted 14 crypto service platforms and 94 banks and financial institutions under its 21st sanctions package against Russia. According to the Council of the European Union, the measures cover crypto providers based in Georgia, Panama, the…
On Thursday, Google became the third tech giant slapped with massive Digital Markets Act (DMA) fines, ordered to pay more than $1 billion for two serious violations that the European Commission (EC) found went unchecked for way too long.
In a press release, the EC explained that the fines were due to Google “self-preferencing its own services on Google Search” ($522 million) and for anti-steering practices, like charging fees or restricting app developers from directing consumers to cheaper purchase options outside of Google Play ($488 million).
Google has 60 days to make changes to its services, or else risk even more daily fines. To comply with the DMA, the EC has asked Google to "treat third-party services that feature on Google's search results in a fair and non-discriminatory manner” compared to its own services in categories like shopping, hotels, and flights. And Google must also allow app developers, “both technically and contractually,” to freely sign up users and promote offers outside of Google Play.
Hyundai Motor Company’s plan to put humanoid robots to work by 2028 is not part of current negotiations with striking South Korean autoworkers, according to the company.
The automaker is disputing news reports that partial labor strikes by the Hyundai Motor union at the world’s largest automotive plant in South Korea were spurred by concerns about the company's planned deployment of humanoid robots in the United States starting in 2028. A company statement shared with Ars describes the union’s demands as focusing on compensation-related issues such as wage increases, bonuses, and an extension of workers’ retirement age.
“Potential deployment of robots in Korean production facilities is not part of the current labor-management discussions,” according to the Hyundai statement. “Hyundai Motor Company remains committed to constructive engagement with the union and to reaching an agreement that supports the long-term interests of both employees and the company.”
Yesterday, the European Commission slapped AliExpress with the largest fine yet under the Digital Services Act (DSA), exceeding $625 million.
In a press release, the EC said that AliExpress failed to “diligently assess and mitigate risks relating to the sale of illegal, unsafe, or counterfeit products on its e-commerce platform.”
Officials found that AliExpress not only failed to staff teams dedicated to removing counterfeit and dangerous items from the platform, but it also made it easy for bad actors to evade detection.
Europe wrote the world’s most comprehensive crypto law, built a category for gold-backed tokens, and then approved nobody. Two years later, the entire tokenized gold market operates in the EU through a gap nobody legislated, and Brussels is debating whether…
Thousands of unionized Hyundai auto workers began walking off the job early after negotiations with the South Korean automaker broke down over plans to deploy humanoid robots—the most significant pushback from organized labor so far over the latest wave of robotic automation.
The partial strike at Hyundai’s automotive production complex in the city of Ulsan in South Korea represents “the car industry’s first factory stoppage addressing humanoid robots,” according to The Wall Street Journal. Workers have already ended their day and night shifts two hours early at the world’s largest automotive plant from July 13 through July 15, and plan to start staging four-hour strikes from July 20 to 22 after 15 rounds of negotiations failed to reach an agreement, The Korea Times reported.
Union pushback began as soon as Hyundai Motor Group unveiled the latest version of the Atlas humanoid robot, a two-legged robot that stands at more than 6 feet tall and can lift more than 100 pounds, at the start of this year. Atlas is made by Boston Dynamics, the US robotics company that is about to become a wholly owned subsidiary of Hyundai.
ROCKVILLE, Maryland—Hundreds of Bethesda Game Studios and Zenimax Online Studios employees and their supporters braved nearly 100° F temperatures to protest sweeping layoffs across Xbox during a lunchtime rally in front of parent company Zenimax's headquarters today. The rally was one of five today organized by Zenimax Workers United and its parent union, the Communication Workers of America, at offices across Texas, California, and Montreal.
Attendees held up signs with messages like "Layoffs... layoffs never change" and "Our players deserve better" as union organizers and employees rallied the crowd with speeches and songs. The overwhelming message was one of solidarity and a willingness to push back against job cuts they say have decimated their development and quality assurance teams.
"It's about us building our movement and making sure that we get seen and we're visible," Bethesda technical producer and union volunteer organizer Nathan Hahn told Ars. "Because we want to make sure that we're not okay with these layoffs and that Xbox knows."
A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction for two federal employees with disabilities who are suing DOJ for rescinding their telework accommodations.
Department of Justice sign, Washington DC, USA. Many law enforcement agencies are administered by the DOJ, including the FBI, DEA and Federal Bureau of Prisons
EU regulators preliminarily found Meta’s Facebook and Instagram design addictive, raising the prospect of app changes and a potential $12.1 billion fine.
EU regulators preliminarily found Meta’s Facebook and Instagram design addictive, raising the prospect of app changes and a potential $12.1 billion fine.
Apple lost its EU court challenge over iOS and the App Store, keeping both under the Digital Markets Act as another legal challenge still remains possible.
Apple lost its EU court challenge over iOS and the App Store, keeping both under the Digital Markets Act as another legal challenge still remains possible.
After losing civil service protections, some federal employees now in Schedule Policy/Career fear for their job security and retribution for speaking up.
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