The U.K. Bribery Act's Impact on U.S. Employers

The United Kingdom's Bribery Act of 2010 became effective on July 1, 2011, and has a major impact on U.S. employers with business operations in the U.K. The Act sweeps away antiquated and piecemeal British bribery laws to create a regime of criminal offenses described by the Director of the Serious Fraud Office as, "the toughest bribery legislation in the world." Despite this, the U.K. government has emphasized that compliance with potentially stringent legislation should be a matter of common sense: a mixture of risk assessment and proportionality.

For a practical discussion of the main compliance issues from an employment perspective and guidance as to where U.S. organizations, used to complying with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the patchwork of U.S. anti-bribery laws, should focus their attention, continue reading U.K. Bribery Act "On-Line" as of July 1 - U.S. Employer Impact, by Philip Berkowitz and David Goldman of Littler Mendelson and Ellen Temperton of Lewis Silkin.

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