Our attorneys have wide-ranging experience over many years in the corporate governance arena. As a result of this expertise, our lawyers have been helping clients cope with the array of legislative and regulatory responses coming out of the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and major U.S. stock exchanges.
SEC Proposes Mine Safety Disclosure Rules
January 10, 2011
In December, the SEC published proposed amendments to its rules to implement a provision of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act") that requires U.S. and non-U.S. companies that are required to file reports with the SEC and are owners, operators or have a subsidiary that is an operator of a coal or other mine, to disclose in their periodic reports filed with the SEC information regarding specific health and safety violations, orders and citations, related assessments, legal actions and mining-related fatalities at mines located in the United States. The SEC has also proposed amendments to its rules requiring companies that report as domestic filers to file a Form 8-K disclosing the receipt of certain orders and notices from the U.S. Labor Department's Mine Safety and Health Administration (the "MSHA"). The new disclosure requirements in the Dodd-Frank Act, which are already in effect, are based on the health and safety requirements applicable to mines that are included in the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (the "Mine Act"), administered by the MSHA. The SEC's proposed rule amendments are intended to specify how the new disclosure requirements will be implemented.