In the United States, a federal judge approved on 10 May 2005 of the plan of United Airlines (“UA”) to terminate four employees’ defined-benefit pension plans and the pension responsibility are shifted to and assumed by the government’s pension insurer, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”). The decision will have a great impact on pension obligations to 120,000 current and former employees of UA and could have far-reaching implications for the pensions industry worldwide ...
The Labour Law of the People’s Republic of China (“Labour Law”) is applicable to all employment relationships between individuals and enterprises in China. However, local governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities may, and most of them do, issue detailed measures and rules for the implementation of the Labour Law. Such detailed measures are promulgated based on the Labour Law, with changes and specific details made in light of the local conditions ...
On April 12, 2005, grievance arbitrator Denis Tremblay issued a major ruling on the validity of a policy on alcohol consumption and drug use implemented by the Goodyear tire plant in Valleyfield during the summer of 2004. The policy was widely attacked by the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada, local 143, representing all of the plant’s production employees (close to 1,000 employees) ...
Amendments made to the Quebec Professional Code in 2001 authorize professional orders to allow their members to exercise their professional activities within the framework of a limited liability partnership, or a joint-stock company. In 2002, the Ordre des comptables agréés (Order of Chartered Accountants) was the first professional order to adopt a regulation to this effect. The Quebec Bar and the Ordre des comptables généraux licenciés (Certified General Accountants) followed suit in 2004 ...
In this edition: - Fire Legislation Changes - Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations Amended - Accounting for Risk - Workplace Stress - Lock up Your Ladders - Corporate Manslaughter Act Moves Closer to Reality - Vibration Regulations are Imminent
Directive of the European Parliament No. 2004/27EC of 31 March 2004 amending Directive 2001/83/EC on the Community code relating to medicinal products for human use (OJ EU [2004], L 136, p. 34) Scientific progress and the development of new types of products explain the rise in issues regarding the legal qualification of so-called “borderline” products ...
Commission Guidelines for the Notification of Dangerous Consumer Products to the Competent Authorities of the Member States by Producers and Distributors in accordance with Article 5(3) of Directive 2001/95/EC (Commission document No ...
On June 7, 2005, a Decree amending, enacting and repealing various provisions of the VAT Law was published at the Mexican Federal Register. These amendments, to a large extent, merely renumber and relocate various provisions of the VAT Law, leaving their content unaltered. Nonetheless, it is quite important to underline that these amendments repeal any reference to “activities which fall outside the scope of this tax” in the provisions dealing with creditable VAT ...
Mexican tax laws, rules and regulations are subject to amendments on a regular basis. Herein we intend to provide our friends and clients a general overview of the most recent and significant changes to our tax system[1]. Rule JG-SAT-IE-1-2005. - Debt Forgiveness for Certain Taxpayers ...
In this edition: - New Corporate Manslaughter Rules - ’64 Act Stamped Out - Lock Up Your Ladders! - News Round Up - Planning: Out of Town - Out of Mind? - Use Classes Change
The Irish Law Reform Commission has published two consultation papers recommending legislative changes to clarify the role, duties, powers and responsibilities of trustees, including charitable trustees, so that general trust law keeps up with the ever changing economic and social climate ...
The new Arbitration Rules of the International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) came into force on 1 May 2005. The following are the major changes: Specialist Arbitration Rules The new Rules provide for the possibility of using rules tailored made for specific industries. Todate, only rules for financial disputes have been published. Specialist panels of arbitrators have also been set up according to the nature of dispute ...
The decision to terminate an employee carries with it the risk of a possible legal challenge. Depending upon an employer’s policies or whether an employee has an employment contract, an employee may, for example, have a breach of contract or “wrongful discharge” claim. An “at-will” employer - that is, an employer who reserves the right to terminate employees without cause - generally does not need to worry about such claims ...
Inheritance tax is often assumed to be a rich man's concern, but the recent housing boom means that this is no longer the case. The sharp rise in house prices has completely outpaced tax thresholds, meaning that there has been a huge increase in the number of families who could face large bills for Inheritance Tax (IHT) when the homeowner dies ...
MAJOR INDUSTRY USE AND CLASSIFICATION ISSUES I.Introduction A.General Principles of Classification Under s. 19(14) of the B.C. Assessment Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 20 (the “Assessment Act”) and the Prescribed Classes of Property Regulation (B.C. Reg. 438/81) (the “Classification Regulation”), real property in B.C ...
EQUITY AND CONSISTENCY IN ASSESSMENTS I. General Principles of Equity A hallmark of the assessment and taxation of property in B.C. is the principle of equity: taxing authorities must deal even-handedly with all taxpayers in a municipality or rural area, and all taxpayers with a class must be treated in the same way. Equity in the context of the property assessment in B.C ...
On May 10, 2005 an “Accord Establishing Additional Benefits for Certified Companies With a Maquila or PITEX Program” came into effect. This new accord provides additional benefits for certified companies which have a maquila or PITEX program ...
The EU Directives on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and the Restriction of certain Hazardous Substances in Electronic and Electrical Equipment (ROHS) are due to take effect from 13 August 2005. The Department of the Environment recently produced draft regulations to implement these directives and make the necessary amendments to existing waste legislation ...
The Benefits of Using a an Unlimited Liability Company (1) Introduction Unlimited Liability Companies (“ULC”) have become useful vehicles for the acquisition of a Canadian business by a U.S. investor. This paper summarizes the advantages of using a ULC, the treatment of a ULC in Canada and in the U.S. and the use of a ULC in a factual setting involving the acquisition of a Canadian business. Until recently, only Nova Scotia offered the possibility of incorporating a ULC ...
Preamble In Quebec, most collective agreements contain a “loss of seniority and employment” clause according to which the signatories agree to terminate the employment of an employee in various circumstances, in particular after an absence of a specific period of time due to disability or illness. Collective agreements usually also provide for a benefit plan for an employee who is absent due to disability or illness, or the protection of his or her employment during this period ...
Introduction: A Second Union is a “Marriage” of Competing Interests As a general rule, individuals who enter into a second marriage or a second union are more than 40 years of age, have accumulated their own property and have enjoyed a standard of living that they want to maintain or even improve upon ...
With more than 13 million working days a year lost to stress at an estimated cost of £3.8 billion to the economy, managing employees’ anxiety levels has never been more important Although the figure of half a million workers in the UK experiencing work-related stress at intolerable levels appears manageable, this is really only the tip of the iceberg with up to five million people feeling 'very' or 'extremely' stressed by work ...
By Eduardo A Trueba C. January 2005 Corporate subsistence, in an economy that each day becomes more competitive, dynamic and integrated to the global world in which we live, has exponentially increased corporate mergers and alliances, together with similar transactions, such as stock acquisitions from one company for another’s capital, company, know how, and royalties transfers, among others ...
The first legal issue to consider is whether your company has the power to carry out non-commercial dealings such as making political or charitable donations. The company's constitution should be reviewed to ensure the company is expressly empowered to make such donations. If no express power exists you could consider putting a relevant amendment of the constitution to a shareholders' vote ...
