The question raised in the case was whether a previously concluded agreement on salary cuts could be set aside in the event of the employer's bankruptcy to the effect that an employee could receive salary from the Employees' Guarantee Fund as if no agreement on salary cuts had been entered into between the employer and the employee some months before the employer went bankrupt ...
Although like in most EU countries, there is no specific regulation in France on social media, judges have recently answered very clearly to this question: it depends on the privacy settings made by the employee!French judges make a clear distinction between (i) social media postings that remain private (i.e ...
On November 30, 2012, the long-awaited amendments to the Mexican federal labor law were published in the Official Gazette of the Federation (Diario Oficial de la Federación). The primary purpose of this set of reforms is to promote job creation and to attempt to regularize labor relationships that arise informally ...
The Quebec Court of Appeal rendered an important decision on the legality of termination of employment for some 190 employees of the Wal-Mart store in Jonquière. In the context of several proceedings which were filed to obtain compensation for those job losses, the United Food and Commercial Workers, local 503 (hereinafter the "Union") argued that the store's closure in April 2005 was contrary to section 59 of the Labour Code (hereinafter the "L.C.") ...
Since the adoption of Bill C-451 amending certain provisions of the Criminal Code in march of 2004,2 employers have had to take on increased responsibility in the area of occupational health and safety. Indeed, the effect of sections 22.1 and 217.1 of the Criminal Code is to facilitate the laying of criminal negligence charges in cases involving the health and safety of workers. Section 217 ...
The Supreme Court of Canada decision in R v Cole, 2012 SCC 53 may have a significant impact on how employers manage the use of digital devices in the workplace. While a constitutional and criminal decision at its core, the case nevertheless recognizes the importance of employees’ reasonable expectation of privacy when using work computers and other digital devices. In Cole, the accused was a high school teacher who was issued a laptop computer by his employer ...
The constitutional right to privacy was discussed in the decision promulgated on 18 October 2011 by the Philippine Supreme Court (SC) in the case of Briccio “Ricky” A. Pollo v. Chairperson Karina Constantino-David, et al. (G.R. No ...
The use of social media is now a fact of life, but many employers are struggling to keep up with the consequences of rapid technological change.Technology develops fast: it is hard to believe that Twitter has only been with us since 2006. The law moves more slowly and regulating new employee behaviours within the existing legal framework can be a challenge ...
In an article published in the 09 August 2012 issue of Law Technology News, lawyer and media consultant Robert J. Ambrogi of Massachusetts gave some tips to keep social networking in line with ethics. First, remember that the same rules apply. Blogs, social networks, Twitter, and the like remain relatively new forms of media, but the same old ethical rules apply. Second, do not betray client confidences ...
With election fever in full swing, you might expect governing to take a back seat to politics. However, on September 28, 2012, President Obama signed Senate Bill 3245 into law. Senate Bill 3245 renews four U.S. Department of Homeland Security-administered programs, including E-Verify and the EB-5 Regional Center program. As such, both programs have been extended by three years from their original termination dates of September 30, 2012 to September 30, 2015 ...
Temporary Suspension of the Definition of Pension Plans (employees' deductible expenses) as those approved by the “Corresponding Authority” Provisional Suspension of mandatory use of Banking System to evidence Payments and Disbursements of Expenses Higher than Q.30,000 ...
Last summer, North Carolina adopted into law "An Act to Require Counties, Cities and Employers to Use the Federal E-Verify Program to Verify the Work Authorization of Newly Hired Employees" (the "Act"). What this means to private employers is that depending on the size of your workforce, you may be required to use the E-Verify program for all hiring. Effective October 1, 2012, all North Carolina employers with more than 500 employees must use the E-Verify program ...
On June 14, 2012, the Quebec Court of Appeal confirmed the validity of the second paragraph of section 56 of the Act Respecting Industrial Accidents and Occupational Diseases1 (hereinafter the “AIAOD” or the “Act”)2. Although this paragraph establishes a distinction based on age, the Court of Appeal is of the opinion that it is neither invalid nor discriminatory. The Court came to this conclusion in particular because the appellant, Mr ...
As the U.S. involvement in conflicts around the world continues to draw down, hundreds of thousands of veterans are returning to the civilian work force. In fact, more than 100,000 troops are estimated to return to the workforce in the next three years. Many of these service members were employed in the private sector prior to their military service. The Uniform Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (“USERRA”), 38 U.S.C. § 4301 et seq ...
The Centers for Disease Control has ranked West Virginia as having the third highest percentage of obese adults in the United States, and the percentage of obese adults in Virginia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania rival that of West Virginia. Such a high percentage of overweight adults renders the possibility that obesity could become a protected class, and thus could become an issue to all employers ...
The United States Supreme Court has recently armed employers with two new defenses while settling an issue that may otherwise have been of fairly limited direct interest to most employers. The Court resolved a recent circuit split – the issue was largely resolved until 2009 regarding whether pharmaceutical representatives qualified as outside salesmen under the Fair Labor Standards Act ...
A number of laws and regulations have been promulgated in the past few years to introduce a series of changes to the PRC Labour Law, among which the key legislations are the PRC Labour Contract Law effective on 1 January 2008 and its detailed implementing regulations effective on 18 September 2008 ("Laws") ...
The employer, Centre Jeunesse de Montreal - University Institute (Hereinafter the "Centre") adopted a dess code as well as a piercings, tattoos and personal appearance policy for its employees (Hereinafter the "Policy") Although the validity of the policy was contested by the CANADIAN UNION OF PUBLIC EMPLOYEES, local 4268 (Hereinafter the "Union"), the arbitrator, Mr ...
On August 9, 2012, the Supreme Court of Canada granted the application for leave to appeal filed by Vivendi Canada Inc. against the decision rendered in February 2012 by the Québec Court of Appeal. This decision authorized Mr. Michel Dell’Aniello to bring a class action against Vivendi Canada Inc. in connection with revisions made unilaterally by Vivendi Canada Inc. to the group medical insurance benefits plan for retirees ...
For employment lawyers, the elements of an employment discrimination lawsuit are second nature: a plaintiff must belong to a protected class,the employer must make an adverse employment decision, and the employermust act based on the plaintiff’s protected status. And, for the most part, employment lawyers have mastered the art of defending clients against these claims and advising on strategies and policies to avoid them altogether or minimize the likelihood of success ...
For employment lawyers, the elements of an employment discrimination lawsuit are second nature: a plaintiff must belong to a protected class, the employer must make an adverse employment decision, and the employer must act based on the plaintiff’s protected status. And, for the most part, employment lawyers have mastered the art of defending clients against these claims and advising on strategies and policies to avoid them altogether or minimize the likelihood of success ...
During the ITMA Asia + CITMA 2012 in Shanghai (12th - 16th June 2012), an exhibition of worldwide fame for textile machinery manufacturers, the Belgian company Picanol NV has at a Shanghai court successfully applied for and enforced interim injunctions to stop design patent infringements against three Chinese manufacturers, Guangdong Fengkai Machinery Co., Ltd., Shandong Liaocheng Youjia Textile Machinery Co., Ltd. and Zhejiang Wanli Textile and Machinery Co ...
Employers who consider arrest and conviction records when making employment decisions should be aware that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (the "EEOC") has issued new enforcement guidance regarding the issue ...
Third Amendment to the Employment CodeLaw 23/2012, which was published on 25 June, introduces the third amendment to the Employment Code. The new legislative text results, to a great extent, from the commitments made by the Portuguese State in the Memorandum of Understanding of 17 May 2012, and its aim is to improve employment legislation by updating, organising and speeding up processes ...
