In the recent case ofAslan v Stepanoski[1](the Aslan case), the Court of Appeal of New South Wales, Australia upheld a builder’s action suspending the performance of works over non-payment and denial of access to the site by the employer. The Court held that the contractor’s decision to suspend works was not a repudiatory conduct as he was entitled to do so under the contract ...
In April 2020, we reported on the first cases that were conducted remotely via video conferencing facilities (VCF) during the court closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic. More than a year has passed and, although Covid-19 is still posing challenges, the courts have reopened and continue to embrace technology to facilitate social distancing ...
IN THIS ARTICLE, WONG KIAN JUN CONSIDERS A RE-LOOK AT THE LAWS ON RETRENCHMENT Introduction During uncertain times and shrinking profits, organisations may decide to reorganise their business structure in order to create a leaner workforce thereby reducing their operating costs to weather the impact of a slowing economy. Inevitably, the reorganisation would result in the retrenchment of its employees who are considered surplus to the needs of the organisation ...
Key Points As litigation under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) continues to drive lengthier and costlier environmental reviews, the use of "categorical exemptions" can provide a quick and efficient path towards CEQA compliance – but only if the exemption is legally sound and defensible. California's Fifth District Court of Appeal recently published Los Angeles Department of Water and Power v. County of Inyo (Cal. Ct. App., Aug. 17, 2021, No ...
IN THIS ARTICLE, REENA ENBASEGARAM LOOKS AT THE ISSUE OF RESTRUCTURING THE WAGE SYSTEM OF HOTEL EMPLOYEES. Introduction Service charge is a practice unique to the hotel industry whereby it is imposed on the bills issued to the customers ...
Summary The 2022 proxy season will continue to be affected by the aftershocks of the COVID-19 pandemic, and will be predominantly shaped by the landmark events of the 2021 proxy season, where ESG matters moved from unconventional to mainstream, and women held a historic amount of board seats of the Russell 3000 companies ...
In FanDuel, Inc., v. Interactive Games LLC, No. 2019-1393 (Fed. Cir. July 29, 2020), the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (Board) did not violate the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) by rejecting the prior-art combination on which it instituted inter parties review (IPR). The relevant patent claims related to a method of gambling on a mobile device ...
This decision of the Superior Court of Québec addresses a pregnant worker’s right to preventive withdrawal where said worker is employed by a business under federal jurisdiction.1 In this case, questions of constitutional jurisdiction were raised and the Superior Court confirmed that article 36 of the Québec Act Respecting Occupational Health and Safety2 (the “Act”) is not applicable to businesses under federal jurisdiction ...
The article appeared in the 2005 edition of The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Environment Law; published and reproduced with kind permission of Global Legal Group Ltd, London ...
The Consumer Protection Act 1987 (the CPA) was enacted almost 35 years ago in order to implement EU law. The act introduced the concept of “strict liability” into the arena of product supply to certain users. This means that consumers who are injured by defective products can sue manufacturers without having to prove negligence. This practical guide provides an overview of the CPA for consumers and manufacturers, with reference to recent key cases ...
Many businesses rely upon restrictive covenants with their employees. These include noncompete agreements, nonsolicitation agreements and confidentiality agreements. These agreements are intended to ensure that the investment a business makes in its employees, its customer relationships and confidential information are adequately protected. Recently, multiple new rules have been proposed that could see many of these agreements ruled unlawful and unenforceable in the United States ...
In recent years, the job market has changed considerably, especially further to the pandemic and the impacts it has had. Employers and employees in Quebec faced unprecedented situations, and these appear to have led to a significant increase in claims for recognition of psychological occupational injuries, such as adjustment disorders and depression ...
‘A whole new planning system for England’ is what Boris Johnson was promising in his introduction to the Planning White Paper. He also took a sideswipe at the current system for providing “nowhere near enough homes in the right places” ...
Key Points: Since Governor Newsom announced a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 outbreak, private Proposition 65 enforcement has increased by about 50%. Effective April 1st, new regulations clarify how manufacturers can satisfy their Proposition 65 warning obligations. These new regulations also clarify when retail sellers assume the burden under Proposition 65 to warn Californians ...
In M&K Holdings, Inc., v. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., 2020-1160 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 1, 2021), the Federal Circuit found that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (Board) violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) by finding a patent claim unpatentable using a “markedly” different theory from the one the patent challenger presented. In this case, the patent challenger (i.e ...
It is, to say the least, an overwhelming time. On 16 March 2020, the government presented a proposal for support measures to companies and employees to mitigate the effects of the corona virus. The proposal was followed on 19 March 2020, by the bill “Additional Amending Budget due to the Corona Virus”. Read this article as a PDF here ...
Business owners grudgingly accept lawsuits as a part of doing business. If you’re doing what it takes to advance your business, you will suffer the bumps and bruises that will result in your name on a legal pleading. You may even be the one who files the lawsuit.Almost any money you can recover in a lawsuit is eaten up by lost employee time, and, perhaps more importantly, the business owner’s loss of focus on healthy profits. If you are the one sued, you can never win ...
A regional director was fired for poor performance.According to her dismissal letter, she was terminated because of her behavior that had led a number of co-workers to suffer from stress and harassment. More particularly, the letter pointed out her directive management style and her authoritative leadership, a lack of consistency and honesty, the fact that she aimed at discouraging her team members and did not treat them with respect using an insulting and degrading language ...
Earlier this year, the European Court of Justice ("CJEU") has thrown out an appeal by Nestlé, which argued that it owns the shape of its famous treat KitKat. Nestlé, the world's largest food and beverage company, has spent more than a decade fighting to trademark the four-fingered wafer shape. However, EJC's most recent ruling could bring an end to the snack's protected European status ...
In this two-part series, we look back at the various changes to immigration routes which took place in 2023 and what to expect in 2024. In May 2023, we saw the Office for National Statistics release net migration statistics which showed that net migration to the UK was increasing, followed in December 2023 by a revision of such figures to show an even greater increase than what was initially expected ...
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act was enacted in 1996 to provide websites with immunity from liability arising from posting third-party content. For a service provider to be immune, however, the information at issue must be provided by another information content provider. This begs the question of whether website operators provide the content on their platforms or act solely as intermediaries for third-party content ...
Introduction The Covid-19 global pandemic which has swept the globe and caused many countries to introduce various degrees of lock down measures has given rise to various issues and scenarios which an employer must deal with and manage. This is no different for employers in Malaysia where the Government has implemented the Movement Control Order (“MCO”) since 18 March 2020 which saw the economic activity brought to a halt ...
