Regional Legal Update on Labor and Employment Law Issues DFDL’s Employment Practice Group is dedicated to advising clients on employment and labor issues and preparing human resources documentation that is compliant with local laws. Our employment team’s in-depth knowledge of the law and practices in the countries where we operate allows us to provide specialized, tailored, and practical advice on issues that arise in employment relationships ...
Developments in light of COVID-19 Unlike previous years, there were no major legislations or government regulations on labor and employment issues in 2021 ...
Below are 10 important things to know about the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) Loan Forgiveness Applications and the detailed instructions for the revised and updated applications posted on May 24, 2021, as well as other forgiveness procedures as updated by the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act (the “Economic Aid Act” or “PPP2 Act”) ...
Aspects of Application of Period of Limitation in Promissory Note and Bill of Exchange Matters In recent years, a substantial growth of the bill of exchange and promissory note circulation has been observed in Ukraine. To a considerable extent, this growth was fostered by the expansion and normalization of the regulatory framework for negotiable instruments ...
We have already entered a state of emergency pursuant to the Decree issued by the President of Romania imposing a state of emergency on the territory of Romania, published in the Official Gazette Part I no. 212 on March 16th, 2020 (the “Decree”), and we can already see the changes and reactions triggered by this situation. The state of emergency proclaimed for a period of 30 days starting from March 16th, 2020 has a far-reaching impact in all domains ...
On April 21, 2021, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral arguments in Minerva Surgical, Inc., v. Hologic, Inc., et al., Case No. 20-440, concerning whether to limit, abolish, or uphold the doctrine of assignor estoppel. The doctrine of assignor estoppel, generally stated, prevents an inventor who assigns his patent from later challenging its validity ...
Given the current economic climate, many employers are reformulating their businesses or are aiming to cut costs, which may give rise to more cases of proposed redundancies. We discuss how affected employees can best navigate these uncertain times. A redundancy situation is rarely welcomed by both employers and employees; they can represent financial hardship, both for employers struggling with profitability, and the inevitable direct impact on individual employees and their families ...
[!<CDATA[ In one of its recent opinions, Kellogg Brown & Root Services, Inc. v. Sec’y of the Army, the Federal Circuit issued new guidance on what contractors must show to prove the reasonableness of costs incurred following an (alleged) government-caused delay. The U.S. Army (the “Army”) and Kellogg Brown & Root Services, Inc. (“KBR”) contracted for KBR to deliver thousands of trailers to Iraq by an agreed-upon deadline ...
Those seeking reasons to be optimistic about Ukraine’s judicial system can rejoice: Justice prevailed, or so ruled the High Commercial Court of Ukraine, the likely final arbiter in a dispute between the state Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine and ACNielsen Ukraine, a market research firm ...
A recent opinion from the Court of Appeals of Georgia illustrates that contracts entered into with an unlicensed contractor, which are often unenforceable by an unlicensed contractor under many states’ laws, likely will not defeat the Federal Arbitration Act’s (FAA) deference to arbitration as the forum for determining whether a contract is valid and enforceable. In Jhun v. Imagine Castle, LLC, the Jhuns hired defendant Imagine Castle to perform remodeling work at their home ...
No-fault attendance policies may be on a watchlist for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. A recent matter before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, EEOC v. Eberspaecher North America Inc., suggests that the EEOC is interested in how those policies work. It seems the EEOC wants to determine if such policies potentially violate the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the agency may want to pursue that interest on a national scale ...
Under California law, employees are entitled to “one day’s rest therefrom in seven,” unless certain statutory exceptions apply. In Mendoza v. Nordstrom, Inc., 2 Cal. 5th 1074 (2017), the California Supreme Court addressed several ambiguities in the statutory language, giving employers much needed guidance on how to comply with California’s day of rest requirements ...
As the retail sector is one of the sectors most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, employers within it might be considering dismissing employees for economic or technical reasons ...
Many employers routinely ask job applicants about their salary or earnings history, either in written job applications, during interviews, or during post-offer salary negotiations. Such activities will soon be prohibited in San Francisco. Earlier this month, the City’s Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to ban employers from asking job applicants about their salary history or from considering such information in determining whether to hire an applicant or what salary to offer ...
An important update to Georgia’s statutory lien waiver laws will take effect on January 1, 2021. This summer, Georgia enacted an amendment to O.C.G.A. § 44-14-366 (the Lien Waiver Statute), that alters the form for interim and final lien waivers. The new statute makes it clear that lien waivers only waive lien or bond rights against the property and do not waive the right to file a lawsuit for non-payment or other related claims ...
The U.S. Supreme Court again unanimously reversed the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, this time in two cases relating to attorney fees for patent infringement: Octane Fitness v. Icon Health & Fitness, No. 12-1184, and Highmark v. Allcare Health Mgmt. Sys., No. 12-1163. The Federal Circuit is now 0-3 in cases before the court so far this term, and it has persuaded a grand total of zero justices to support affirmance in any of those cases. See Medtronic v ...
Attorneys who litigate common law bad faith and Unfair Trade Practices Act claims are well aware that insureds who substantially prevail in an underlying contract action for insurance proceeds are entitled to an award of attorneys’ fees under Hayseeds, Inc. v. State Farm Fire & Casualty, 177 W. Va. 323, 352 S.E.2d 73 (1986) ...
The Austin Court of Appeals has temporarily blocked implementation of an Austin city ordinance that would require employers to provide paid sick leave to employees. The ordinance was set to take effect on October 1, 2018. The City of Austin passed the paid sick leave ordinance in February of 2018. The State of Texas immediately filed suit to challenge the ordinance claiming that it was preempted by the Texas Minimum Wage Act ...
Short-time work is generally understood to be the temporary, foreseeable reduction in normal working hours (by at least 10% to a maximum of 90%). A special feature of Corona Immediate Assistance Short-Time Flex is that working hours can even be reduced to zero. Short-time work requires a social partner agreement and contact with the Austrian Labour Market Service (Arbeitsmarktservice – AMS) ...
In this matter, the employer, Enforce Security Group (“Enforce”), was a private security services provider contracting out security officers to its clients. The security officers were employed on the basis that their period of employment would endure until the termination of the service contract between Enforce and the client whose premises the employee would be assigned to. This type of provision is commonly referred to as an “automatic termination clause” ...
The coronavirus disease continues to cause headaches for businesses all over the globe. Travel restrictions are leading to cancellations of small meetings and large-scale conferences; factory shutdowns are causing massive supply shortages; employees are being told to stay home from work. Whatever challenges you face in these uncertain times, it is important to remember that your business is not immune from government scrutiny ...
The UK's competition authority (CMA) unusually cleared a merger (Sony Music / AWAL) after nine months of investigation. Could a Phase 2 investigation have been avoided? On 16 March 2022 the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) issued its final report into the completed acquisition by Sony Music Entertainment (Sony Music) of AWAL and Kobalt Neighbouring rights businesses from Kobalt Music Group Limited ...
In our fourth article in the series focusing on the risk of discrimination in the workplace, we consider the protected characteristic of pregnancy and maternity, the common issues that arise and what employers should do to avoid claims of discrimination. Despite the Equality Act 2010 (EqA) making it unlawful to discriminate against women because of pregnancy or maternity leave, women continue to face significant challenges in the workplace when they become parents ...
