Over the years, the Quebec courts have repeatedly stated that dismissed employees have a duty to mitigate the damages they suffer as a result of a dismissal. This obligation, which is now codified in the Civil Code of Québec,1 has been adapted to the circumstances of the cases over which the courts have presided. The question, then, is whether the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to have an impact on a dismissed employee?s obligation to mitigate damages ...
Working remotely combined with “The Great Resignation” has raised questions about how employers can best protect their business interests in this new world of work. Rewind a few years and most employees were physically attending the workplace every day, which in turn made it easier for employers to monitor the work being carried out by their employees and ensure that confidential files were locked away safely ...
The joint employer rule has been a hot topic in the last several years, mostly in the context of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Recall the drama of the Trump administration's narrower definition of a joint employer for wage purposes, followed by the Biden administration's almost immediate rescission of that rule. Gig economy workers have battled about overtime and their entitlement to it under the FLSA's definitions ...
Oral Argument Scheduled for April 8 on Federal Contractor Vaccine Mandate Injunction Scheduled for April 8, 2022, with each side being afforded 15 minutes for argument. It appears that oral argument may be livestreamed by the 11th Circuit. Injunction Against Federal Contractor Vaccine Mandate Oral argument held on the United States’ appeal of a federal district court judge’s December 7, 2021, decision in Georgia v. Biden, Case No ...
Dear valued clients, colleagues and friends,With effect from 1 April 2022, Malaysia will enter the “Transition to Endemic” phase ...
The Ohio House of Representatives passed HB 447 in February, 2022 and the bill is now pending approval by the Ohio Senate. If passed, this bill could expand the definition of a work injury to include some injuries sustained in the employee’s own home, provided certain criteria are met. Certainly, the precipitating reason for this proposed bill is the recent increase in remote and telework arrangements as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and its repercussions ...
When faced with an OSHA citation, it is not uncommon for an employer to acknowledge that a rule was violated, accept the citation, pay the penalty, and move on. Often, evidence that a rule was violated is easily obtained by an OSHA inspector ...
This Q&A is part of the publication prepared to provide insights into hiring remote workers in Asia Pacific by members of the Employment Law Alliance (ELA). SyCipLaw contributed the guide for the Philippine jurisdiction. You may access the complete publication here. Q. Is it possible for a foreign jurisdiction entity to hire remote workers in your country? What are the basic legal requirements (if any) for hiring remote workers from a foreign jurisdiction (contractor vs ...
Undertaking post-employment notice pay (“PENP”) calculations when an employee leaves a business can be complex and easy to get wrong. We discuss some of the issues facing employers when carrying out these calculations. Background PENP is relevant to determining the correct tax treatment of termination payments ...
Dinsmore employment law attorney Alyson St. Pierre authored an article for The Indiana Lawyer regarding a recent Indiana law that does not automatically grant religious exemptions from COVID-19 vaccinations and instead allows employers to investigate the validity of religious exemption requests. An excerpt is below ...
Dinsmore Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer Tammy Bennett, a labor and employment partner, was a featured panelist in a Columbus Business First roundtable discussion on the future of the American workforce, including the Great Resignation. The full article is below. Record numbers of people are changing jobs, quitting to start entrepreneurial ventures or exiting the labor force entirely ...
Non-EEA nationals practising self-employed activities in Belgium must apply for a professional card, unless they can benefit from a legal exemption. Since 1 January 2022 a new and simplified application procedure has come into force in the Flemish region [1]. At the same time, the Flemish government has introduced a new exemption: subject to certain requirements being met, non-EEA nationals taking up a corporate mandate are exempted from the professional card obligation ...
On 10 December 2021, President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law Republic Act No. 11595 (“RA No. 11595”) which introduced important amendments to the Retail Trade Liberalization Act of 2000 (“RTLA”), including the following salient revisions: RA No. 11595 reduced the paid-up capital requirements for foreign retailers, regardless of category, from PHP 25 Million to a minimum paid-up capital of only PHP 25 Million ...
Background Ukrainian citizens fleeing their homeland due to the ongoing crisis are welcome to Romania, where they will receive protection and necessary support. During their stay in Romania, accommodation, food and medical services are accessible for Ukrainians seeking safety from the ongoing military invasion, as a result of a combined effort of the authorities and unrivalled mobilization of private entities and the civil society ...
Two years after Portland law firms sent employees home to work remotely during the Covid-19 public emergency, they are starting to return to downtown — but not to the five-day-a-week routine of pre-pandemic times. “As employers, we have to be flexible to the myriad of circumstances,” said Graciela Gomez Cowger, CEO of Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt. “We’ve been profoundly disrupted ...
The enforceability of restrictive covenants is critical to protecting organisations’ legitimate business interests. A recent summary judgment application sheds light on the approach to be taken where covenants are contained in a shareholders’ agreement ...
A recent decision from Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal addressed the issue of whether a subcontractor that failed to obtain local licenses required by a county ordinance was allowed to litigate claims for work that required those licenses ...
In January, Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal affirmed a $638,794.10 award for damages in favor of a utility contract, and reversed an award of $177,750 in liquidated damages in favor of the county that hired it. The damages awarded arose from an improper stoppage of work and delay in construction by the county. Sarasota County Florida v. Southern Underground Industries, Inc ...
On Feb. 24, 2022, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the redesign of its Global and Professional Direct Contracting (GPDC) accountable care organization (ACO) into one that focuses on health equity. The redesigned model, Realizing Equity, Access, and Community Health (REACH), was modified to reflect the Biden administration’s policy priorities as well as stakeholder feedback and participant experience ...
On February 28, 2022, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued new guidance on the state's masking requirements to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The key changes in the guidance show a post-Omicron variant and surge shift from mandatory masking, to a strong recommendation to mask in certain settings ...
Holiday pay cases continue to make their way through the court system. One of the most significant of these, brought by Mr Smith against Pimlico Plumbers, has hit the press again, leaving employers with yet more uncertainty. Background Workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks' paid holiday per year under the Working Time Regulations 1998 (the “WTR”), made up of 4 weeks’ leave derived from the Working Time Directive (Euro-Leave) and an additional 1 ...
Joint employers and independent contractors need to be aware of recent announcements of both the United States Department of Labor (DOL) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). These bodies have announced significant changes to current regulations with respect to their standards for joint employers and independent contractors ...