“Therein the patient must minister to himself” (Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 3) With only seven days to go before the expiry on 1 April 2010 of the previous insurance block exemption, the European Commission adopted a new exemption, albeit in very much reduced form ...
Just one day after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit indicated that it would consider the current state of the inequitable conduct doctrine en banc in Therasense, Inc. v. Becton Dickinson and Co., a split panel of the Federal Circuit issued a decision in the case of Avid Identification Systems, Inc. v. Crystal Import Corp. affirming a lower court’s finding of inequitable conduct ...
Rolling out OSHA’s semiannual regulatory agenda on April 26, 2010, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis unveiled several action items being marketed as the “Plan, Prevent, and Protect” enforcement strategy. According to the Secretary, employers too often take shortcuts affecting worker safety and, therefore, must plan for workplace hazards, prevent them, and protect their employees ...
As of 6 April 2010, the sick note will change and become the fit note, allowing doctors to advise on how employees may be able to return to work. Employers must not be mistaken with how this new regime fits with the existing reporting procedures under The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR) for over three day injuries ...
The escalation of fierce competition among companies for more cost effective products and services has raised discussions about Social Dumping, a curious combination of a traditional pure economic concept with labour and employment regulation ...
On March 21, 2010, the House of Representatives passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”), which President Obama signed into law on March 23, 2010. The health care reform law will make far-reaching changes to the United States health care system over the next several years. The House and Senate also passed a separate bill, the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (“HCERA”), which President Obama signed into law on March 30, 2010 ...
USCIS has issued a notice to assist those non-immigrants stranded in the U.S. due to European airport closures resulting from the Icelandic volcano eruption. The notice addresses those who are about to exceed their authorized stay in the U.S., which is noted on their I-94 or I-94W arrival/departure record. Those who have entered the U.S. under a visa are directed to contact their local USCIS office and to file an extension of status application before their authorized stay expires ...
Under the new system, GPs will indicate whether the patient is "unfit for work" or "may be fit for work". In the latter case, he will advise of any adjustments to the employee's role or work environment from which the employee may benefit. These might include a phased return, restricted duties, altered hours or even physical adaptations to the workplace ...
The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) is finally moving towards its full complement of five members. On March 27, 2010, President Barack Obama made two recess appointments (a procedure not requiring legislative approval), increasing the NLRB’s membership from the two that have been serving the past couple of years to four members. The appointments still leave the NLRB one member short; however, three members constitute a quorum that can unquestionably decide cases before the Board ...
2009 Prediction: Further penetration of Software as a Service (SaaS) Australia will see a proliferation of businesses adopting SaaS in 2009. With no hardware, maintenance or upfront capital costs, SaaS will be seen as ideal for companies looking to control their costs in an uncertain economic environment. Some analysts predict that the global SaaS industry may be worth as much as A$10.7 billion during 2009 ...
In Brazil the payment of profit sharing is regulated by Law # 10101/2000 (“Profit Sharing Law”), which sets the terms and conditions that the company’s plans have to meet in order to have such payments excluded from the basis of calculation of the mandatory labor benefits (vacation bonus, 13th salary, etc.) and the social security contributions ...
FACTS Mr. Gibbens, the insured, became a paraplegic following an inflammation of his spinal cord. This inflammation was caused by the herpes HSV-2 virus, contracted during unprotected sexual intercourse with three different women in January and February 2003. A diagnosis of viral infection was confirmed on February 17, 2003. Mr. Gibbens’s condition deteriorated rapidly and, on February 23, 2003, he became paraplegic ...
Academics are often called to give evidence as expert witnesses and use the name of their employer institution in doing so. Indeed, an association with a well-known tertiary institution is often a drawcard when selecting an expert witness. As the discussion below demonstrates, an expert's role is not necessarily straightforward ...
At the end of January, the 468-page judgement of BSkyB v EDS was published, nearly eighteen months after the court hearing closed. Many, varied and worrying predictions as to the potential impact of this judgement had been made, but ultimately the judgement is unlikely to lead to radical changes in the relationship between IT and other suppliers and their customers ...
The decision by an employer to off er a pension plan to its employees is an important one. Various types of pension plans may be off ered, and the financial risk of the employer depends on the type of plan chosen.While unions and employees generally prefer defined benefit pension plans,(1) employers are now very reluctant to implement such plans because of the financial liability they entail ...
The government has released a discussion paper outlining proposals for the reform of Australia's insolvent trading laws designed to ensure that the insolvency laws complement and assist the conduct of workouts. The paper seeks submissions on issues that arise for directors from operation of the insolvent trading laws, particularly in the context of attempts at business rescue outside formal insolvency administrations ...
A landmark High Court decision handed down yesterday will have a significant impact on how regulators approach prosecutions of employers for breaches of occupational health and safety laws (OHS laws) across Australia ...
With regard to the professional obligations of a lawyer, is it possible outside the physical confines of the tribunal to let a judge know exactly what he thinks of him? Should the response be negative, does it not unduly restrain his right to freedom of expression otherwise guaranteed to all by virtue of the charters of rights and freedoms? This is the question to which the Court of Appeal had to respond recently by rendering judgment in the case of Doré v ...
The Pay Equity Act (hereinafter the “Act”) celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2006. To mark the occasion, the Commission de l’équité salariale took stock of what had been achieved. After completing this analysis, on May 27, 2009, the National Assembly passed Bill 25, which made several amendments to the Act. These amendments came into force on May 28, 2009 ...
The verdict has finally arrived in the long-running IT dispute between EDS and BSkyB, for which the trial ended over a year ago. With legal fees of around £70m and an anticipated damages award of £200m (against a contract reportedly worth only £48m), the case will change the landscape of supplying IT products and services forever. EDS supplied a customer relationship management system to BSkyB ...
The Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 (the "Act") received Royal Assent on 12 November 2009. Among other things it introduces a new statutory right for employees to request time off from work to study or train. From 6 April 2010 the new right only applies to employers with 250 or more employees. It is expected to apply to all other employers from 6 April 2011 ...
Some unexpected changes have highlighted the introduction of new employee share scheme legislation, which received Royal Assent on 14 December 2009. Companies will need to give the legislation close consideration given the impact it will have on employee equity plans, particularly the drafting of plan rules and offer documents ...
In light of recent case law on who properly qualifies as the employer of employees hired through an employment agency, it is essential for every organization to review its operating procedures to be sure of their legal and financial implications. This review, which we perform on behalf of managers of facilities in the heath-care industry, is effective in ensuring the sound management of the organization and preventing litigation ...
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is modifying the computer program it uses to calculate Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) in light of the recent decision in Wyeth v. Kappos, No. 2009-1120 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 7, 2010). In Wyeth, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed that the USPTO has been improperly calculating patent term adjustment under 35 U.S.C. § 154(b). The Federal Circuit’s decision will result in additional patent term for many U.S ...
In what may be a new opportunity for cybersquatters, the Colombian .CO registry will soon allow for registration of domain names ending in simply .CO. Such domain names may be a prime platform for social networking sites and brand owners. As the registry explains, the acronym .CO can be associated with terms that include company, corporation, commerce, communities, content, connect, communication, collaborate, and consumers ...
