It is well known that insurance companies negotiate low attorney hourly rates for defense of their policyholders.1 When a conflict arises that requires policyholders to retain independent counsel, insurers frequently try to impose those same rates on the policyholders’ selected attorneys. The ensuing fight over billing rates can discourage policyholders from selecting the best attorneys for the job ...
Practical Law Company has published a table on drug/substance abuse testing of employees, which sets out whether or not employers can carry out drug/substance abuse testing on employees both before they are employed, and during their employment in 28 jurisdictions. Jurisdictions covered include Brazil, Canada, China, Cyprus, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Philippines, Spain, Turkey, USA, United Arab Emirates and United Kingdom, among others ...
On April 1, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) brought its first enforcement action based on confidentiality agreements that the SEC alleged had the potential to “stifle the whistleblowing process.” Houston-based company KBR, Inc. (“KBR”), agreed to pay $130,000 as a civil penalty for including impermissible restrictions in confidentiality agreements signed by witnesses during internal investigations ...
Insurance is a part of virtually every transaction. Lenders want the security for a credit facility appropriately insured. Lessors and lessees alike want real and personal property protected by insurance. Buyers and sellers look to first-party and third-party policies to insure items sold and support the allocation of risk in indemnity provisions ...
In a case of significance to property owners, contractors and real estate developers alike, a federal court in Florida recently rejected an insurer’s attempt to avoid coverage for $23 million of damage caused by defective work, finding that the policyholder’s claim raised several genuine issues of material fact. The case is Pavarani Construction Co. (SE) Inc. v. ACE American Insurance Company, Case No.14-cv-20524-KING (S.D.Fla., Feb. 25, 2015) ...
Practical Law Company has published a table on rates of tax on employment income, which sets out the rates of taxation applied to employment income in 28 jurisdictions. Jurisdictions covered include Canada, China, Cyprus, England, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Philippines, Spain, Turkey, USA, United Arab Emirates and United Kingdom, among others. Content is accurate as of December 1, 2014 ...
The Chambers Asia-Pacific 2015 Guide is now available online and features an overview of the Philippinescontributed by SyCipLaw Managing Partner Rafael A. Morales.The guide is distributed to corporate counsel worldwide and is accessible through the Chambers website: www.chambersandpartners.com/guide/asia/8/172/1 ...
SUMMARYTHE SALE OF A BUSINESSGETTING READY TO SELL YOUR BUSINESS : ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUESTHE SALE OF A BUSINESS
Following the key judgments inFarber1 andCabiakman2 , thePotter3 judgment rendered on March 6, 2015 by the Supreme Court of Canada (the “Court”) emerges as another indispensable judgment in employment law. In this judgment, the Court decided that the administrative suspension with pay of an employee must be justified and reasonable, or otherwise it will, in most cases, constitute a constructive dismissal. THE CONTEXT Mr ...
Children are precious, and their health, safety and well-being are at the very heart of childcare providers’ responsibilities. Several actors work with or alongside children on a daily or occasional basis in order to provide them care and education. In selecting people who work with children, providers collect and use a great deal of information about them, including their studies, experience, qualifications and abilities ...
What changed? Resolution 0572/2015 completely replaced Resolution 6588/2013, which regulates restricted and non-restricted nationals. What does this change mean? Chinese, Indian, Thai, and Vietnamese citizens may now enter Colombia without previously requesting a visa as long as they hold a Shenghen C o D visa type or USA visa with the exception of transit C-1 visa ...
Vol. XII, Issue 4 of the Employment & Immigration Update includes the following articles:Doing Business: 2015Gender Equality in the WorkplaceStrengthening TripartismRecent Immigration Advisory and CircularsThe issue also contains information on recent Supreme Court decisions, labor and immigration news and circulars, and SyCipLaw updates.Download the Employment & Immigration Update 2014 4Q ...
On 3 March 2015 IVASS published Regulation No.8 (the “Regulation”) on the simplification of procedures and requirements in the relationship between insurance companies, intermediaries and clients, implementing section 22, paragraph 15 bis, of Law Decree of 18 October 2012,No. 179, converted into Law No. 221 dated 17 December 2012 ...
Practical Law Company’s Employment and employee benefits: Philippines Q&A Guide has now been published online and is available to access or download as PDF. The Guide was contributed by SyCipLawEmployment & Immigration Department Head Luisito V. Liban ...
Target, Home Depot, Sony, Anthem. All of these companies have been victims of very public cybersecurity breaches. Given what we know about those breaches, how can any other company know that it is safe from a cyber attack? No firewall appears to be unbreachable and no security system impenetrable. No company is big or small or traditional enough to avoid such exposure, as long as the business receives or transmits data or uses computer networks ...
The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of Culture jointly issued a Notice on the Relevant Formalities for Foreigners Entering China for Completing Short-Term Work Assignment (for Trial Implementation) ("Notice") on 6 November 2014 which provides for new visa and residence requirements on foreigners entering and staying in China for work for no more than 90 days ...
SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan has updated the Philippine Chapter of the International Background Checks Summaries. Published by the Employment Law Alliance, it is a free online resource guide that provides clients and ELA-registered website users with the general requirements and practices for conducting background checks on potential employees in selected countries around the world.Register to access this free resource ...
In a decision rendered on December 30, 20141, arbitrator Nathalie Faucher concluded that the dismissal imposed by a hospital centre on an employee for breach of confidentiality was well-founded. The employee, an administrative agent at the emergency room of the hospital centre, was dismissed for breaching her obligation of confidentiality. The employer stated that she had disclosed to a work colleague the fact that a patient had HIV ...
In a decision rendered on December 30, 20141, arbitrator Nathalie Faucher concluded that the dismissal imposed by a hospital centre on an employee for breach of confidentiality was well-founded. The employee, an administrative agent at the emergency room of the hospital centre, was dismissed for breaching her obligation of confidentiality. The employer stated that she had disclosed to a work colleague the fact that a patient had HIV ...
A recent decision1 by the Commission des relations du travail (“CRT”) highlights the plight of an employer faced with an employee who oversold his abilities during the job interview and later proves incapable of delivering on his promises. In this case, Laurentian Bank Securities inc. (“Laurentian”) successfully defended against a claim for dismissal without good and sufficient cause filed by a former employee. The facts of the case are commonplace ...
The Texas Supreme Court has looked to the drilling contract between Transocean and BP to limit BP’s “additional insured” coverage for liability arising out of the Deepwater Horizon disaster ...
SyCipLaw partner Hector M. de Leon, Jr. was interviewed by ALB’s Ranajit Dam for the cover story of its January issue. Entitled "The year in 2015," the article provides a forecast of 2015 economic and legal developments and trends in China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand.The article is available for viewing online at the ALB website. A copy of the entire January issue of ALB is also available through Issuu ...
On January 30, 2015, in the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour v. Saskatchewan (2015 SCC 4) decision, the Supreme Court of Canada further clarified the scope of the rights of workers pursuant to section 2(d) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the “Charter”). Indeed, in its 2007 decision better known as B.C. Health ([2007] 2 S.C.R ...
In Commission des normes du travail v. Compagnie d'assurances Standard Life du Canada,1 (the “Standard Life of Canada case”), the Court of Québec allowed an employer to file a counterclaim against an employee in the context of proceedings instituted by the Commission des normes du travail (“CNT”) on behalf of that same employee ...
In a unanimous decision dated November 17, 2014,1 the Court of Appeal of Québec held that the procedural fairness rules applicable in administrative and public law do not apply in the context of a psychological harassment investigation conducted by an employer. As a result, the Court set aside the judgment of the Court of Québec ordering the lawyer who conducted the investigation to pay $3,000 in damages ...
