Equity crowdfunding will soon have a new framework in which to operate in Canada and this is excellent news for investors and startups alike ...
Last April 27, the Court of Appeal of Quebec dismissed the appeal, from the bench, by the Attorney General of Quebec concerning the use of English trademarks on public signs ...
The Parliament of the Republic of Serbia adopted the Law on Conditions for Secondment of Employees Abroad and their Protection (the “Law”). The Law will be applicable two months following its coming into force, i.e. 13 January 2016. The Law regulates the secondment of employees abroad in a more modern manner compared to the currently applicable Law on Protection of Citizens of FR of Yugoslavia working abroad ...
UPDATE: On December 21, 2015, Common Pleas Judge Joseph James struck down the employee sick leave ordinance, ruling that Pittsburgh’s City Council lacked authority to “to enact any ordinance determining any duty, responsibility or requirement of a business or private employer.” The ordinance would have required employers of more than 15 employees to provide up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per year and smaller employers to offer up to 24 hours of paid sick leave ...
A federal appellate court in the Midwest suggests that while unions do not have blanket approval to inspect an employer’s worksite, the union’s interest in safety generally will outweigh an employer’s interest in confidentiality and property rights. The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, in Caterpillar, Inc. v. NLRB, 803 F.3d 360 (7th Cir ...
As a veteran of the United States Marine Corps and someone who has seen the challenges that veterans face firsthand, I can attest to the benefits of giving veterans an opportunity to return to work following periods of service and providing families with the opportunity to manage the needs of their servicemembers. At Spilman, we feel that employers should adhere to best practices guidelines and prepare to implement and facilitate such enforcement ...
In October, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) employed a little-used procedural doctrine to issue a consolidated complaint against a parent company of a chain of hospitals located throughout the U.S. The NLRB issued the consolidated complaint, which included 29 unfair labor practice charges, against Community Health Systems, Inc ...
The Court of Justice has issued a judgment invalidating the European Commission’s Safe Harbour decision. This means that participation in the Safe Harbour programme by US entities is no longer grounds for European companies to transfer personal data of EEA citizens to the United States. On 6 October 2015, the Court of Justice of the European Union held that the European Commission’s decision approving the Safe Harbour programme is invalid (Schrems v Data Protection Commissioner, Case C-362/14) ...
SyCipLaw Partner Leslie C. Dy participated in the World Bank Group’s Women, Business and the Law 2016: Getting to Equal. The 2016 edition, the fourth in the series, continues to cover and collect data about legal restrictions on women’s entrepreneurship and employment. The series aims to inform policy discussions and promote research on linkages between the law and women’s economic opportunities ...
Across Africa, investments in infrastructure have failed to keep pace with growth and demand, creating a tremendous infrastructure deficit. Less than 40pc of the population across the continent, and only 26pc of the population of sub-Saharan Africa, has access to electricity.Approximately, 34pc of the population has access to improved sanitation facilities, and 35pc lack access to clean drinking water ...
The Government of Indonesia has recently issued a series of regulations in an attempt to further regulate pension securities and amend the old age security programs in Indonesia, namely Government Regulation No. 45 of 2015 on the Management of the Pension Security Program (“GR 45/2015”) and Government Regulation No. 46 of 2015 as amended by Government Regulation No. 60 of 2015 on the Management of the Old Age Security Program (“GR 46/2015”) ...
On September 30, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a Continuing Resolution that will fund the government and extend the Immigrant Investor (EB-5) Pilot Program through December 11, 2015. The short-term extension will allow lawmakers seeking to reform the EB-5 program additional time to refine and advance legislation that would make investing in the program more difficult. To read the full alert, click here ...
Amendments to the Labour Relations Act, 66 of 1995 (“LRA”), which came into force in January of this year, introduced important and controversial provisions dealing with temporary employment services (“TES”), commonly known as labour brokers. The most important of these provisions is found in the newly-enacted section 198A. It makes a distinction between what can be regarded as the “acceptable” use of a TES services and the “unacceptable” use of its services ...
On September 9, 2015, the Department of State and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced a transformation of the way the Department of State’s visa bulletin functions. This change will allow many individuals who have been waiting in visa backlogs to file green card applications before an actual green card is available ...
Global mobility is on the rise and many of the employees all over the world especially the young university graduates are keen to working overseas than ever before to strengthen personal growth and career development.The third edition of Global Mobility – An Overview of Human Resource Professionals aims to provide initial guidance to Human Resource professionals and be a ready tool to help them meet the work deliverables of this function which is vital to the organizational success ...
Vol. XIII, Issues 2 & 3 of the Employment & Immigration Update includes the following articles:Ease of Doing BusinessOutplacementTwo-Tiered Wage SystemHighly engaged employeesSocial Safety NetsMore UK firms eye investments in PHThe issue also contains information on recent Supreme Court decisions, labor and employment news, immigration news, additional legal resources, and SyCipLaw updates.Download the Employment & Immigration Update 2015 2-3Q ...
On August 27, 2015, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or the “Board”) issued its decision in Browning-Ferris Industries of California, Inc., upending decades of well-settled precedent to establish a new, broad standard for determining when two entities are “joint employers” under the National Labor Relations Act. 362 NLRB 186 (2015) ...
The Philippines recently enacted Republic Act 10667 or the Philippine Competition Act which defines, prohibits and penalizes anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominant position, and anti-competitive mergers and acquisitions. It also creates the Philippine Competition Commission, which has original and primary jurisdiction to deal with cases involving violations of the Act. The Act was published on July 24, 2015 and took effect on August 8, 2015 ...
This year’s amendment of the Waste Act is forcing changes in the scheduling of incinerator projects. Target load start-up tests must be postponed until after the integrated permit is issued. This may give rise to claims by contractors for prolonging the project completion period because of a change in the law. In Poland there are currently six communal waste incineration plants under construction with EU funding ...
On July 6, 2015, in response to an executive order signed by President Obama, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a proposed rule that could significantly impact overtime regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Among other changes, the proposed rule will increase the minimum salary threshold to qualify for the “white collar” exemptions to $50,440 per year, which could affect an estimated 4.6 million workers ...
SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan contributed the Philippines chapter of Herbert Smith Freehills’ Guide to anti-corruption regulation in Asia Pacific 2015. The Guide provides a practical approach to applicable anti-bribery legislation and enforcement regimes. Contributed by managing partner Rafael A. Morales, partner Russel L. Rodriguez, and associate Vera Marie H ...
The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) has proposed significant changes to the overtime pay regulations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) ...
Last year California passed the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 (the “Act”), which requires employers to provide paid sick leave at a rate of one hour for every 30 hours worked starting on July 1, 2015. Recognizing some of the ambiguities of the Act, this month California passed Assembly Bill No. 304, which clarifies and amends certain aspects of the Act. The amendments of AB 304 took effect on July 13, 2015 ...
Continuing a trend of increased scrutiny of independent contractor relationships, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) has issued new guidance to employers warning that "most workers" should be classified as employees and not independent contractors ...
Continuing a trend of increased scrutiny of independent contractor relationships, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) has issued new guidance to employers warning that "most workers" should be classified as employees and not independent contractors ...