RELIEF MEASURES EXTENSION On November 27, 2013, the Government of Québec published the Regulation Providing New Relief Measures for the Funding of Solvency Deficiencies of Pension Plans in the Private Sector (the “New Regulation”), which will come into effect on December 31, 2013 ...
On December 13, 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada rendered its judgment in the case of IBM Canada Limited v. Waterman (2013 SCC 70). In this case, IBM wrongly dismissed Mr. Waterman, a long-time employee. Mr. Waterman had to begin collecting his pension under IBM’s defined benefit pension plan. The trial judge concluded that 20 months notice should have been given to Mr. Waterman ...
On December 4, 2013, Qubec Solidaire MNAs Amir Khadir and Franoise David tabled a bill (Bill 499) in the National Assembly which seeks to amend the provisions of the Act Respecting Labour Standards (ARLS) dealing with clauses which provide for differential treatment based solely on ones date of hire (commonly referred to as grandfather clauses) ...
In 2012 the Western Cape High Court handed down a trade mark judgement that raised eyebrows. The facts were that the owner of a farm called Zonquasdrift had a trade mark registration for the mark Zonquasdrift covering wine (but not grapes). The owner of another farm in the area sold wine grapes under its name, Zonquasdrif Vineyards (no ‘t’ at the end) ...
The authorities seem to have gone on the offensive on the issue of counterfeits. In the run-up to Christmas, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has called on South Africans not to buy counterfeit goods, even if they are cheaper than the originals (as they invariably are) ...
On November 15, 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada declared Alberta’s Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA)1 constitutionally invalid on the ground that it disproportionately infringed a union’s right to freedom of expression, in this case, the United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 401 (the “Union”) ...
When employees post on Facebook while at work a conflict of interests arises: while the employee enjoys his leisure activity, the employer expects him to do his work uninterruptedly. In order to decide this conflict in his favour, the employer tends to react with employment law instruments, such as informal warnings, formal cautions and finally termination. German jurisdiction supports him in that ...
This past July, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (“D.C. Circuit”) vacated a 2010 Department of Labor (“DOL”) Interpretation Letter that concluded employees who perform the “typical” job duties of a mortgage loan officer do not qualify as administrative employees ...
On August 27, 2013, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) issued two Final Rules, making significant changes to the regulations implementing affirmative action under Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act (“Section 503”) and the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (“VEVRAA”) ...
Employers responding to the market reforms contained in the Affordable Care Act (“ACA,” also referred to as ObamaCare) are trying to grasp how it treats some current arrangements, such as health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) and flexible spending arrangements (Health FSAs). These features are popular in many employer-sponsored benefits plans ...
The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (“ENDA”) is federal legislation that would prohibit employers from discriminating against potential or actual employees during hiring and employment based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. The Act defines sexual orientation as “homosexuality, heterosexuality, or bisexuality ...
The story so far… Spring 2013 Redundancy consultation • In force from 6 April 2013 • Employees on fixed-term contracts "which have reached their agreed termination point" will be excluded from collective redundancy consultation obligations (where 20+ employees are to be dismissed from one establishment within a 90 day period) • Minimum consultation period has been reduced to 45 days from 90 days (where 100+ employees are affected by redundancy at one establishme
The Court of Appeal has overturned the decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (“EAT”) in the case of Crystal Palace FC Ltd and another v Kavanagh and others, holding that the dismissals of employees made by the administrator of the Football Club shortly before the Club was sold in 2010 were for an “ETO reason” and thus not automatically unfair pursuant to TUPE. As we reported in April (http://www.shepwedd.co ...
The B-1 temporary visa category is intended to allow foreign nationals to visit the U.S. for temporary business purposes that do not rise to the level of gainful employment. Given the relative ease of obtaining a B-1 visa compared to other visa categories, some U.S. employers have encouraged or assisted foreign nationals in using the B-1 visa category for activities beyond its intended purpose ...
Since it was introduced at the end of 2005, the scheme funding regime for defined benefit pension schemes has been through a process incremental of evolution. With a new legal objective for the Pensions Regulator now revealed, will this alter the approach of employers and trustees to scheme funding in practice or will it turn out to be business as usual? Back in 2005, the emphasis was on the scheme specific nature of the new funding regime ...
In a highly-anticipated and extremely significant pair of decisions for businesses and consumers alike, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) ruled on Thursday (October 31, 2013) that the ultimate consumers at the end of a supply chain can effectively leap-frog the supply chain by having direct legal recourse in a class action against a manufacturer who illegally overcharged for the product supplied ...
The Jobs, Growth and Long-Term Prosperity Act was passed by the federal government in 2012, which includes changes that will affect long-term disability (“LTD”) plans provided by federally regulated employers. This will impact employers in the banking, marine, transportation, telecommunication and other federally regulated industries ...
On October 25, 2013, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China passed an amendment to the P.R.C. Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests (the “Amendment”) ...
Law no. 76/2013 of 7 November has been published in the official gazette. This law establishes new rules on the extraordinary renewal of fixed term employment contracts, as well as the rules and method of calculation for the compensation applicable to contracts subject to this renewal ...
Earlier this year the federal government made changes to Canada’s temporary foreign worker program with the stated purpose of ensuring that Canadians are given the first opportunity to apply for available jobs. Most temporary foreign workers require a work permit to legally work in Canada. In many instances, the employer must first obtain a positive Labour Market Opinion (LMO) from Service Canada before the worker can apply for a work permit ...
Après avoir tenu des consultations particulières en juin et en août 20131, la Commission des finances publiques (la « Commission ») a publié, le 17 septembre dernier, ses conclusions et recommandations concernant le rapport du Comité d’experts sur l’avenir du système de retraite québécois (le « Rapport D’Amours ») ...
In the High Court case of Pi Consulting (Trustee Services) Ltd v The Pensions Regulator and others, it has been ruled that 9 suspected liberation vehicles are occupational pension schemes, and therefore are under the jurisdiction of the Pensions Regulator. “Pension liberation” typically occurs where a pension saver is induced to transfer existing pension funds to another scheme, for a fee, in order to obtain access to their pension early ...
The Supreme Court of Appeals' recent decision in McComas v. ACF Indus., Inc. could have significant implications for employer liability under West Virginia's deliberate intention statute. In McComas, the plaintiff was a welder who was injured by an arc blast emanating from an electrical box ...
By judgment of 28 June 2013, the Danish Eastern High Court found that it was contrary to the Danish Act on Fixed-Term Employment to extend a number of fixed-term employment contracts four times. The case involved four electricians who were hired to work on a large project. It was agreed that their employment contracts were to expire on 25 September 2009 at which time the project should have been completed ...
Can an employee’s insubordination amount to repudiation of his employment contract, thus providing his employer with just and sufficient cause to dismiss him? In a judgment rendered on September 20, 2013, the Québec Court of Appeal answered this question in the negative.1 The plaintiff, Pilgrim, filed a complaint pursuant to section 124 of the Act Respecting Labour Standards against his former employer alleging that he had been dismissed without just and sufficient cause ...
