Majoritarianism, South African courts have acknowledged, is the concept that the will of the majority is favoured over the will of the minority in serving the legislative purpose of advancing labour peace, orderly collective bargaining and the democratisation of the workplace. But a fundamental pitfall of majoritarianism is the possibility that the rights of the minority could be infringed pursuant to the will of the majority ...
In 2000, Jennifer Lopez debuted the much-publicised and spoken about Versace jungle pattern dress at the Grammy Awards. The dress offered surprisingly little coverage for a garment that comprised so much material. Some 20 years on, Versace is suing a company called Fashion Nova for selling a jungle pattern look-a-like. Versace’s complaint is that Fashion Nova’s dress will cause confusion, in the sense that the public will assume that it is connected with Versace ...
In South Africa, copyright judgments are few and far between, especially judgments of the Supreme Court of Appeal (“SCA”). This makes the recent case of Tellytrack v Marshalls World of Sport (Pty) Ltd and others, worth noting, even if it does deal with a somewhat esoteric issue. The case concerned the world of horse racing ...
You know what it’s like – you have a cushy job, you’re earning well, you’re travelling the world. Yet, you’re still not happy. The head honcho stubbornly refuses to retire, the designated successor clearly isn’t right for the job, and you have this somewhat awkward relationship with the next-in-line ...
The sharing economy enters the home as rising property prices drive nomadic millennial singletons to seek an alternative to the inflexible rented apartment.An impromptu foosball game with your neighbour while waiting for the laundry. Cooking classes in a communal Masterchef-inspired kitchen. Movie screenings, board game nights, and in-house yoga and meditation sessions. These are but some of the activities to look forward to if you take up quarters in a co-living facility ...
On 11 January 2020 a new leasing law was introduced in the Dubai International Financial Centre, Law 1 of 2020 (the New Law); and on 14 January 2020 the associated regulations were issued (the Regulations).The New Law and Regulations are an important development for the DIFC. We expect that they will have a positive impact on the real estate market ...
Following our previous general Q&As on labor management issues that may arise during the novel coronavirus (“2019-nCoV”) epidemic prevention and control period, we have compiled for your reference additional issues identified in the regulatory documents promulgated by central and local governments and human resources and social security bureaus ...
A flurry of regulatory documents has been promulgated in response to the recent large-scale spread of the novel coronavirus (“2019-nCoV”), many of which substantially impact the rights and interests of enterprises and their employees ...
Near the end of 2007, the United States was hit by the subprime mortgage market meltdown. For years before, the public had experienced a steady increase in home prices and a seemingly never-ending supply of mortgage lending. Homeowners were able to enjoy ever-increasing home equity and mortgage products, virtually guaranteeing that anyone who wanted to get financed could ...
On 17 January 2020, the Chief Inspector of Mines for the Mine Health and Safety Inspectorate of the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy issued new guidelines and guidance notes in the Government Gazette in terms of section 49(6) of the Mine Health and Safety Act, 1996 (the "MHSA"), making these guidelines legally enforceable. These new guidelines and guidance notes must be read and interpreted in conjunction with the MHSA ...
Effective Oct. 1, 2017, Ohio Revised Code 4123.84 was amended to shorten the statute of limitations for the filing a traditional workers’ compensation claim (a standard physical injury resulting in either a lost-time, medical-only, or death claim) from two years following the alleged date of injury to one year. The amendment does not apply to either occupational disease claims or VSSR filings, which maintain the two-year statute ...
Effective January 2020, U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) increased the salary thresholds for several of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) exemptions. The salary threshold levels for the white-collar exemptions and the highly compensated employee exemption have increased, making it more difficult for an employee to be classified as exempt under the FLSA. As a result, an estimated additional 1.3 million workers now qualify for overtime premiums ...
According to Panamanian law, all employees must have an employment contract with some mandatory content which cannot be replaced by a job offer. Salary and working hours, must be agreed in this employment contract. The salary could be paid by month, fortnight, week, day or hour, but the practice is to negotiate a monthly salary, which must be at least equal to the minimum wage established by law ...
On 14 January 2020, the Employment Law Amendment Law (DIFC Law 4 of 2020) and the Employment Regulations (the Amendment) were enacted. The Amendment introduces a new mandatory workplace savings scheme, which replaces the current end-of-service gratuity regime. The new scheme commences on 1 February 2020 ...
Pursuant to Israeli employment law, an employer cannot employ workers on their weekly rest day unless it obtains a special permit from the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. A weekly rest is 36 consecutive hours. Under certain circumstances, it is possible to shorten shift workers' weekly rest to 25 consecutive hours. For Jewish workers, the weekly rest day is Saturday (ie, from the beginning of the Sabbath on Friday evening until Saturday evening) ...
Why is H-1B Filing Season Important? This is the only time of year (with minor exceptions indicated below) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) accepts H-1B specialty worker petitions for the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, 2020 ...
With the UK currently due to leave the EU at the end of this month, Brexit may cause the construction industry a continuing period of uncertainty in 2020 but the government’s agenda may also provide increased opportunities. We look ahead at what this year may have in store. Brexit The top priority for the government is delivering the UK’s departure from the EU on 31 January. How Brexit will affect the construction industry remains open to speculation ...
With the year 2019 now behind us, it is a good time to remind ourselves of the changes that took place in the field of employment law over the past year. It is also time to prepare for the reforms that will happen in 2020. LEGISLATIVE REFORMS, AMENDMENTS AND SIGNIFICANT PRECEDENTS IN 2019 In 2019, there were some amendments to Finnish employment legislation ...
New California laws could make it more difficult for employers to enforce employment arbitration agreements and now prohibit “no rehire” language in settlement agreements involving employment disputes. Arbitration Agreements The enforceability of employment arbitration agreements has long been under attack in California ...
The labor shortage that affects all of Quebec and many other provinces has been a well-known problem for several years. Almost every week brings its share of companies that have to close their doors or limit their activities due to a lack of staff in positions of all kinds. To work within our borders, foreign employees must first obtain the necessary authorizations ...
On May 23, 2019, by a vote of 417-3, the United States House of Representatives passed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement (SECURE) Act. Notwithstanding broad bipartisan support, the bill stalled in the United States Senate until Dec. 19, 2019, when it passed a budget reconciliation bill (H.R. 1865, the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020 [the “Act”]), which contains the provisions from the SECURE Act. The president signed the Act on Dec. 20 ...
On December 16, 2019, in Caesars Entertainment d/b/a Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino, the National Labor Relations Board (Board) returned to the standard outlined in Register Guard, which announced that employees have no statutory right to use employer equipment, including IT equipment, for activity protected under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act.1 The decision expressly overrules the Board’s decision in Purple Communications, Inc ...
In a long-anticipated decision on Dec. 16, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) scuttled a 2015 agency decision that presumptively prohibited employers from requiring confidentiality of investigative reports. In Apogee Retail, 368 NLRB No. 144 (2019), the NLRB returned to its previous standard that presumes the legality of the maintenance of work rules requiring confidentiality of investigative interviews between an employer and employee ...
