In a decision that will please rights holders, the Court of Justice of the European Union (‘CJEU’) ruled last week that goods sold by a website based outside the EU are protected by EU intellectual property law if they are sold to a person in the EU. Mr Blomqvist lived in Denmark. He ordered a watch described as a Rolex from a Chinese website which was then sent to him from Hong Kong. The Danish customs authorities held the parcel on suspicion that it was a counterfeit ...
Strategic Investment Act: The new Act on Strategic Investment in Croatia has achieved its goal of reducing administrative procedures and ensuring the speedy realisation of strategic projects in Croatia. In order to declare a project “strategic,” it must meet several criteria. Foremost, the project must be in accordance with spatial planning regulations. Also, the total amount of capital expense must be HRK 150 million (approx. EUR 19.6 million) or more ...
The HMRC policy on deduction of VAT on costs relating to investment management activities of an occupation pension scheme has altered with effect from 3 February 2014. The HMRC has confirmed that a pension scheme employer may be entitled to deduct VAT paid on services relating to the administration of its pension scheme and management of assets of the pension fund ...
On February 5, 2014, the Minister of Labour announced that as of May 1, 2014, the minimum wage will be increased by $0.20 an hour to $10.35 an hour. The hourly minimum wage of employees receiving tips will be increased to $8.90 an hour, which represents an increase of $0.15 an hour. Finally, the minimum wage payable to raspberry or strawberry pickers will continue to be established on a per kilogram picked basis. From May 1, 2014, this rate will be increased to $3 ...
In the recent case of Re Storm Funding Ltd, the High Court held that where contribution notices (CN) are issued to a number of companies following the failure to comply with a financial support direction:The contribution notices may in aggregate require payment of more than the actual employer debt in the scheme - a single contribution notice cannot be for more than that amount; and It follows that, under these multiple contribution notices, there scheme may recover more than t
Last December, the Minister of Employment and Social Solidarity unveiled the Quebec government's action plan with the goal of [translation] "correcting and restoring the situation of pension plans" ...
"Should I stay or should I go?" may be the question an employee asks himself when he faces a difficult working environment and considers filing for constructive dismissal. Constructive dismissal is when an employer indirectly encourages an employee to resign by failing to comply with the employment contract or one sidedly changing the employment terms without the employee's consent ...
On January 16, 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada1 affirmed the Court of Appeal of Québec2 judgment which authorized the class action brought against Vivendi Canada Inc. (“Vivendi”). This important decision confirms, among other things, that the rules for authorizing class actions in Quebec are more liberal than those in the common law provinces. THE FACTS Seagram Ltd. (“Seagram”), which was established in 1857, is a producer of wine and spirits ...
The Court of Appeal of Québec recently ruled on the criteria for distinguishing between an employment agreement and a contract for services in the case of Bermex international inc. v. Agence du revenu du Québec.1 It is worth noting that regardless of the fact that the parties labelled their agreement as a contract for services or an agreement with a self-employed worker, such a description is not binding on a court ...
Haynes and Boone, LLP’s Immigration Practice Group reminds employers with a need for Cap-Subject H-1B petitions – those applications that are subject to the annual numerical limit – that the filing window for Fiscal Year 2015 is about to open. Over the last three years, the Cap has been reached at a much earlier date. For Fiscal Year 2014, the Cap was reached within the first week of the filing period, which ended on April 5, 2013 ...
Based on a review of recent district court cases, uncertainty remains regarding the proper standard for certifying a Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) collective action in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The absence of a definitive test remains because the Fifth Circuit, in March 2013, avoided the opportunity to apply a stricter certification standard than the one the courts have been using. Apparently, the district courts are holding out for more definitive guidance ...
What North Carolina Law Says Employers have often ignored a separation notice from the Employment Security Commission and not provided any details as to reason for separation because it was not being contested or it was a non-charging situation. Ignoring the notices is no longer a good choice ...
As in past years, chemical, pharmaceutical and biotechnology patent cases in 2013 offered a combination of the predictable and the unpredictable. On the predictable end of the spectrum, the US Supreme Court offered no surprises ...
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) ...
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 ...
Negotiation of the proposed EU Data Protection Regulation has faltered. While there is still a possibility that the Regulation could be passed before the May 2014 European elections, that looks increasingly remote. The main stumbling block appears to be the difficult issue of the ‘one stop shop’, which has produced deadlock within the Council of Ministers. The ‘one stop shop’ proposal is inherently difficult, but until now has been referenced in somewhat superficial terms ...
On Thursday, November 7, 2013, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced measures to definitively eliminate all the artificial trans fats from processed products in the United States. The purpose of the proposal, which is released for public comments for a 60-day period, is to remove trans fats from the “generally recognized as safe” (“GRAS”) category, which would allow these products to be commonly used in food products ...
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
