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 ...
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 ...
Moving faster than many expected, the National People’s Congress of China promulgated the amended Food Safety Law (“2015 Food Safety Law”) on April 24, 2015. The 2015 Food Safety Law will be effective on October 1, 2015. The 2015 Food Safety Law is regarded as the most stringent food safety regulation in the history of China ...
On 29 June 2015, a new regulation on the procedure for employing foreign manpower (ie Minister of Manpower Regulation No. 16 of 2015) entered into force, revoking the previous regulation, Minister of Manpower Regulation No. 12 of 2013. Some important provisions in the new regulation include the following: • In general, an employer of foreign manpower must employ at least ten Indonesian workers for every one foreign worker ...
Despite the apparent opening of the door for foreigners to engage directly in retail trading in Myanmar under the Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) Notification No 49 of 2014, in practice this door was still closed to foreigners in the new car sales sector. With limited exceptions (discussed below), foreigners could not, even on the basis of Notification 49: (i) import new cars (ii) register new cars in their name (iii) sell those cars or (iv) own and operate a new car showroom ...
Since the FDA issued the final menu labeling rule last December, franchisors have been asking what their role and liability is within the framework created by the FDA. In spite of years of FDA consideration and extensive input from industry, food establishments that are subject to the rule remain uncertain about how to comply with its requirements. In addition, the FDA has said very little about how it will enforce the rule To read the full alert, click here ...
Last June 12, Bill 42, entitled «An Act to group the Commission de l’équité salariale, the Commission des normes du travail and the Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail and to establish the Administrative Labour Tribunal1» (the «Loi Act to group the CÉS, the CNT and the CSST and to establish the ALT” or the “Act”), received Royal Assent ...
Last week, the Second Circuit delivered a highly anticipated ruling on whether companies may continue to use unpaid interns. In what represents a clear victory for companies, the Court adopted a flexible “primary beneficiary” test to determine whether workers should be properly classified as interns or employees ...
On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) unveiled its highly anticipated proposed changes to the overtime pay regulations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). These proposed changes are predicted to broaden coverage to nearly fivemillion additional workers ...
On June 15th, the Court of Appeal of Quebec, inCommission de la santé et de la sécurité du travailv.Caron,1issued an important judgment that changes the law governing an employers’ duty to accommodate employment injuries ...
Heightened concerns over recent National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) complaints authorized against McDonald’s, USA, LLC—which threaten to undermine the common understanding of a franchisor-franchisee relationship and expand the definition of “employer”— caught the eye of Texas legislators during the recently concluded 84th Regular Texas Legislative Session ...
Multilaw’s Labour & Employment practice group has released the 2015 edition of How to Hire and Fire: A Global Guide. The collaborative electronic guide serves as a quick but practical guide for everyday labor and employment concerns by providing a summary of key employment law principles across 105 jurisdictions. The guide reflects the law in each jurisdiction as of January 1, 2015 ...
A wave of settlements with municipal underwriting firms under the SEC’s Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation (MCDC) Initiative has brought renewed attention to continuing disclosure obligations in municipal offerings. But, it also raises questions about the initiative’s purportedly favorable settlement terms. On July 18, 2015, the SEC announced settlements with 36 municipal underwriters for willfully violating Section 17(a)(2) of the Securities Act ...
Directors’ liability for payroll withholding taxes Due diligence: An evolving standard To what risks of liability or being found guilty are directors exposed? Environmental liability of directors and officers DIRECTORS’ LIABILITY FOR PAYROLL WITHHOLDING TAXES Luc Pariseau and Audrey Gibeault
A recent Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decision reinforces the Fifth Circuit’s willingness to enforce private settlements of Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) claims while simultaneously making clear that there are limits to such enforcement ...
Recently adopted regulations from the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) came into effect on June 19, 2015, facilitating qualifying companies’ access to capital and providing investors with additional investment choices. Commonly referred to as Regulation A+, the regulations amend and expand the exemption for smaller public offerings under Regulation A (Rules 251 to 263 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”)) ...
Internal investigations conducted by enterprises in-house when irregularities are suspected offer many advantages to businesses compared to initiatives undertaken by public law enforcement authorities ...
On April 29, 2013, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) launched the Temporary Worker Initiative (“TWI”) with the purpose of increasing its focus on temporary workers in order to highlight employers’ responsibilities to ensure these workers are protected from workplace hazards. A temporary worker is defined by OSHA as one hired and paid by a staffing agency and supplied to a host employer to perform work on a temporary basis ...
There have been recent interesting developments in Latin American aviation. Set forth below is a discussion of some of them. Topics include: General Outlook Key Mexican Reforms U.S. and European Expansion Mexico: Dynamic Aviation Sector The Venezuela Crisis Excerpted from Latinvex. To read the full article, click here ...
Bill on restrictive employment covenants revoked due to call for parliamentary elections in Denmark, scheduled to take place in June 2015. Due to the Danish Prime Minister's call on 27 May 2015 for parliamentary elections, all bills that have not yet been passed are revoked, including Bill No. L 196 on Restrictive Employment Covenants which should have entered into force on 1 July 2015 ...
On April 21, 2015, the State Council of China (i.e. the central government) adopted the proposed draft of Administrative Measures on Concession of Infrastructure and Public Utilities Projects (the “Infrastructure Measures”) ...
On June 1, the United States Supreme Court reversed and remanded Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc.1 to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals and held that in order to prove a disparate-treatment (or “intentional discrimination”) claim, an applicant need only show that his need for a religious accommodation was a motivating factor in an employer’s decision not to hire him ...
