Pennsylvania law suggests construction defects generally are not considered an "occurrence" under most CGL insurance policies because defects are not true accidents, e.g., a fortuitous event. However, an exception generally exists for products-related claims as opposed to pure defect claims ...
It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of incredulity. Blazing yellow sun. Lapping blue waves. Tanned beach bods and a palm tree’s silhouette swaying against an orange sky. Once ubiquitous, the California Fitness logo that hints at its fabulous lifestyle offering has vanished from Singapore. In its heyday “Cali”, as its legions of fans called it, was not merely a gym, it was a status symbol ...
On April 24, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion in Lamps, et al. v. Varela, No 17-988 (April 24, 2019), holding class-wide arbitration cannot be compelled when the underlying arbitration agreement is ambiguous. In 2016, a hacker tricked a Lamps Plus employee into disclosing tax information of approximately 1,300 other employees. Not long after, a fraudulent tax return was filed in the name of respondent Frank Valera, a Lamps Plus employee ...
Pursuant to Title VII and 42 U.S.C. Chapter 60, a company must annually file an EEO-1 Report with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Joint Reporting Committee (JRC) if it answers “yes” to any of the three jurisdictional questions: 1. A company that has 100 or more employees; 2 ...
Many employers currently have employees on staff on temporary work visas, and employers likely know that in order to continue to employ employees not born in the U.S., the employer must sponsor the employee for permanent residency in the U.S. (i.e,. a green card). The green card process has multiple steps, which, depending on a variety of factors, may take several years to complete ...
In an opinion released April 26 and designated for publication, the Kentucky Court of Appeals held the longstanding Kentucky law allowing a non-lawyer to represent a business entity at an administrative unemployment hearing is unconstitutional.[1] If upheld, this decision will have broad, statewide impact on how unemployment claims are handled in Kentucky ...
The Supreme Court of the United States announced three cases will be argued next term that could determine whether Title VII protects LGBT employees from workplace discrimination. Title VII prohibits discrimination because of “race, color, religion, sex, or national origin,” but it does not explicitly mention sexual orientation or gender identity ...
The Social Security Administration (SSA) confirmed it resumed issuing “No-Match Letters” in March 2019. Officially called Employer Correction Requests, No-Match Letters inform an employer that the information reported on an individual employer’s W-2 form (or an employer’s quarterly tax filing) does not match the SSA’s records ...
On April 9, 2019, Gov. Matt Bevin signed into law the Kentucky Pregnant Workers Act (KYPWA), which expands protections for pregnant employees under the Kentucky Civil Rights Act, KRS 344.010, et seq. Reasonable Accommodations for Pregnancy Effective June 27, 2019, employers with 15 or more employees in Kentucky in at least 20 calendar weeks in the current or preceding year will be required to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions ...
Due to the GDPR, the Hungarian Parliament passed a law on 1 April concerning changes to a number of acts containing data protection provisions. The Hungarian Labour Code is one of the laws that has been changed. The new law is expected to be published soon and its rules, which affect quite a number of data controllers, will become applicable on the 15th day following their publication. It can be expected that the new rules will become effective around 1 May ...
A recent decision by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Ridgewood Health Care Center, Inc. (Ridgewood), has changed how the Board will define a “perfectly clear successor” when evaluating whether an employer is bound by an existing collective bargaining agreement (CBA) after acquiring another business ...
In a recent case involving a health care facility, the NLRB issued a 3-1 decision that significantly changed a successor employer's bargaining obligations before imposing the initial terms and conditions of employment on a unionized workforce. While seemingly favorable to employers, the decision also serves as a reminder to companies that they should act cautiously and consult with counsel before they take over a business with a unionized workforce ...
In a recent case involving a health care facility, the NLRB issued a 3-1 decision that significantly changed a successor employer's bargaining obligations before imposing the initial terms and conditions of employment on a unionized workforce. While seemingly favorable to employers, the decision also serves as a reminder to companies that they should act cautiously and consult with counsel before they take over a business with a unionized workforce ...
The recent decision of the FOPH (FOPH, decision of 11.12.2018 - 1 ABR 13/17) gives additional grounds for further clarifying the practical question of to what extent the conduct of an employee survey is subject to worker participation by the works council. The Respondent - a parent company of a postal and logistics company - has been carrying out an annual Group-wide employee survey since 2007 using a standardized electronic questionnaire ...
Federal Labor Court, ruling of 19 December 2018 - 7 AZR 70/17 The provision of Sec. 41 p. 3 Social Code (SGB) VI allows employers and employees to postpone the termination of the employment relationship upon reaching the regular retirement age of the employee. According to a ruling of the German Federal Labor Court (BAG) of 19 December 2018 (Ref. 7 AZR 70/17), this regulation is compatible with higher-ranking law ...
FOPH of March 19, 2019 - 9 AZR 362/18 The statutory leave entitlement according to Sec. 1, 3 Federal Leave Act (BUrlG) also exists for the period of parental leave, but may be reduced by the employer pursuant to Sec. 17 (1) (1) Federal Parental Allowance and Parental Leave Act (BEEG). This requires a legal declaration completed upon receipt aimed at reduction. Sec. 17 (1) BEEG is in line with EU law ...
(FOPH, Ruling of 12.13.2018, 2 AZR 378/18) In a very helpful decision for the practice, the FOPH has commented on the procedure for consulting with the representative body for severely disabled persons before dismissals. It is sufficient for the employer to consult the representative body for severely disabled persons before notice of dismissal in accordance with the basic principles applicable to the participation of the works council pursuant to Sec ...
At European and national level, discussions have been going on for years on how best to protect the so-called whistleblowers from being victims of retaliation measures by those whose actions they have uncovered. Whistleblowers are persons who, as "insiders" (such as employees) disclose dubious practices of the institutions they serve. Here we think first and foremost of persons such as Edward Snowden, whose disclosures were directed against state measures ...
Recently, Dinsmore has noticed an uptake in claimant allegations that an employer has caused an accident due to violation of a specific safety requirement (VSSR). A VSSR award is an additional award paid to the employee by the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) billed directly to state fund employers or paid directly by a self-insured employer ...
On 04 April 2019, the Council for Arbitration Development at the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation authorized Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (“HKIAC”) to administer arbitration disputes with the seat in Russia. By 25 April 2019, the Ministry of Justice is expected to include HKIAC into the list of foreign arbitration institutions with the status of a permanently functioning arbitration institution (“PFAI”) ...
The Indonesia National Board of Arbitration (BANI), otherwise known as the BANI Arbitration Centre, provides a range of services in relation to arbitration, mediation, binding opinions and otherforms of dispute resolution. In 2015 all of the original BANI founders passed away. On 8 September 2016 BANIPembaharuan(ie, the Renewed BANI) was created by way of Ministry of Law and Human Rights (MOLHR) Decision AHU-0064837.AH.01.07.TAHUN 2016 of 20 June 2016 ...
In this digest, we review key developments in the Russian migration legislation for the first quarter of 2019. 1. The Russian Government updated the list of documents required for the migration registration of foreign nationals Starting from March 20 of 2019,the Ministry of Internal Affairs extended the list of documents required for the migration registration of foreign nationals ...
On April 1, 2019, the Department of Labor announced it will publish a notice of proposed rulemaking to amend its existing regulations, currently codified at 29 C.F.R. part 791, regarding whether a business qualifies as a joint employer under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The FLSA requires covered employers to pay nonexempt employees at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and overtime for all hours worked more than 40 in one workweek ...
A long-running legal dispute in the USA involving the brand Louis Vuitton is interesting. Not only does it deal with parody as a defence to trade mark infringement, but it also deals with trade mark bullying.What happened here was that Louis Vuitton sued a company called My Other Bag for selling cartoon-style tote bags bearing the name Louis Vuitton, claiming trade mark and copyright infringement. The case failed, with the alleged infringer successfully raising the defence of parody ...
South Africa’s East Coast Radio listeners recently got a great beginners’ class in trade mark law. It would be a shame if all the people who missed the broadcast lost out.The discussion dealt with a dispute involving the fast-food chain Chicken Licken and a small Durban vegan restaurant called Oh My Soul. It featured an interview with the couple who own the restuarant, Tallulah and Richard Duffin, as well as the attorney acting for Chicken Licken ...
