Most of holidays and national mourning that are covered by Article 46 of the Labor Code of the Republic of Panama are in November, December and January. In fact, they are considered as such, November 3, 5, 10 and 28; December 8 and 25; and on January 1 and 9 ...
The resurgence of the #MeToo campaign highlights that sexual harassment comes in all variations, affects all classes of people, and cuts across all industries. While employers could dismiss the social media moniker as a “them” not an “us” problem, they do so at their peril. People, some of whom may be your employees, are talking, posting, and tweeting, and employers would be wise to listen and revisit their anti-harassment policies ...
On November 8, 2017, the U.S. Senate confirmed Peter Robb as the new General Counsel for the National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB" or "Board"). In private practice, Robb was a noted critic of the NLRB under the Obama administration, particularly the Board's so-called quickie election rules and what he has termed the Board's narrow definition of supervisory status ...
In M.F. v. Pacific Pearl Hotel Management LLC, Case No. D070150 (October 26, 2017), the California Court of Appeal revived a case in which an employee, who had been raped by a trespasser on the employer's premises, sued her employer under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) for sexual harassment by a non-employee and for failure to prevent such harassment. The court concluded that the allegations overcame the workers' compensation exclusivity doctrine ...
The current Administration continues to be active in the area of immigration law and policy, and has promulgated several Executive Orders (“EO”), mostly directed to immigration enforcement and national and public security. The exception is the April 2017 Buy American, Hire American Executive Order, which extends to and impacts professional work visas ...
In August 2016, we reviewed publicly available data for a group of 58 E&P companies and predicted how they would fare under the leverage test that had, at the time, recently been introduced by the OCC.Based on that review, we predicted that, in 2016, over 91 percent of the companies reviewed would be non-passing credits under the OCC’s leverage test. The average leverage ratio of the E&P companies reviewed in 2016 was 6.0x ...
During the months of September and October 2017, new regulations and administrative guidelines in the Mexican energy sector were issued. These are of particular importance to oil and gas producers, midstream companies, power generators, traders, developers and others looking to invest or expand operations in Mexico’s dynamic energy sector. I. Hydrocarbons September 5, 2017. NOM-167-SEMARNAT-2017 ...
A common question our Education Law Group receives is, “Can an employee rescind his or her written resignation that has been submitted to the superintendent and is waiting on approval from the board of education?” Unfortunately the question often arises frequently in situations where the employee is not the “best employee” and administration feels thankful upon receipt of the resignation ...
Employers should recognize three common mistakes in determining a valid workers’ compensation claim and in preparing to defend an invalid claim: 1. Failure to Investigate Thoroughly An initial thorough investigation of a workers’ compensation claim can be the key to determining a valid claim or a successful defense to an invalid claim at hearing. Early investigation allows for comprehensive documents-gathering and discovery ...
Key employment bills were signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown at the close of the 2016-2017 legislative session. The bills take effect January 1, 2018, unless noted otherwise. Here’s what you need to know: Ban the Box (AB 1008): AB 1008 follows the “ban the box” regulations promulgated in July 2017 and creates new state-wide restrictions on the use of criminal history in hiring decisions under the California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) ...
In prior Obama-era guidance from the DOE Office for Civil Rights, the resolution of sexual misconduct or assault allegations by mediation was not encouraged and, in some situations, was prohibited. This position existed despite that when such allegations resulted in Jane and John Doe lawsuits, many were eventually settled through mediation ...
On October 19, 2017, the IRS announced in Notice 2017-64 cost of living adjustments to the qualified plan dollar limits for 2018. Some of these limits did not change from 2017 because the increase in the cost of living index did not meet the statutory thresholds that trigger an adjustment. Below is a summary of the limits that are generally relevant for most retirement plans ...
At the end of the 2017 Legislative Session, California Governor Jerry Brown signed two new laws that will impact employers' hiring processes as of January 1, 2018.[1] To start, AB 1008 repeals the "ban the box" requirement in the California Labor Code, which currently applies only to public employers, and replaces it with an amendment to the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, which will apply to both public and private employers ...
Contractual negotiations for ships and offshore units commonly involve commercial, legal, and technical teams negotiating different parts of the contract. It is however crucial that before the contract is signed, it is read as a whole to ensure consistency in a party’s obligations throughout the contract. The English Supreme Court’s judgment in MT Højgaard A/S v. E ...
In the court Decision earlier this year for Barbulescu vs Romania, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (the “ECHR”) examined for the first time the issue of the monitoring of electronic communications of an employee by a private employer, within the framework of an action brought by Mr Barbulescu, an engineer employed by a private company in Romania ...
Following the collapse of oil prices – from their peak of an average of $112 per barrel to their lowest point of $28 per barrel - a significant number of developments became commercially unviable. During the lowest period, oil prices were substantially lower than the breakeven price of most new developments ...
In Mpanza and another v Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development and Correctional Services and others, the South African Labour Court dealt with a dispute about whether an employer was entitled to make deductions from the remuneration of two employees in circumstances where they were absent from work ...
On September 18, 2017, the National Hydrocarbons Commission (Comisión Nacional de Hidrocarburos) (“CNH”) called an international public bid for the selection of a partner for Pemex Exploración y Producción (“Pemex”) to pursue exploration and production activities in the Nobilis-Maximino field, located in deep waters in the Perdido Belt in the Gulf of Mexico ...
The Mexican government announced on September 28, 2017 the first bid of Round 3. This will be the sixteenth upstream bid round in Mexico since the enactment of the energy reform in mid-2014. The new bid round (named Round 3 ...
Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act - A well meaning legislation albeit with complex terms, anomalies and aggressive penal provisions The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act (“the Act”) is undoubtedly a welcome and much awaited enactment. The genesis of the Act lies in the UN Convention for persons with disabilities and the Act seeks to fulfill India’s obligations under this International treaty ...
Yesterday, U.S. Attorney General Jefferson Sessions issued new guidance reversing the federal government’s former position that gender identity is protected under Title VII. In a memo sent to the heads of all federal agencies and the U.S. attorneys, the attorney general stated that as a matter of law, “Title VII does not prohibit discrimination based on gender identity per se ...
Effective October 1, 2017, USCIS expanded adjustment of status in-person interviews for individuals seeking permanent residence in the United States. While interviews have regularly been required for some family-based permanent residence cases, interviews involving employment-based cases have generally been waived ...
Noble Group continues to draw fire from Iceberg Research more than two years after the short-selling firm first accused the listed commodities trader of questionable accounting practices. In August this year, Iceberg renewed its criticism of the group, but expanded its crosshairs to include Singapore's regulators ...
