Coast Mountain Bus Company Ltd. v. National Automobile, Aerospace, Transportation and General Workers of Canada (CAW-Canada), Local 111, 2010 BCCA 447 (B.C.C.A.) In a recent case, the British Columbia Court of Appeal found that Coast Mountain Bus Company’s attendance management program discriminated against employees with disabilities and was not justified on the basis of bona fide occupational requirements ...
Before heading into the pre-election recess, the Senate passed the Veterans’ Benefits Act of 2010 on September 28, 2010. See H.R. 3219, 111th Cong. (2d Sess. 2010). The Act, which passed in the House over one year ago, is a compromise measure between the House and the Senate and encompasses several veterans’ benefits bills. Of notable importance to employers is the Act’s expansion of employee protection under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (“USERRA”) ...
On August 27, 2010, the National Labor Relations Board (the “Board”) issued its long-awaited decision in United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, Local Union No. 1506, 355 NLRB No. 159 (2010) – a case that had been pending before the Board since March 2004 - holding that bannering at a secondary employer’s place of business was not an unfair labor practice. The Facts Four non-union employers, Eliason & Knuth, Delta/United Specialties, Enterprise Interiors, Inc ...
IT projects: It’s a team game 28 September 2010 IT projects have a knack of over-running for significant periods, requiring ‘out-of-scope’ changes half way through, and consequently going over budget. Although any project will develop and evolve over time, such problems can be minimised through sensible project management methods. It is not uncommon for IT projects to last several months, if not years, from conception to completion ...
Getting the Deal Through - e-Commerce 2011 Getting the Deal Through published a fully revised and updated seventh edition of e-Commerce, a volume in GTDT's series of annual reports published by Law Business Research. This publication provides international analysis in key areas of law and policy for corporate counsel, cross-border legal practitioners and business people ...
Social networks: Hype and its legal consequences published in: WirtschaftsBlatt,Author: Dr. Axel Anderl, LL.m., Mag. Martina Schmid Social networking platforms like Facebook, MySpace or XING are an increasing popularity. It has never been so easy to operate social networking ...
Dear Sirs, On August 2, 2010 the Federal Law “On the alterations to the Arbitrazh Procedural Code of the Russian Federation” (“The Law”) was published ...
Dear Sirs, We would like to inform you that Federal law “On amendments to Code of administrative offences of the Russian Federation and the Federal law «On industrial safety of dangerous production facilities» dated July 23, 2010 N 171-FZ will come into force on January 1, 2011 (hereinafter – the Law) ...
Can the parties to an individual employment contract include a clause stipulating that the employee must reimburse his training costs to the employer if he resigns?Upon hiring and throughout the course of employment, employers often require employees to receive training. There are various reasons why employers want their employees to undergo training sessions, such as for safety purposes, special functions, technological changes, requirements of a supplier, etc ...
As Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis informed a convention of safety engineers last year, “Make no mistake about it: The Department of Labor is back in the enforcement business.” In 2010, current OSHA enforcement statistics confirm this promise and reveal unprecedented levels of enforcement ...
Despite entering into arbitration agreements with their employees, employers all too often find themselves in court adverse to the very employees who have signed an arbitration agreement. The U.S. Supreme Court recently issued three arbitration decisions that have important implications for employers seeking to avoid the inside of a courtroom. First, in Stolt-Nielsen S.A. v. AnimalFeeds International Corp ...
On March 18, 2010, administrative judge Richard Hudon, of the Comission des lésions professionnelles (hereinafter, the “Comission”), rendered a very interesting decision in the case of Côté et Traverse Rivière‑du‑Loup St‑Siméon (2010 QCC LP 2074) by ruling that section 56 of the Act respecting Industrial accidents and occupational diseases (hereinafter, the “ARIA OD”) is discriminatory within the meaning of the Charter of human rights and freed
Technology, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the U.S. Supreme Court. Its current mission: to explore strange new electronic communication devices; to boldly go where no court has gone before ...
On June 28, 2010, the United States Supreme Court announced its decision on Bilski v. Kappos regarding what inventions are eligible for patent protection. The decision affirms that business methods are patentable, although the specific business methods at the center of the case are not. While stating that no single test governs the issue, the Court approved of the use of the “machine-or-transformation test” that the Federal Circuit had distilled from earlier Supreme Court cases ...
A new feature of the civil justice reform system came into effect on 1 January 2010, nine months into the revamp. Steven Yip and James Yeung report that the introduction of mediation, as prescribed by Practice Direction 31 ('PD 31'), is expected to have a profound impact on the way parties conduct cases ...
Government contractors and subcontractors now have a new, unsavory obligation. On January 30, 2009, President Obama signed Executive Order 13496 – which requires government contractors and subcontractors to post a notice informing employees of their right to engage in concerted, collective activity. On May 20, 2010, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued its Final Rule to implement Executive Order 13496 ...
Dear Sirs, The Government of the Russian Federation approved the draft bill on amendments to Code on administrative offences of the Russian Federation and Federal Law “On legal status of foreign citizens in the Russian Federation”. According to this draft bill the liability for a foreign citizen will be imposed on the host party ...
Dear Sirs, The amendments to the Federal Law “On legal status of foreign citizens in the Russian Federation” are to come into force on July 1, 2010. These amendments are aimed at facilitation of migration rules for certain categories of employees and at improvement of investment climate in Russia ...
With the kick off of the 2010 FIFA World Cup imminent, employers will be dreading the onset of sickies, absenteeism and headaches which is sure to follow. What can employers can do to avoid scoring an own goal? The World Cup can bring out the best and, unfortunately, the worst in people. The competitive atmosphere can magnify animosity or even racial tension within the workplace with problems for both staff and employer ...
Citing an independent cost of service study’s findings that the U.S. Government is not fully covering its costs for the processing of visas, the Department of State has announced its intention to increase visa fees. The rule, which will go into effect on June 4, 2010, would increase fees for certain non-petition-based nonimmigrant visas and some Border Crossing Cards ...
Shoosmiths - EnglandWhat is disclosure? It is the stage of a dispute when each party is required to disclose to the other party the documents relevant to the issues in dispute. It normally takes place after each party has set out its position in their statement of case ...
Just one day after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit indicated that it would consider the current state of the inequitable conduct doctrine en banc in Therasense, Inc. v. Becton Dickinson and Co., a split panel of the Federal Circuit issued a decision in the case of Avid Identification Systems, Inc. v. Crystal Import Corp. affirming a lower court’s finding of inequitable conduct ...
Rolling out OSHA’s semiannual regulatory agenda on April 26, 2010, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis unveiled several action items being marketed as the “Plan, Prevent, and Protect” enforcement strategy. According to the Secretary, employers too often take shortcuts affecting worker safety and, therefore, must plan for workplace hazards, prevent them, and protect their employees ...
As of 6 April 2010, the sick note will change and become the fit note, allowing doctors to advise on how employees may be able to return to work. Employers must not be mistaken with how this new regime fits with the existing reporting procedures under The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR) for over three day injuries ...
