The Scottish electorate has voted ‘no’ to independence. However, the ‘no’ vote will still result in constitutional change for Scotland, not least because of the pledge by all main UK political parties to devolve further powers to the Scottish Parliament. Additionally, key provisions of the Scotland Act 2012 will come into force over the next two years giving the Scottish government additional powers and a referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU is proposed for 2017 ...
According to the recent amendments of the Labour Law (“Official Gazette of RS” no. 75/2014) (the “Law”) payslips are now an enforceable document. The Law has authorised the relevant Minister to further prescribe content to be contained on a payslip, by adopting the Rulebook on Payslip content (“Official Gazette of RS” no. 90/2014) ...
The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) is the latest government agency to make a foray into data breach enforcement, proposing a $10 million fine against two telecommunications carriers for failing to protect the personal information of up to 305,000 consumers. In light of this development, companies regulated by the FCC must now be alert to potential liability to the FCC for failing to secure consumers’ “proprietary information” (“PI”) ...
In a stunning employment verdict, a California jury awarded $185 million in punitive damages and $873,000 in compensatory damages to a former AutoZone store manager who claimed the auto-parts retailer mistreated her based on her gender, demoted her after learning she was pregnant, and ultimately terminated her from employment based on her decision to challenge her demotion ...
On November 20, President Obama addressed the nation, unveiling a plan to change our U.S. immigration system through executive action. His announcement largely focused on providing temporary legal status to undocumented immigrants by expanding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to encompass a broader class of children to certain qualifying parents of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents ...
Also men are now allowed to book a room on the "Bella Donna" floor - the design of hotel floors for women only is discriminatory. This was established by the Danish Eastern High Court by judgment of 25 April 2014. In this case, one of the largest hotels in the country had established a floor for women only. This floor had a number of additional amenities not to be found on the other floors, including special toilet ware, flowers, and a particularly efficient hand shower ...
The City Court of Aarhus has established that two former employees' updating of their personal LinkedIn profiles while being subject to a non-competition clause was a breach of the clause. The case involved two employees who had given notice of termination in order to take up employment in a competing company ...
A summary dismissal of a salaried employee who was seven minutes late for work was justified according to the judgment of 27 May 2014 delivered by the City Court of Glostrup. The case involved an employee appointed as deputy manager in a supermarket who repeatedly showed up late for work - typically only a few minutes. It had been emphasised on various occasions to the employee that he had to show up for work on time - but without result ...
The Parliament of the Republic of Serbia adopted the Law on Employment of Foreigners (the “Law”) on 25 November 2014. The Law will come into force on the eighth day following its publication in the “Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia”, i.e. on 4 December 2014The Law regulates the employment of foreigners in the Republic of Serbia in a different manner than compared with the currently applicable Law on the Conditions for Employment of Foreign Citizens ...
A Ministerial Order (S.I. 541/2014) has been passed commencing Part 3 of the Criminal Justice (Mutual Assistance) Act 2008 (the Act), from last Monday 1 December, 2014. The Act provides for various forms of mutual legal assistance to foreign law enforcement authorities. Part 3 concerns requests for mutual assistance between Ireland and other Member States of the EU for interception of telecommunications messages for the purposes of criminal investigations ...
California Paid Sick Leave is Here This term, the California Legislature enacted the Healthy Workplaces/Healthy Families Act of 2014 (AB 1522), which requires employers to provide paid sick leave at a rate of one hour for every 30 hours worked starting on July 1, 2015 ...
The Minister of Communications and Informatics has issued Regulation No. 18 of 2014 on The Certification of Telecommunication Devices and Equipment. This regulation has been in force since 27 June 2014. All telecommunications devices and equipment that are produced, assembled, and imported in and to Indonesia for commercial purposes uses, must satisfy the prevailing technical requirements including a Telecommunications Devices and Equipment certificate ...
In Commission des normes du travail v. Compagnie d'assurances Standard Life du Canada,1 (the “Standard Life of Canada case”), the Court of Québec allowed an employer to file a counterclaim against an employee in the context of proceedings instituted by the Commission des normes du travail (“CNT”) on behalf of that same employee ...
In a unanimous decision dated November 17, 2014,1 the Court of Appeal of Québec held that the procedural fairness rules applicable in administrative and public law do not apply in the context of a psychological harassment investigation conducted by an employer. As a result, the Court set aside the judgment of the Court of Québec ordering the lawyer who conducted the investigation to pay $3,000 in damages ...
Members of the development community and businesses that currently have construction projects under way in Davidson County should be aware of a pending legislative proposal that would likely severely impact the ability to construct most projects in Nashville’s Mid-Town, Gulch, and downtown areas. Councilwoman Erica Gilmore has introduced an ordinance, BL2014-992, that is pending before the Metropolitan Council ...
Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP has announced a significant addition to its Government Investigations and White Collar practice with former Assistant United States Attorney J.D. Thomas joining the firm as a partner. Thomas most recently served in the United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Tennessee, where he focused on prosecuting healthcare fraud ...
On January 30, 2015, in the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour v. Saskatchewan (2015 SCC 4) decision, the Supreme Court of Canada further clarified the scope of the rights of workers pursuant to section 2(d) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the “Charter”). Indeed, in its 2007 decision better known as B.C. Health ([2007] 2 S.C.R ...
SyCipLaw partner Hector M. de Leon, Jr. was interviewed by ALB’s Ranajit Dam for the cover story of its January issue. Entitled "The year in 2015," the article provides a forecast of 2015 economic and legal developments and trends in China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand.The article is available for viewing online at the ALB website. A copy of the entire January issue of ALB is also available through Issuu ...
A recent decision1 by the Commission des relations du travail (“CRT”) highlights the plight of an employer faced with an employee who oversold his abilities during the job interview and later proves incapable of delivering on his promises. In this case, Laurentian Bank Securities inc. (“Laurentian”) successfully defended against a claim for dismissal without good and sufficient cause filed by a former employee. The facts of the case are commonplace ...
In a decision rendered on December 30, 20141, arbitrator Nathalie Faucher concluded that the dismissal imposed by a hospital centre on an employee for breach of confidentiality was well-founded. The employee, an administrative agent at the emergency room of the hospital centre, was dismissed for breaching her obligation of confidentiality. The employer stated that she had disclosed to a work colleague the fact that a patient had HIV ...
In a decision rendered on December 30, 20141, arbitrator Nathalie Faucher concluded that the dismissal imposed by a hospital centre on an employee for breach of confidentiality was well-founded. The employee, an administrative agent at the emergency room of the hospital centre, was dismissed for breaching her obligation of confidentiality. The employer stated that she had disclosed to a work colleague the fact that a patient had HIV ...
In a policy shift aimed at providing families with more economic flexibility during the often lengthy green card application process, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that, effective May 26, 2015, certain H-4 dependent spouses of H-1B nonimmigrants seeking employment-based lawful permanent resident status will be eligible to apply for employment authorization ...
SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan has updated the Philippine Chapter of the International Background Checks Summaries. Published by the Employment Law Alliance, it is a free online resource guide that provides clients and ELA-registered website users with the general requirements and practices for conducting background checks on potential employees in selected countries around the world.Register to access this free resource ...
The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of Culture jointly issued a Notice on the Relevant Formalities for Foreigners Entering China for Completing Short-Term Work Assignment (for Trial Implementation) ("Notice") on 6 November 2014 which provides for new visa and residence requirements on foreigners entering and staying in China for work for no more than 90 days ...
Download a free copy of the Philippine section of The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Telecoms, Media and Internet Laws and Regulations 2015, which was contributed by SyCipLaw partner Rose Marie M. King-Dominguez and senior associate Ruben P. Acebedo II ...
