The High Court recently issued 2 important judgments on the topic of bullying in the workplace. In the first case the plaintiff was successful and in the second case the plaintiff's claim failed. In the case of Una Ruffley v. the Board of Management of St. Anne's School (May 2014) a special needs assistant was awarded the sum of €255,276 in compensation and loss of earnings as a result of bullying which she suffered in the work place ...
This week (the week from Monday 16th November 2020 until the 20th November 2020) is anti-bullying week – a week meant to raise awareness against prejudice and bullying not only in schools but also at the workplace and cyber-bullying. Maltese employment law does not deal directly with bullying but with harassment, and this in connection with discriminatory treatment or with sexual harassment ...
On 10 March 2022, the Cabinet Office published the long-awaited draft Terms of Reference for the UK COVID-19 Inquiry.1 In this article we consider the implications for businesses impacted by the pandemic and how they may wish to get involved in the Terms’ finalisation. Terms of Reference are critical to a public inquiry as they define its scope and purpose ...
For many HR professionals the responsibility for ensuring that their organisation can continue to employ migrant workers falls squarely at their door. This can prove daunting, especially for those with little or no business-immigration experience ...
The Supreme Court has handed down its much anticipated decision relating to the coverage of business interruption insurance claims made following the COVID-19 pandemic. A key question was whether the Supreme Court ruling would finally provide the clarity that the expedited test case sought to achieve for both policyholders and insurers. The good news for all is that the Supreme Court has indeed provided much more clarity in relation to most issues ...
Two schools of thought have emerged on business interruption insurance coverage for coronavirus, either (a) it is a total panacea that will shift the risk of coronavirus revenue losses to insurance carriers or (b) there is no possible coverage for losses caused by coronavirus. As with most things in life and insurance, the truth lies somewhere in between and will depend on the specific policy at issue and the jurisdiction interpreting the policy ...
As each day that passes while COVID-19 spreads throughout the country, more businesses are closing their doors to protect their employees, customers, vendors, and other people with whom they come into contact. And many of them are wondering whether there is coverage for their business losses during this time. Business interruption or business income coverage is sometimes included in commercial property coverage ...
As each day that passes while COVID-19 spreads throughout the country, more businesses are closing their doors to protect their employees, customers, vendors, and other people with whom they come into contact. And many of them are wondering whether there is coverage for their business losses during this time. Business interruption or business income coverage is sometimes included in commercial property coverage ...
Further guidance for insurers and policyholders on business interruption claims is now available following an award made by Lord Mance in Certain Policyholders v China Taiping Insurance (UK) Co Ltd. Whilst the arbitration award will not be binding on the courts, it will no doubt prove persuasive and represents a victory for insurers, with Lord Mance finding no coverage under the denial of access cause in question ...
One of the innovations introduced by the Companies Act, 71 of 2008 (“Companies Act”) is the mechanism of business rescue proceedings in South Africa. In particular, chapter 6 of the Companies Act was inserted to “provide for the efficient rescue and recovery of financially distressed companies, in a manner that balances the rights and interests of all relevant stakeholders” (see section 7(k)) ...
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 ...
The landmark CARES Act provides many Alabama employers with several options to increase liquidity and cash flow during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. And only nine days before that legislation was enacted, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) also created two other payroll tax-related incentives for certain employers, and self-employed individuals ...
A lot hinged on the answer to the following question for thousands of businesses and organisations across the UK. When is equipment used at work not work equipment for the purposes of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998? It was put before the House of Lords at a hearing on 4 February 2009, exactly one year after the same question was considered by the Court of Appeal ...
On May 25, 2011, the en banc Federal Circuit announced its decision in Therasense, Inc. v. Becton, Dickinson & Company regarding the appropriate standards for succeeding with an inequitable conduct defense ...
You are in charge of finances for a small business and are on vacation at the beach. Suddenly, you remember you have forgotten to pay a company bill. All is not lost, you think. You run to you room, grab a laptop, and bring it down to the Tiki Bar. There, you order a drink and connect to the hotel's wireless system. Then you call up your company's bank's Web page, click the "log-in" button, enter your password, and order a check issued to the creditor ...
1 - What employment issues must companies consider in deciding whether to switch to the BYOD model? If companies are considering switching to the BYOD model, it can be worth considering implementing a clear IT policy regulating which devices the employee is allowed to bring and how to use them with the company's IT system ...
Key Point Employers must immediately change the manner in which they calculate and pay employee meal period and rest break premiums if they pay those premiums using an employee’s regular hourly rate in any workweek that an employee receives additional non-discretionary earnings. Introduction On July 15, 2021, in Ferra v ...
Originally filed in October 2014, the long-running and high-stakes battle between two powerhouse companies, Amgen and Sandoz, continues to lay out the ground rules for a growing biosimilar industry. The Federal Circuit’s first decision under the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (BPCIA) involved Zarxio, Sandoz’s Neupogen biosimilar product. Amgen v. Sandoz, 794 F.3d 1347 (Fed Cir. 2015) ...
Last month, CMS issued a proposed rule that would drastically expand the agency’s authority to further its program integrity efforts through the provider and supplier enrollment process. This proposed rule, referred to as CMS-6058-P, (located in the Federal Register at 81 Fed. Reg. 40 ...
The Cal/OSHA Standards Board is scheduled to meet on May 20, 2021 to review proposed revisions to the Emergency Temporary Standards (“ETS”) on COVID-19 Safety in the workplace that were originally adopted in November, 2020. The rules are expected to be readopted with the revisions and sent on to the Office of Administrative Law for an abbreviated five-day public notice and comment period as an emergency action before taking effect ...
Key Points Cal/OSHA's COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) became effective Nov. 30, 2020. Cal/OSHA clarified Section 3205's Aerosol Transmissible Diseases (ATD) Standard exemption applies to employees with occupational exposure to ATDs, not to all employees of an employer subject to the ATD Standard. Cal/OSHA issued a model COVID-19 Prevention Plan to assist employers ...
As California continues to move through Stage 2 of its Resilience Roadmap, “Lower-risk workplaces,” where retail (curbside and delivery only), related logistics and manufacturing, office workplaces, limited personal services, outdoor museums, childcare, and essential businesses can now open with modifications ...
With the next August public holiday on the horizon, we look at what can be a complicated area in calculating bank holiday entitlement for individuals who work part-time and/or on compressed hours. Under the Working Time Directive (WTD), which is now retained EU law, a worker has the right to a minimum of 4 weeks’ annual leave (or 20 days for a full-time worker). The Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR), which implement the WTD into UK law, provide an additional 1 ...
