It is common knowledge among many human resources professionals that religious organizations generally are protected from religious discrimination lawsuits under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and most state anti-discrimination laws. For example, a Baptist organization may apply a preference for members of the Baptist Church in its hiring decisions ...
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 ...
Introduction There are multiple insurance policies available on the market to protect your property in Quebec. But how well do you know all your options? In 2016, we addressed peer-to-peer insurance, which is essentially a community of users wanting to insure similar goods and services together.1 However, in November 2021, the Superior Court of Québec rendered an interesting decision2 on self-insurance in the context of insurance offered by two (2) student associations ...
One of the issues an employer is obliged to consult on during a potential retrenchment process is the selection criteria to be applied when determining which employees will be dismissed and which will be retained. In doing so, the employer should aim to reach agreement with the other consulting party/parties on what the selection criteria should be ...
On May 23, 2019, by a vote of 417-3, the United States House of Representatives passed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement (SECURE) Act. Notwithstanding broad bipartisan support, the bill stalled in the United States Senate until Dec. 19, 2019, when it passed a budget reconciliation bill (H.R. 1865, the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020 [the “Act”]), which contains the provisions from the SECURE Act. The president signed the Act on Dec. 20 ...
An Act to amend the Labour Code (S.Q. 2003, c. 26) This is a revised edition of a November 2003 bulletin pertaining to Bill 31 prior to its enactment ...
Section 197 of the South African Labour Relations Act: The ebb and flow of what constitutes a going concern More recently, in 2016, in Rural Maintenance (Pty) Limited and Another v Maluti-A-Phofung Local Municipality, the Constitutional Court dealt with outsourcing and the impact of a transfer of assets by the outgoing entity in evaluating whether a transfer of a business as a going concern existed ...
The purpose of section 197 of South Africa’s Labour Relations Act, 1995 (“LRA”) is to protect and maintain employment in circumstances where a transfer of business takes place. In terms of section 197 and section 197B(1)(b), a “transfer” means the transfer of a business by one employer (the old employer) to another employer (the new employer) as a going concern ...
A new appellate court ruling will permit workers in parts of the northeastern United States to bring forward federal law claims of workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation ...
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in VAM Check Cashing Corp. v. Federal Insurance Company, No. 11-2644-cv, (2d Cir. Nov. 7, 2012), found the "overt felonious act" requirement in a crime insurance policy to be ambiguous. The court held, therefore, that the insured would be entitled to coverage for a theft at the insured’s store, even though it occurred as a result of a covert scheme to defraud ...
Last week, the Second Circuit delivered a highly anticipated ruling on whether companies may continue to use unpaid interns. In what represents a clear victory for companies, the Court adopted a flexible “primary beneficiary” test to determine whether workers should be properly classified as interns or employees ...
The SEC issued enforcement orders against three companies for including terms in their employment and separation agreements that violated Rule 21F-17(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1942, commonly known as the whistleblower protection rule. The rule prohibits any action that impedes an individual from communicating directly with SEC staff about a possible securities law violation ...
On April 1, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) brought its first enforcement action based on confidentiality agreements that the SEC alleged had the potential to “stifle the whistleblowing process.” Houston-based company KBR, Inc. (“KBR”), agreed to pay $130,000 as a civil penalty for including impermissible restrictions in confidentiality agreements signed by witnesses during internal investigations ...
The German Federal Labor Court (BAG) ruled by judgment of January 31, 2019 (ref. no. 2 AZR 426/18) that, under certain circumstances, the employer may lawfully review data on an employee's work computer even if there is no suspicion based on factual evidence of a breach of duty. This applies to minor encroachments on personal rights, for example, in the case of actions carried out openly and restricted to files that are not marked as "private" ...
In a landmark decision issued today, the Supreme Court of the Unites States ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits workplace discrimination against gay, lesbian, and transgender people. The case involved consolidated lawsuits filed by two gay persons fired due to their sexual orientation and a transgender woman fired after revealing plans to transition from male to female ...
On February 22, 2023, the United States Supreme Court affirmed the importance of long-standing U.S. Department of Labor salary pay regulations. In Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc. et al. v. Michael J. Hewitt, (Case No. 21-984), the Court, in a 6-2-1 opinion, held that high-earning professionals can only be overtime-exempt if they are paid on salary basis. The case involved Michael Hewitt, a former offshore oil rig worker for Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc ...
In a 5-4 decision, the United States Supreme Court held that states and their agencies cannot invoke sovereign immunity as a defense to claims of discrimination brought under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (“USERRA”)[1] in Torres v. Texas Department of Public Safety.[2] With this new ruling, public employers should continue to be mindful of the protections that USERRA provides active-duty and veteran employees ...
June 15, 2022 By: Tracy Warren and Yvonne Ricardo Finally, some good news for California employers involving California’s Private Attorney General Act of 2004 (“PAGA”). The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Angie Moriana is a huge victory for employers with valid arbitration programs or who wish to implement valid arbitration programs to substantially limit exposure to statutory and civil penalties under PAGA. On June 15, 2022, the U.S ...
Parties to a contract can give the right to enforce an obligation in the contract to a third party. For example, they are very often used where a large business enters into a contract with a supplier and wants its group companies to be able to enforce the contract. In England, this is governed by the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999. In Scotland, the legal recognition for this has been a common law principle, jus quaesitum tertio ...
With Scotland’s population growth stalling and with labour shortages in the UK at a record high, the demand for migrant workers at all skill levels is ever-increasing. Part 1 of this insight focuses on some of the current immigration routes for consideration by Scottish employers. Scotland is more reliant on migration than the rest of the UK to maintain population and help alleviate skills shortages ...
From ground-breaking discoveries such as penicillin and insulin, to the development of the MRI body scanner and the creation of Dolly the sheep, the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell ...
With school getting back in session, leave issues are bound to arise. For many small to medium-sized employers, these may include paid and unpaid leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), as well as other complicated issues that may arise under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This webinar will provide an overview of the FFCRA and ways employers can try to navigate the FFCRA during this uncertain time ...
Since it was introduced at the end of 2005, the scheme funding regime for defined benefit pension schemes has been through a process incremental of evolution. With a new legal objective for the Pensions Regulator now revealed, will this alter the approach of employers and trustees to scheme funding in practice or will it turn out to be business as usual? Back in 2005, the emphasis was on the scheme specific nature of the new funding regime ...
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 ...
