President Obama announced on January 4, 2012, that he would use his power of recess appointment to fill three vacancies on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). All three appointees had been formally nominated by the President for their positions but the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee had not yet acted on any of the nominations. The new members are Sharon Block (D), Terence F. Flynn (R), and Richard Griffin (D) ...
The Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division is proposing changes to the regulations that govern the Family and Medical Leave Act (the “FMLA” or the “Act”). The proposed changes include provisions relating to an employer’s ability to opt to use different increments of FMLA under certain circumstances and clarify an employer’s responsibility to reinstate an employee after FMLA leave in situations where it may be impossible, as opposed to inconvenient, to reinstate an employee mid-shift ...
Ukraine is a civil law country with the Constitution being a principal source of law. The main sources of civil and commercial law are acts promulgated by the legislative and executive branches of the state. International treaties ratified by Parliament become part of national law and prevail in a conflict with domestic law ...
You are the general counsel of a public company, and your board and your CEO are considering the company’s strategic acquisition options. Your input is needed on the different forms that such a strategic transaction can take ...
In the recent decision of Giza v. Sechelt School Bus Service Ltd., 2012 BCCA 18 (“Giza”), the Court of Appeal for British Columbia (the “Court of Appeal”) held that an employee who quit his job after being given working notice of termination of employment was nevertheless entitled to sue for damages for wrongful dismissal for the period of reasonable notice in excess of the notice given.Mr ...
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has confirmed that lower courts may use their discretion in choosing either of two methods - the "percentage method" or "lodestar method" - to calculate attorneys' fees in class action suits. The decision, in Union Asset Mgmt Holding A.G. v. Dell, Inc., 2012 WL 35249 (5th Cir. Feb. 7, 2012), affirmed a district court's use of the percentage method to calculate a $7.2 million fee award ...
In just a few years, the Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1984 (the “CFAA,” 18 U.S.C. § 1030) - a sweeping statute that criminalizes the unauthorized access of protected computers - has evolved into a broad and powerful weapon in computer-related criminal and civil litigation. Originally enacted to target hackers, the statute now reaches almost any imaginable malfeasance that involves a computer. Two recurring categories of cases arise in an employment context ...
The National Labor Relations Board has had a busy few weeks. First, over the dissent of its sole Republican Member, Brian Hayes, it issued a final rule implementing new procedures for union elections. Second, it issued a decision in D.R. Horton, 357 NLRB No. 184 (January 3, 2012), a much-anticipated case involving class action waivers in collective bargaining agreements. Third, on the heels of the D.R ...
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently announced its annual revisions to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (HSR Act) jurisdictional thresholds. The revised thresholds will become effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register and will apply to all transactions closing on or after such date. The new thresholds will remain in effect until the next annual adjustment, expected in the first quarter of 2013 ...
You’re the general counsel of a public company and your CEO calls you to tell you that he is interested in acquiring another public company. He’s already asking you how quickly this can get done and what the company needs to do. What are the first steps you should take? Board of Directors Generally, the CEO should call each of your board members individually to gauge their initial reaction toward the acquisition and schedule a special board meeting to discuss a potential transaction ...
The honourable justice Louis-Paul Cullen of the Superior Court rendered a judgment on September 23, 2011 which dismissed a motion for authorization to exercise a class action instituted by Mr. Kerfalla Toure (hereinafter "Toure") against Brault & Martineau (hereinafter "B & M) . (1) In order for a class action to be authorized by the Superior Court, the Code of Civil Procedure sets out the four conditions which must be fulfilled ...
Over the course of a few months spanning June to September 2011, a number of regulations were issued by the Business Competition Supervisory Commission (Komisi Pengawas Persaingan Usaha – “KPPU”) as implementing guidelines to several pertinent Articles in Law No. 5 of 1999 concerning Prohibition of Monopolistic Practices and Unfair Business Competition (“Anti-Monopoly Law”). These guidelines are: Guidelines for Monopolistic Practices (Regulation No ...
In order to provide extensive protection, especially for the distribution of drugs in Indonesia, BPOM has issued a new regulation which sets out the criteria and procedure for drug registration, ie BPOM Regulation No. HK.03.1.23.10.11.08481 of 2011 regarding The Criteria and Procedure For Drug Registration ...
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DISCIPLINARY MEASURES RELATING TO THE USE OF COMPUTER EQUIPMENT: COCA-COLA IS FORCED TO REINSTATE AN EMPLOYEE THE COMMISSION DES RELATIONS DU TRAVAIL (THE “COMMISSION”) RECENTLY RULED ON THE WAY IN WHICH AN EMPLOYER PROCEEDED TO IMPOSE A DISCIPLINARY MEASURE ON AN EMPLOYEE DUE TO HIS USE OF COMPUTER EQUIPMENT BELONGING TO THE EMPLOYER ...
On December 23, 2011, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced that it would postpone its requirement that employers post a notice informing employees of their federal labor law rights until April 30, 2012. As discussed in our NLRB Roundup Part 2, this rule requires physical posting of an 11x17 notice, as well as publication on the employer’s intranet or internet site if the employer customarily uses these sites to communicate with employees ...
On Monday December 19, 2011, the Department of Justice announced year-end results for False Claims Act (“FCA”) cases in fiscal year 2011. The results, summarized below, demonstrate a dramatic increase in FCA cases brought by the government and private whistleblowers. The pharmaceutical industry is the prime target at the moment, but companies with defense contracts, federal subsidies and loans, and government contracts more generally are on the enforcement radar ...
The role, and especially the liability, of corporate directors have evolved considerably over the last few decades. Obviously, the financial scandals of the 1990s are largely responsible for this change that began in the United Stated with the enactment of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 200, prompting Canadian authorities to follow suit with the adoption of more stringent securities regulations ...
