Enacted in June 1998, the Tobacco Act (the «Act») is a major component of the Government of Quebec’s strategy to fight smoking. In June 2005, Quebec’s legislature reinforced the Act by adopting the Act to amend the Tobacco Act and other legislative provisions(1) (the «Amending Act»). The amendments, which came into force on May 31, 2006, are primarily intended to further restrict the use of tobacco in certain locations, including workplaces, and enhance compliance with the Act ...
In the past few years, several companies have experienced financial difficulties with their defined benefit private pension plans as a result of several factors including, in particular, poor investment performance due to falling stock markets, declining interest rates, the aging of beneficiaries and the increase in the number of retirees ...
The new LC is based on a different legal conception than the existing LC. Whereas the still valid LC is a mandatory legal regulation with no exceptions, the new code allows that the rights or obligations in labour-law relations are regulated differently than in the Labour Code, unless the code expressly prohibits or unless it results from the nature of the relevant provisions that it is impossible to deviate from such provisions ...
On February 28, 2006, Michigan enacted water management legislation giving the State greater control over large quantity water withdrawals. The laws create for the first time a waterextraction permit system and user fees for largescale withdrawals from inland and Great Lakes water sources. They also impose special requirements on water bottlers ...
Article 55 of Supreme Decree No. 21060 of August 29, 1985, established that both private and public entities could freely enter into or terminate labor agreements subject to the General Labor Law and its Regulatory Decree. Also, under article 39 of Supreme Decree No. 22407 of January 11, 1990, the voluntary hiring and termination of employees was established ...
Aboriginal rights, title and treaty issues are one of the most significant legal issues currently facing the oil and gas industry in Western Canada. This paper provides an overview of the current legal context respecting aboriginal rights, title and treaty issues in Western Canada and its impact on the oil and gas industry. It also includes some comments on one commonly used means to reduce uncertainty in relation to consultation issues, namely, impact and benefit agreements ...
In 2005, 24 oil and gas sector companies floated on the London Stock Exchange, five of which operated in oil services and the remainder in exploration and production (E&P). A similar number of sector flotations are expected in 2006, despite a slow start to the year. Investor appetite for oil services and E&P flotations remains buoyant against the background of continued positive outlook for oil and gas prices ...
On 6 April 2006, new regulations, called the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) – TUPE - Regulations 2006 came into force to replace the well-known 1981 Regulations. These are the Regulations that make provision for protection of employees – from dismissal and in their terms and conditions - where a business is transferred from one company to another. TUPE 2006 differs in a number of ways from the 1981 Regulations ...
In recent times, the issue of post-retirement healthcare benefits has taken on new significance for employers and sponsors of pension and health and welfare plans. Factors such as increasing numbers of retirees, rising drug and healthcare costs and government cutbacks to universal healthcare programs are causing organizations to re-evaluate the extent to which they can or are willing to continue to provide post-retirement healthcare benefits ...
Supreme Decree No. 28701 of May 1st, 2006 (the “SD”), has a legitimate basis that rests on the 2004 binding Referendum by which a majority of the Bolivian population approved the nationalization of hydrocarbons. Also, the SD was created in order to comply with campaign promises made to the various social sectors that ultimately brought the current government to power ...
In a judgment rendered on February 7, 2006, the Quebec Court of Appeal reiterated the obligations of the employer and the employee to play a role in seeking a reasonable accommodation. In cases where a collective agreement exists, the union has the same obligation ...
The phenomenon of personnel agencies Generally, Labour Relations laws assume the interaction of two parties, an employer and an employee. The employee offers his services, for pay, to an employer, who determines the working conditions and ensures discipline. This is a bipartite relationship. However, when a business entrusts the management of its human resources to a personnel agency, there is a tripartite relationship ...
From 1 October 2006, new legislation comes into effect intended to combat age discrimination. During a recent series of seminars, commercial law firm Shepherd and Wedderburn carried out a survey of delegates to understand employers' concerns and see what efforts they are making to take the new law on board. More than one in four delegates claimed they themselves intended to work past the anticipated default retirement age of 65 while a further 15% were unsure ...
Thanks to Houston's leading role in energy, the exotic names of former Soviet Republics forming the Commonwealth of Independent States -- entities such as Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan -- are familiar to locals active in oil and gas. They are also well known to Houston law firms that serve energy interests. Serving Russia and the Caspian region, Haynes and Boone LLP opened a Moscow office last year ...
This paper appears in the March 24, 2006 issue of The Lawyers Weekly, published by LexisNexis Canada Inc. Over the past few years, courts in Canada have faced the apparent conflict between competing statutory mandates with respect to class proceedings and arbitrations. In Ruddell v. BC Rail Ltd., 2005 BCSC 1504, Mr. Justice Holmes of the British Columbia Supreme Court reviewed this conflict in the context of pension litigation ...
The Court of Final Appeal made a landmark ruling at the end of February on an unprecedented claim for holiday pay or annual leave pay based on commission in Lisbeth Enterprises Limited v Mandy Luk. The Court concluded that, apart from the contractual commission which accrued and calculated on a daily basis in amount varying from day to day, no commission is to be included in the calculation of holiday pay and annual leave pay ...
Doctors working in public hospitals claimed that, in breach of their employment contracts as well as the Employment Ordinance, for many years the Hospital Authority had required them to work long hours without proper compensation. The doctors in this latest round of confrontation with the HA successfully claimed compensation for "rest days" and "holidays" for which they had been deprived but lost their claim on compensation for "overtime" worked ...
An amendment to the Law Regulating Article 27 of the Mexican Constitution Concerning Petroleum (the “Law”) was recently passed by the Mexican Congress and published in the Federal Official Gazette on January 12, 2006 ...
On December 28, 2005, the Mexican Ministry of Finance published in the Federal Official Gazette notice of an increase in domestic electricity power supply charges to be implemented during the year 2006. Such increase will not exceed 4% and will be put into effect gradually, month-by-month, throughout the year. As of the end of 2004, Mexico had 24 million domestic power supply consumers ...
Introduction Since June 1, 2004, the Labour Standards Act (hereinafter the “L.S.A.”) requires employers to provide a work environment free from psychological harassment. Thus, employers must, as a first step, take reasonable measures to prevent psychological harassment and then, whenever they become aware of such behaviour, put a stop to it. These duties imposed on employers are obligations “of means” as opposed to obligations “of result” ...
Purchasing a yacht should be a pleasurable experience given that the craft in question is most likely to be used for the owner’s leisure pursuits. Yachts, however, whether they are second-hand, new, large or small, have one thing in common. They are expensive. However, many purchasers whether they are paying £10,000 or £1,000,000 are sometimes less cautious than perhaps they should be when buying what is in effect a “toy” ...
In April 2005 a new Disability Discrimination Act was passed by Westminster. The Act extends existing non-discrimination legislation, primarily the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. While some provisions of the Act came into force in December 2005, many others will be coming into force over the course of 2006. It is essential that businesses are aware of their new responsibilities under the Act and prepare for its implementation ...
A 100% Quebec Parental Insurance Plan A new Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP) came into force on January 1, 2006. This plan provides for payment of benefits to all workers eligible for the plan who take a maternity leave, parental leave, paternity leave or adoption leave. This plan replaces the federal employment insurance plan. Beginning in 1996, Quebec informed Ottawa that it wanted to implement its own parental insurance plan ...
On 6 April 2006, new regulations, called the Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment - TUPE - Regulations 2006 came into force to replace the well-known 1981 Regulations. These are the Regulations that make provision for protection of employees ? from dismissal and in their terms and conditions - where a business is transferred from one company to another. TUPE 2006 differs in a number of ways from the 1981 Regulations ...
In Hong Kong, some employers grant to employees more than one day off per week while the Employment Ordinance (“EO”) only requires the employer to grant one rest day in every period of seven days. Under such circumstances, there is a question as to whether the employees are entitled to an alternative holiday when the statutory holiday falls on a day off ...
