Some companies are now required to extend employee protections to independent contractors.
Businesses understand there are a number of laws regulating employees’ rights, working conditions, safety and compensation. What may be surprising to employers, however, is that many of these laws are extended to protect people who are not their employees. In other words, a business will sometimes have to extend “employee” protections to people such as independent contractors and sub-contractors.
The immediate jobs outlook has turned positive for the first time in more than a year, driven largely by a decrease in redundancy intentions. This is the main finding of the latest Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s quarterly Labour Market Outlook survey of more than 1,000 employers, conducted by YouGov.
The report’s net employment balance, which measures the difference between the proportion of employers that intend to increase total staffing levels and those that intend to decrease total staffing levels in the first quarter of 2012, has risen to +6 from -8 since the Winter 2011/12 quarter. This is the report’s first positive figure for more than a year.
By Amanda R. Strainis-Walker and Eric J. Conn
With the dog days of summer around the corner, OSHA just put out a press release reminding employers with outside workplaces about OSHA’s focus on the hazards of working in high heat. The press release reinvigorates OSHA’s heat-related illness campaign that began leading into last summer, when OSHA produced a great deal of public information about heat-related illness, including a dedicated heat illness information page on OSHA’s website, a YouTube video, public press statements, speeches by senior Department of Labor and OSHA officials, and even a Heat Safety Smartphone App.
Last week, EHS Today Magazine ran our article in which we delve into more detail about OSHA’s amended Hazard Communication Rule (“HazCom”), and the integration of the United Nations’ Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (“GHS”). Check out the full article here, in which we detailed 10 important things employers need to know about the final HazCom Rule. Here’s the short list:
The article expands on our post here last month with a brief summary of the new HazCom rule.
A recent Ontario case is a rare example of parties seeking a judicial interpretation of a trademark settlement agreement. It also emphasizes the importance of understanding all possible translated meanings of a word before committing to refrain from using any translated versions, a challenge that often arises in a bilingual country.
In Skipper Online Services (SOS) Inc. v. 2030564 Ontario Inc., the Ontario Superior Court of Justice considered a settlement agreement that restricted Boatsmart from using translated versions of particular words. Skipper and Boatsmart were competing companies that administered online training for the Pleasure Craft Operator Card as required by Transport Canada. The parties had a trademark dispute regarding the words each party could use as metatags, which are “hidden keywords” affecting how the parties appear in search engine results. The two companies entered into a settlement agreement, wherein Boatsmart agreed to refrain from using the following words or “any reversals, misspellings, translations or plurals” thereof in its metatags: BOATER EXAM; EXAMEN DE BATEAU; EXAMEN BATEAU; BOATEREXAM; EXAMENBATEAU.
Steven Malitz
Arnstein & Lehr Chicago Partner Steven N. Malitz has written an article entitled, “Leverage and Documentation Create Business Freedom.” In this article, Mr. Malitz discusses his successful representation of a shareholder in two separate suits brought against him by a fellow shareholder and the facts and results of the litigation.
The case involved the disagreement between two shareholders who owned a business for many years, under a “hand-shake.” Mr. Malitz’ client started an unrelated, non-competitive business in foreign country. Claiming that Mr. Malitz’ client deserted the goods business, the other shareholder denied the client access to the business and eliminated his compensation. The other shareholder then sued to dissolve the goods business to start his own competing business and also filed a separate suit seeking an ownership interest in, and distributions from, the foreign business. Creating leverage by using substantive law, rules of procedure and business savvy, Mr. Malitz enabled his shareholder client to emerge from litigation free to pursue lucrative business interests.
While a number of key budget tax and superannuation measures were leaked prior to budget night, hidden behind the Government’s headline spending measures are some very important tax changes that affect businesses in a number of ways. This is not just because previously announced tax concessions have been taken off the table, including the reduction in the company tax rate, higher concessional superannuation contribution caps for persons over 55 and lower tax rates on interest.
As with many budget announcements, much of the practical detail of the Government proposals is yet to see the light of day, but some of the budget changes that will have practical impacts on businesses and business owners include: More…
On May 9, 2012, the Second Circuit held that Title VII’s “participation clause,” prohibiting an employer from retaliating against any employee who participates in an investigation “under” Title VII, requires participation in a formal investigation involving the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) – participating in purely internal investigations, conducted pursuant to the employer’s own policies and procedures, is not sufficient to trigger the statutory protections. Townsend v. Benjamin Enterprises, Inc., No. 09-0197.
The Second Circuit thereby reaffirmed the approach taken by its sister courts in the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Ninth and Eleventh Circuits, leaving intact a significant legal defense against retaliation claims under Title VII.
As of May 5, 2012, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has received 32,200 petitions that count against the 65,000 H-1B Regular Cap, and 13,700 petitions that count against the 20,000 H-1B Master’s Cap. USCIS will continue to accept new petitions until it has filled the H-1B Regular and Master’s Caps
We anticipate that the pace of H-1B submissions will now quicken because, among other reasons, foreign students working in F-1 Optional Practical Training status are receiving degrees, thus allowing their employers to sponsor them for the H-1B classification. Therefore, we strongly advise employers to identify, and promptly file, any petitions subject to the H-1B Cap – including petitions of L-1B employees who may need to switch to H-1B status to extend their authorized stay due to delays in the green card process. Any foreign national candidates who do not make it under the 2013 H-1B Cap may not be able to start work, or continue working, until October 1, 2013 – or later!
1. House hears workforce development bills
The House Economic & Small Business Development Committee heard testimony on a number of recently introduced workforce development bills this week. House Bill 539 makes changes to the composition and responsibilities of the State Workforce Policy Board and the One-stop System of workforce development. The bill sponsors, Representatives Tim Derickson (R- Oxford) and Andy Thompson (R- Marietta), said the bill would promote greater alignment of workforce development programs and increase access for both employers and job seekers to obtain the training they need.
Welcome to ILN-terviews, a series of profiles of ILN member firm attorneys, designed to give a unique insight into the lawyers who make up our Network. For our latest interview, we chose ILN member, Jonas Forsman of our member firm Hellstrom in Stockholm, Sweden.
In one sentence, how would you describe your practice?
My practice is within company law with focus on M&A, structural and managerial issues. Read full interview
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