Workforce Bulletin

As featured in #WorkforceWednesday: Restrictive covenants, such as non-compete and non-solicitation agreements, are regulated differently worldwide. In this episode of Spilling Secrets, Epstein Becker Green attorneys Peter A. Steinmeyer, A. Millie Warner, and Susan Gross Sholinsky take a trip around the world with Andrew Lilley, Head of Employment Law at Deloitte Legal, to highlight some of these unique distinctions and discuss how global employers can navigate these differences.

On February 19, 2021, in a landmark decision that may have lasting effects on the gig economy, the United Kingdom Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Uber drivers are workers and are not self-employed contractors, and, as such, are entitled to certain rights, including minimum wage, holiday pay and rest breaks, among other benefits and protections.

Factual Background

The UK Supreme Court’s decision concludes nearly five years of litigation between Uber and a small group of former drivers.  These Uber drivers entered into partner agreements with Uber to drive passengers who were ...

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed dining habits across the world, as governments have shut down and restricted indoor and outdoor dining.  Even where restrictions have eased, many avoid sit-down dining out of concern for COVID-19 exposure and rely on take-away for their restaurant meals.  Clearly, the COVID-19 pandemic has limited dining options.

France, however, has decided to provide workers with a new, previously forbidden, dining option, although it remains to be seen how palatable it will be to French employees.  The Labor Ministry has decreed that to contain the spread of ...

On November 16, 2020, the Russian government approved new rules increasing the rates of remuneration employers must pay employees for their inventions, utility models and industrial designs (the “Rules”).  The Rules will be effective from January 1, 2021 until January 1, 2027.

Employers’ Rights to Their Employees’ Patentable Objects and Employees’ Entitlement to Remuneration

In Russia, the exclusive rights to patentable objects (e.g., inventions, utility models and industrial designs) that employees create as part of their employment duties or as a specific task ...

As we have noted previously, many countries have introduced creative new approaches to address the economic realities of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Because employees continue to work from home and employers reconsider whether employees must return to the workplace at all, jurisdictions have implemented – and now are extending – measures to accommodate the needs and interests of both employers and employees in this ever-changing and evolving employment environment.

As we have highlighted, Luxembourg is an example of a country that has sought to develop solutions with its ...

On November 11, 2020, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) issued eagerly awaited guidance for complying with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for protecting the privacy rights of individuals in their personal data subject to potential transfer from the European Union (EU) to the United States and other countries. The guidance comes in the wake of the uncertainly following the Court of Justice’s July 16, 2020 decision in Schrems II invalidating the EU-US Privacy Shield and upholding the use of standard contractual clauses as a permissible ...

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect workplaces throughout the world, employers are considering new ways to ensure a safe workplace when employees return to the office. Outside the US, employers must balance their duty of care to protect the health and safety of all their employees with safeguarding employees’ privacy and complying with data protection regulations. Many employers already have analyzed whether they may require or request employees to (i) submit to COVID-19 testing at the workplace, (ii) certify certain health information regarding exposure to ...

Outside of the United States, terminating employees can be difficult even in “normal” times.  The concept of “at-will” employment is uniquely American, and generally, employers in non-US jurisdictions only may terminate employment for “cause” or for other statutorily permitted reasons.  Moreover, terminated employees in many countries are entitled to statutory notice, severance and other benefits, which is far more the exception than the rule for US employees.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries have increased employee job protections even ...

On August 13, 2020, 11 years after the enactment of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the “FW Act”), Australian employers received guidance from the High Court regarding how to count the entitlement to “10 days” of personal leave per year of employment, as required under Section 96 of the FW Act.

The High Court determined that employees’ leave entitlement is equivalent to the average of employees’ “ordinary hours” of work over the course of a two-week period (i.e., 1/26^th of the ordinary hours of work in a year) and not 10 “working days” of paid leave per year. This ...

As we have previously highlighted, many countries have introduced creative new approaches to address the economic realities of the COVID-19 pandemic.  As employees continue to work from home and employers reconsider whether employees must return to the workplace at all, some jurisdictions are implementing measures to accommodate the needs and interests of both employers and employees in the ever-changing and evolving employment environment.  Luxembourg is yet another example of a country that has sought to develop solutions with its neighboring nations to ease the economic ...

On August 8, 2020, in response to local meteorology reports of expected temperatures of above 95°F, Luxembourg’s Ministry of Health announced a “red alert warning,” and implemented a Heat Wave Plan. The Heat Wave Plan (i) advises that older individuals, infants, and those with chronic illnesses may be affected by such high temperatures and (ii) offers personal check-in and hydration services by the Luxembourg Red Cross and home care agencies. All such visits must adhere to COVID-19 safety procedures.

Additionally, the Luxembourg Labor and Mines Inspectorate (the ...

On June 16, 2020, the Court of Appeal for Ontario handed down a decision that will have a profound impact on the enforceability of termination provisions in Ontario employment agreements. In Waksdale v. Swegon North America, Inc., the Court of Appeal held that if the termination provisions governing “cause” of an employment contract violate the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA”), those provisions are not severable and the entire termination provision of the employment agreement is void and unenforceable.

Factual Background & Procedural History

Benjamin Waksdale ...

On July 27, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Chile enacted legislation for parents on parental leave and for parents and caregivers of children born in or after 2013 (i.e., seven years of age or younger). Specifically, the law (i) provides parents with an extension of up to 90 days of additional parental leave benefits and (ii) allows eligible parents and caregivers to suspend their employment contract with employers in order to provide childcare and receive unemployment benefits.

Parental Leave Extension Due to COVID-19

Benefit Duration and Eligibility: The law allows ...

As we previously reported, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected employers and employees across the globe.  Since the outbreak of COVID-19, governments have implemented measures to address the economic impact of the pandemic, including job retention schemes and promoting remote work.  Many employers have reconsidered the need for employees to return to the office at all.  In response, Barbados and Estonia have taken a dynamic approach to these changes and have introduced digital nomad visas that allow individuals to live in the country while they work for foreign employers.

Digital ...

Tracking diversity and inclusion efforts on a global basis is often a challenging task for in-house legal, human resources, and diversity and inclusion teams.  While employers may be interested in collecting applicants’ and/or employees’ diversity information for worthy reasons, such an effort is a fertile ground for potential litigation involving data privacy violations and discrimination claims.

Risks of Violating Data Privacy Requirements

Globally, diversity information typically constitutes personal data (and, in many jurisdictions, sensitive personal ...

As we previously reported, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected many employers and employees throughout Europe. Since mid-March 2020, the Government of the United Kingdom has implemented several measures and guidance to address the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Similar to other European jurisdictions, one such measure is the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (“CJRS”), designed to help employers retain their workforce. Currently, the CJRS provides partial subsidized wages to approximately 7.5 million UK employees across 935,000 employers. Recently, the UK ...

Along with many European countries, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected employers and employees in Luxembourg.  On March 17, 2020, the Government of Luxembourg issued a State of Emergency until June 25, 2020 and implemented several measures and guidance to prevent the spread of COVID-19.  Luxembourg’s population of approximately 625,000, reportedly has 4,040 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 110 COVID-19 fatalities and 3,901 individuals who have recovered from the coronavirus.

Similar to other European jurisdictions, Luxembourg provides employers and employees with ...

As we previously reported, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Indian government invoked special provisions of the Disaster Management Act, 2005 (the “DMA”) to implement a series of orders under the DMA (“Orders”) imposing a nationwide lockdown. The Indian national lockdown went into effect on March 25, 2020 and was extended several times, until May 31, 2020.

The initial lockdown Orders included strict directives for employers. The employment provisions of the orders (the “Employment Provisions”) prohibited employers from terminating any employees or ...

We previously have described certain country-specific initiatives to re-open the economy, and we have provided insights on issues that employers should consider when employees are allowed to return to the workplace.  Over the past several weeks, some local governments around the globe have begun slowly to initiate progressive measures to revise and even rescind COVID-19 emergency legislation, orders and lockdowns.  These governments now are grappling with workplace-specific issues.  As such, employers must determine how to maintain their duty of care to all employees and to ...

As we previously reported, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly altered the global workplace and international employer-employee relations.  Over the past several months, many countries have enacted nationwide orders requiring billions of people to stay at home in an effort to reduce transmission of COVID-19.  While some countries remain locked down, others, have recently initiated progressive measures to re-open businesses and return employees to the workplace, with varying degrees of success:

• Germany: On April 27 Germany began allowing shops as large as 8,600 square ...

As we previously reported, the COVID-19 pandemic has altered the global workplace and international employer-employee relations in profound ways. As COVID-19 continues to spread, countries have enacted nationwide orders, requiring billions of people to stay at home. Recently, in an effort to continue to slow the spread of COVID-19, several countries have extended national stay-home orders. The ordered restrictions vary according to jurisdiction specific reasons.

Belgium

On April 15, 2020, Belgium’s National Security Council (“NSC”), which includes Prime ...

As we previously reported, the COVID-19 pandemic has altered the global workplace and international employer-employee relations in profound ways. As COVID-19 continues to spread, countries are enacting legislation and issuing guidance to support employers and employees as they confront the global crisis. In particular, Brazil, with a population of over 211 million, and India, with a population of approximately 1.3 billion, each has enacted measures to combat the ongoing economic and financial troubles caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Specifically, Brazil has issued ...

The COVID-19 pandemic has altered the international workplace and international employee-employer relations in profound ways.  As employees now work from home in significant numbers around the globe, multinational companies have suddenly been confronted with managing issues they may not have previously prioritized. Matters such as outfitting employees’ homes with the necessary technology to stay connected with clients and coworkers, and ensuring that employees receive sufficient ergonomics support and training to maintain a safe and healthy home office space, now are ...