Daniel Ornstein
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Switzerland has joined the growing list of jurisdictions to introduce legislation to address the gender pay gap. Effective July 1, 2020, employers with 100 or more employees (including part-time and hourly employees) will be required to conduct an internal gender pay gap analysis every four years until June 30, 2032. Affected employers will be required … Continue Reading
New York partner Howard Robbins and London partner Dan Ornstein discuss how U.K. laws affect U.S. employers in the latest episode of The Proskauer Brief podcast. International businesses face several challenges of local requirements as well as dealing with U.S. employment law. Tune in as we discuss many U.K. laws on discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, and their similarities to … Continue Reading
The legal definition of “workplace accidents” under French law does not normally make global headlines. However, as many of you will have read, a recent decision of the Paris Court of Appeal (CA Paris, May 27, 2019, n°16/08787) did just that. The facts in this case were more salacious than most. The employee died of … Continue Reading
On July 31, 2019, in the case of Nano Nagle School v Daly, the Supreme Court of Ireland delivered its decision in a long-running disability discrimination lawsuit between a paraplegic special needs assistant (“SNA”) and the school that ended her employment based on her disability. The Court’s decision provides a thoughtful analysis of an employer’s … Continue Reading
Romania’s fertility rate is statistically low, with only 1.54 children born per woman in 2018. The country’s birth rate has continued to decline since the early 90s, and more families are choosing to have one or no children. In-vitro fertilization, while increasingly common in the European Union, is rare in Romania. Approximately 5,000 Romanian couples … Continue Reading
In the case of Tillman v Egon Zehnder [2019] UKSC 32, the UK Supreme Court, for the first time in over 100 years, has examined the law of post-termination restrictive covenants. As well as providing clarity of the law, the decision serves as a reminder of the importance of the doctrine of restraint of trade, … Continue Reading
The President of Ireland is on track to sign into law a new amendment to parental leave laws after the country’s upper house (“Seanad Éireann”) approved it on May 8, 2019. The law had previously passed the lower house (“Dáil Éireann”) on June 13, 2018. The amendment now returns to Dáil Éireann for final approval before … Continue Reading
Hairstyles are gaining more attention in the labor and employment context. Earlier this year, Austria’s Supreme Court allowed a former employee to reopen his discrimination claim upon discovering evidence that the employer may be engaging in discriminatory conduct by imposing hairstyle-related requirements on employees. In 9 ObA 4/19g, a staffing agency’s employee was denied a … Continue Reading
Mexico Overhauls Federal Labor Law in Workers’ Favor On May 1, 2019, International Workers’ Day, Mexico published amendments to its Federal Labor Law in the Federal Official Gazette and secured the right of Mexican workers to organize and enter into collective bargaining agreements. The Mexican Senate voted 120 to 0 to pass the Labor Reform … Continue Reading
On December 13, 2018, the National Assembly of Thailand approved significant amendments to the country’s Labor Protection Act (“LPA”). The amendments took effect on May 6, 2019. Under the amendments, employees with 20 or more uninterrupted years of service will be entitled to receive 400 days’ pay as severance. This is an increase from the … Continue Reading
Per our previous post, the European Parliament and the Member States agreed to adopt new rules that would set the standard for protecting whistleblowers across the EU from dismissal, demotion, and other forms of retaliation when they report breaches of various areas of EU law. According to a press release issued by the European Parliament … Continue Reading
At a time when much of the world is accepting LGBTQ individuals and relationships, the pendulum has swung in the opposite direction in the small nation of Brunei. Earlier this month, Brunei put into force a new set of harsh criminal provisions mandating extreme physical punishment for certain acts forbidden by Islamic law, most notably … Continue Reading
Major changes to Singapore’s Employment Act (“EA”) took effect on April 1, 2019. First, the EA was expanded to include more employees and offer greater protections. Before April 1, the EA’s core provisions excluded managers and executives earning more than S$4,500, and its Part IV provisions, which provide additional protection to select groups of workmen … Continue Reading
On January 30, 2018, Shawn Wang (“Plaintiff”), filed suit against GM (China) Investment Co., Ltd. (“GMCIC”) and General Motors (GM) alleging, among other things, age discrimination in violation of the Age Discrimination and Employment Act (“ADEA”) and race and national origin discrimination under Title VII. Plaintiff, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was a GMCIC employee in … Continue Reading
Earlier this year, the UK Court of Appeal held that a class of 30,000 female Asda retail employees could compare themselves to male employees working in Asda’s distribution warehouses for purposes of their equal pay lawsuit. The Court’s analysis and decision has broad implications for gender pay litigation in the UK. Background The Court of … Continue Reading
According to a press release issued by the European Commission today, the European Parliament and the Member States have agreed to adopt new rules that set the standard for protecting individuals who blow the whistle on breaches of EU law from dismissal, demotion, and other forms of retaliation. This reform, which was first proposed by … Continue Reading
On January 15, 2019, we posted an article about the effect of the #MeToo era on China’s efforts to draft its first Civil Code enshrining the country’s civil laws (https://www.internationallaborlaw.com/2019/01/15/china-responds-to-metoo-employers-stay-alert/). While China is not expected to adopt the Code until at least 2020, the Chinese government is beginning to take steps now to address gender … Continue Reading
The New Year has brought an increase in minimum wages across the majority of European Union member countries. While most of these changes have been minimal, France and Spain, in particular, announced considerable increases to their respective minimum wages at the end of 2018. From the beginning of his tenure in May 2017, French President … Continue Reading
In most jurisdictions, there is a binary distinction between “independent contractors” and “employees,” with employment rights only afforded to “employees.” In the UK, there is a third class—“worker” —who benefit from certain employment rights, including paid time off and a minimum wage. The case of Addison Lee Ltd. v. Lange and Others provides important guidelines … Continue Reading
As we move into 2019, it is worth checking in on the “right to disconnect,” a French employment right that now has been adopted or proposed in multiple other countries. Basis of the Right We live in a hyper-connected world, and more and more companies now provide laptops and cell phones with the expectation that … Continue Reading
As of January 1, 2019, intersex Germans, meaning Germans with sex characteristics not fitting neatly within the standard understanding of males and females, will be able to register their gender as “divers,” which translates to “miscellaneous.” This new gender classification will be included on such documents as birth certificates, passports, and driver’s licenses. Since 2013, Germany has permitted … Continue Reading
China has begun work on the first draft of its Civil Code, a legislative measure aimed at reconciling and organizing the country’s extensive civil laws. The Chinese Civil Code (“Code”) is expected to be fully drafted and adopted in 2020. Although the Code has been under development for some time, it now finds itself in … Continue Reading
On December 27, 2018 the Korean National Assembly addressed workplace bullying and harassment in partial amendments to the Labor Standards Act (the “LSA”) and the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act. LSA, Article 6-2, “Prohibition of Workplace Harassment” This amendment to the LSA serves two main purposes: (1) creating new employer obligations; and (2) providing a … Continue Reading
On December 4, 2018, the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) issued an important decision on age discrimination in relation to the age requirements for new recruits to the Irish police force. Facts This case relates to the applications made by three Irish citizens to join the Irish national police. Their applications were refused because of … Continue Reading
Switzerland – New Gender Pay Gap Requirements
By Daniel Ornstein and Tony S. Martinez on Posted in Gender Pay Gap
[Podcast]: U.K. Law for U.S. Employers
By Daniel Ornstein and Howard Z. Robbins on Posted in Discrimination, Harassment/Bullying
The Surprisingly Broad Scope Definition of Workplace Accidents in France
By Béatrice Pola, Daniel Ornstein and Yasmine Tarasewicz on Posted in Workplace Accidents
Ireland Supreme Court Analyzes Disability Accommodation Requirements
By Daniel Ornstein and Jordan Glassberg on Posted in Discrimination, Equality of Treatment
Romania Amends Labour Code to Provide In-Vitro Fertilization Leave
By Daniel Ornstein, Erika C. Collins and Rachel Therese Gulotta on Posted in Leave Laws
UK Supreme Court Examines Restrictive Covenants First Time in 100 Years: A New Test for Severance
By Daniel Ornstein on Posted in Restrictive Covenants
Ireland Moves Forward with New Parental Leave Policies
By Daniel Ornstein, Erika C. Collins and Jacob P. Tucker on Posted in Compensation & Benefits, Health and Security, Working Time
An Increasingly Hairy Situation: Discriminatory Employment Decisions Based on Hairstyles
By Daniel Ornstein, Erika C. Collins and Vanessa P. Avello on Posted in Discrimination, Equality of Treatment, Litigation
Mexico Overhauls Federal Labor Law in Workers’ Favor
By Daniel Ornstein, Erika C. Collins and Rachel Therese Gulotta on Posted in Employees' Representatives, Unions Bargaining
Major Reform to the Thailand Labor Protect Act
By Daniel Ornstein, Erika C. Collins and Tony S. Martinez on Posted in Employment Contracts, Retirement, Terminations
The European Parliament Approves EU-Wide Standard for Whistleblower Protection
By Daniel Ornstein, Erika C. Collins, Lloyd B. Chinn, Pinchos Goldberg and Vanessa P. Avello on Posted in Whistleblowing, Whistleblowing Regulation
Brunei Now Penalizes Homosexuality with Death by Stoning
By Daniel Ornstein, Erika C. Collins and Jordan Glassberg on Posted in Discrimination, Equality of Treatment
Major Changes to Singapore’s Employment Act, Effective April 1, 2019
By Daniel Ornstein, Erika C. Collins and Vanessa P. Avello on Posted in Compensation & Benefits, Litigation
U.S. Court Holds No Foreign Law Exception to the ADEA and Title VII in GM Bias Case
By Daniel Ornstein, Erika C. Collins and Tony S. Martinez on Posted in Discrimination
UK Court of Appeal Allows Asda Supermarket Employees’ Equal Pay Claims to Proceed
By Daniel Ornstein, Erika C. Collins and Jordan Glassberg on Posted in Discrimination, Equality of Treatment
EU Agrees to Set the Floor for Whistleblower Protection Across All Member States
By Daniel Ornstein, Erika C. Collins, Lloyd B. Chinn and Vanessa P. Avello on Posted in Privacy, Whistleblowing
Chinese government forbids employers from asking about childbearing or marital status
By Daniel Ornstein, Erika C. Collins and Jacob P. Tucker on Posted in Equality of Treatment
2019 Brings Minimum Wage Increases Across the European Union
By Daniel Ornstein, Erika C. Collins and Tony S. Martinez on Posted in Compensation & Benefits, Minimum Wage
Recent UK Ruling Highlights Risks of “Independent Contractor” Status
By Daniel Ornstein, Erika C. Collins and Jordan Glassberg on Posted in Compensation & Benefits, Employment Contracts, Working Time
More Countries Consider Implementing a “Right to Disconnect”
By Daniel Ornstein, Erika C. Collins and Jordan Glassberg on Posted in Employment Contracts, Working Time
Germany Rings in 2019 by Adopting Intersex Gender Status
By Daniel Ornstein, Erika C. Collins and Jordan Glassberg on Posted in Discrimination, Equality of Treatment
China Responds to #MeToo; Employers Stay Alert
By Daniel Ornstein, Erika C. Collins and Tony S. Martinez on Posted in Harassment/Bullying
Korean National Assembly Addresses Workplace Bullying and Harassment through Two New Measures
By Daniel Ornstein, Erika C. Collins and Jacob P. Tucker on Posted in Discrimination, Equality of Treatment, Harassment/Bullying
European Union Issues Landmark Employment Discrimination Ruling
By Daniel Ornstein, Erika C. Collins and Jordan Glassberg on Posted in Discrimination, Equality of Treatment
