On Wednesday, January 25, 2012, the European Commission released its proposed new regulation which will replace and update the outdated Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC (the "Directive"). The existing Directive has governed data privacy in the EU for approximately 17 years and was enacted at a time when the privacy issues faced today from the proliferation of the internet, cloud computing, social networks and global outsourcing could hardly be imagined. Whilst businesses may welcome the proposal to replace the existing patchwork of laws with a single law that will apply across Europe, the new regulation will also introduce additional new rights for employees, consumers and users across Europe, creating new challenges for companies subject to the regulation.
Client Alert | January 31, 2012
While the duties of directors of unlisted private companies often coincide with the strategy and requirements of the subsidiary's parent company, this is not always the case, and the circumstances may require a director to act independently of the parent. Directors may risk personal liability as regulators are taking tougher stances especially toward bribery, corruption and anti-competitive behavior, particularly cartel abuses. Directors and prospective directors will therefore want to know the extent to which they can protect themselves against these risks.
Client Alert | January 19, 2012
While the members of the Eurozone are still struggling to find an adequate answer to the sovereign debt crisis and the stock markets are on a roller-coaster ride, the German economy is still doing remarkably well and continues to attract foreign investors from all over the world, notably China. At the same time, German lawmakers have not remained idle and have enacted a long-expected reform of the insolvency laws to facilitate corporate restructuring and debt-equity swaps.
Client Alert | January 10, 2012
In this client alert we review some of the key developments that have taken place in UK employment law during 2011 and look forward to some significant changes that are on the horizon for 2012.
Client Alert | January 9, 2012
On December 29, 2011, the California Supreme Court handed down an important victory for employers in Harris v. Superior Court, reversing a split decision from the California Court of Appeal which held that insurance claims adjusters did not fall within the administrative exemption from the state's overtime requirements. Harris v. Superior Court (Liberty Mutual Insurance), 2011 WL 6823963 (Cal.), __P.3d __. In doing so, the Supreme Court rejected strict application of the "administrative/production" dichotomy, used by many California courts in determining whether employees qualify for the administrative exemption, stating: "[T]he dichotomy is a judicially created creature of the common law which has been effectively superseded in this context by the more spe
Client Alert | January 9, 2012
Washington, D.C. partners John H. Sturc and Jason C. Schwartz, San Francisco associate Joshua D. Dick and Washington, D.C. associate Thomas M. Johnson, Jr.
Client Alert | December 16, 2011
On November 30, 2011, the National Labor Relations Board voted 2-1 to move forward with revisions to its rules that will expedite union-organizing elections.
Client Alert | December 1, 2011
Munich partner Mark Zimmer is the author of "Rolle der Mitarbeiter bei Ermittlungen" [PDF] published in the December 2011 issue of Risk, Fraud & Compliance (ZRFC), an Erich Schmidt Verlag GmBH & Co.
Client Alert | December 1, 2011
On October 20, 2011, the IRS released the inflation-adjusted limitations applicable to tax-qualified retirement plans for 2012. Unlike for 2011, most of the limits are increasing. In addition to the impact of these limitations on tax-qualified retirement plans, the compensation limit under section 401(a)(17) of the Internal Revenue Code also affects the amount of severance pay that may be excludable from coverage under section 409A of the Code in certain circumstances.
Client Alert | October 20, 2011
New York partner Jonathan C. Dickey and associate Brian M. Lutz are authors of "The SEC's Final Whistleblower Rules: The Floodgates Open on a New Wave of Whistleblower Claims, as the SEC Authorizes Massive Bounties to Anonymous Tipsters" [PDF] published in the July/August 2011 issue of Thomson Reuters' Securities Litigation Report.
Client Alert | August 12, 2011
Washington, D.C. partner Jason Schwartz and associate Thomas Johnson are the authors of "The Extraterritorial Application of the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Provisions" [PDF] published in the August 2011 issue of ALM's Law Journal Newsletters: Employment Law Strategist.
Client Alert | August 1, 2011
>Washington, D.C. partners Amy Goodman, Jason Schwartz and John Sturc, Washington, D.C. associate Daniel Ahn, and Palo Alto associate Joshua Dick are the authors of "SEC Adopts Final Rules Implementing Whistleblower Provisions of Dodd-Frank Act" [PDF] published in the July 2011 issue of Thomson Reuters' Wall Street Lawyer.
Article | July 29, 2011
In a ruling that could spur a new wave of wage and hour class action litigation, the Supreme Court of California unanimously held in Sullivan v. Oracle Corp.
Client Alert | July 5, 2011
London partners James Cox and Selina Sagayam, and Century City associate Michael Titera are the authors of "The Employee Strikes Back" [PDF] published in the July/August 2011 issue of IFLR.
Client Alert | July 1, 2011
Washington, D.C. partner John Sturc, associate Molly Claflin and Palo Alto associate Joshua Dick are the authors of "Coping with the New Whistleblower Rules" [PDF] published in the June 27, 2011 issue of Compliance Reporter magazine.
Article | June 27, 2011
On June 20, 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously reversed the Ninth Circuit and held that the largest employment class action ever certified cannot proceed.
Client Alert | June 21, 2011
Washington, D.C. partners Eugene Scalia and Jason Schwartz and associate Thomas Johnson are the authors of "Whistleblower Protection Under the SEC's New Dodd-Frank Regulations: A Practical Guide for Employers" [PDF] published in the June 17, 2011 issue of BNA's Daily Labor Report.
Article | June 17, 2011
Washington, D.C. partner Jason Schwartz and associate Michael Murray are the authors of "Recent Developments in Trade Secret Law: the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act" [PDF] published in the June 10, 2011 issue of the Society for Human Resource Management's Workplace Law Bulletin.
Client Alert | June 10, 2011
Denver partner Jessica Brown and associate Brian Baak are the authors of "Colo. Supreme Court Decides Case Affecting Noncompetition Agreements" [PDF] published in Law Week Colorado on June 6, 2011.
Article | June 6, 2011
On May 25, 2011, in a 3-2 vote, the U.S.
Client Alert | May 31, 2011
The White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs ("OIRA") has issued further guidance to federal agencies on how to conduct the review of existing regulations ordered by the President in January.
Client Alert | May 3, 2011
Printable PDFToday, the United States Supreme Court issued its opinion in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, No.
Client Alert | April 27, 2011
The Seventh Circuit issued an important decision last week in Randall v. Rolls-Royce Corp., No. 10-3446 (7th Cir. Mar. 31, 2011) touching on several key class-certification issues that have split the courts of appeals and currently are before the Supreme Court in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Client Alert | April 5, 2011
The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission has held that the Secretary of Labor may now cite employers as "repeat" offenders based upon their corporate predecessors' violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The decision in Sharon & Walter Construction Inc.
Client Alert | March 7, 2011
In recent weeks OSHA has announced delays to two of its key regulatory initiatives: noise standards and ergonomics. On January 19, OSHA announced that it would withdraw its reversal of a 28-year policy regarding the enforcement of the noise standard; in general the about-face would have required employers to reduce workplace noise exposure with potentially costly administrative and engineering controls, instead of simply providing effective personal protective equipment ("PPE"). Since 1983, OSHA's enforcement policy regarding noise was to allow employers to rely on a hearing conservation program based upon PPE if the program reduced noise exposures to acceptable levels and was less costly than administrative engineering controls. In October 2010, OSHA anno
Client Alert | February 9, 2011
Printable PDF On January 21, 2011, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled that a challenge to the operation of The Boeing Company's 401(k) plan had been improperly certified as a class action.
Client Alert | February 3, 2011
Printable PDFIn this client alert we identify key developments in UK employment law expected in the coming year and highlight those steps which employers should be taking to prepare their UK businesses for these developments.A headline summary is provided below. A more detailed explanation and analysis is available by clicking on the appropriate link. For further details or for assistance on any UK Employment or Labour law matter, please contact James Cox or Daniel Pollard in Gibson Dunn's London office.UK Employment Law Reform. The coalition Government has recently announced a series of reforms to the Employment Tribunal system which will make it more difficult for employees to pursue unmeritorious claims and which are designed to simulate the creation of new jobs.
Client Alert | January 31, 2011
Printable PDFLast Tuesday, January 18, President Obama signed an Executive Order outlining several ways in which federal agencies should more closely scrutinize both existing regulations, and new rules under consideration. The Executive Order identifies several issues that parties should consider bringing to the attention of agency officials when participating in rulemakings. The Executive Order enumerates numerous substantive considerations that agencies should make in the rulemaking process. Agencies should, for example, base their conclusions on "the best available science," "take into account benefits and costs, both quantitative and qualitative," and "identify and use the best, most innovative, and least burdensome tools for achieving regulat
Client Alert | January 21, 2011
Hardly a day went by in 2010 when the daily case summaries did not include some mention of trade secret litigation, often in conjunction with the breach of non-competition covenants and other related claims.
Client Alert | January 21, 2011
The improvements in the German economy in 2010 have eased some of the restructuring pain, but have not prevented lawmakers from responding to certain deficiencies that are widely believed to have caused the financial crisis.
Client Alert | January 14, 2011
On November 9, 2010, the U.S.
Client Alert | December 21, 2010
In the past three years, international regulatory focus on remuneration has gripped the globe. The heart of the debate which arose in the context of remuneration structures in investment banking and their contribution to global financial crisis has extended past this into remuneration across a broad range of industries.
Client Alert | December 20, 2010
The new California Transparency in Supply Chains Act (S.B. 657) will require retail sellers and manufacturers, doing business in California and having over $100 million in annual worldwide gross receipts, to publicly disclose their efforts to eradicate slavery and human trafficking from their direct supply chain for tangible goods offered for sale.
Client Alert | November 18, 2010
New York partner Barry Goldsmith and Washington, D.C. partners Eugene Scalia, Amy Goodman and associate Daniel H. Ahn are the authors of "SEC Proposes New Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Rule" [PDF] published in the November 2010 issue of Insights.
Article | November 17, 2010
PDF VersionOn November 3, 2010, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") proposed a rule to implement the new whistleblower program mandated by Section 922 of the Dodd-Frank Act. The proposed rule establishes standards and procedures pursuant to which the SEC would reward whistleblowers who provide high quality tips to the agency that lead to successful SEC enforcement actions.
Client Alert | November 5, 2010
The United States Labor Department has proposed an important amendment to its regulations defining fiduciary status under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended ("ERISA"). If the amendment is finalized in its proposed form, it will substantially expand the classes of service providers subject to ERISA's fiduciary duty and prohibited transaction rules.
Client Alert | November 1, 2010
On October 28, 2010, the IRS released the inflation-adjusted limitations applicable to tax-qualified retirement plans for 2011. Due to low inflation, the limitations have not changed from those applicable for 2010. In addition to the impact of these limitations on tax-qualified retirement plans, the compensation limit under section 401(a)(17) of the Internal Revenue Code also affects the amount of severance pay that may be excludable from coverage under section 409A of the Code in certain circumstances.
Client Alert | November 1, 2010
Denver partner Jessica Brown and associate Scott Campbell are the authors of "Social Media Marketing," published by Law Journal Newsletters' Law Firm Partnership and Benefits Report, Volume 16, Number 9, November 2010. Reprinted with permission from Law Journal Newsletters (November 2010), © ALM Media Properties, LLC.
Client Alert | November 1, 2010
The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission reaffirmed and extended its approval of the Multi-Employer Citation Policy in Secretary of Labor v. Summit Contractors, Inc.
Article | October 18, 2010
In Quan v. Computer Sciences Corp., __ F.3d __, 2010 U.S. App. Lexis 20199 (9th Cir. 2010), the Ninth Circuit held that the presumption of prudence first articulated by the Third Circuit in Moench v. Robertson, 62 F.3d 553 (3d Cir.
Client Alert | October 15, 2010
The bulk of the Equality Act 2010 (the "EA2010") came into force at the beginning of October 2010. Those based in the UK have probably seen a lot of coverage about the more controversial aspects of the EA2010. We summarise below what this means for most employers in practice and the practical steps that employers should be taking. We would also like to offer our help. BackgroundThe purpose of the EA2010 is to consolidate all existing discrimination legislation into one single statute. The new legislation runs to 251 pages and contains 28 schedules. Whilst the EA2010 has been billed by some commentators as the biggest overhaul of equality legislation in a generation, the EA2010 is largely a consolidating measure which is designed to iron out a n
Client Alert | October 5, 2010
Welcome to our Mid-Year Executive Summary, in which we highlight key developments in UK Employment and Labour Law since the beginning of the year. A summary of cases and developments is provided below. For further details concerning cases and developments discussed in this Executive Summary or for assistance on any UK Employment or Labour law matter, please contact James Cox or Daniel Pollard in Gibson Dunn's London office. (1) Unlimited Compensation for Breach of Contractual Procedures. The Court of Appeal has held that where an employer fails to follow a contractual disciplinary procedure an employee can, in principle, claim contractual damages that extend beyond the expiry of the notice period.
Client Alert | August 2, 2010
During the midst of the financial crisis, the continued existence, much less powers, of the Securities and Exchange Commission were in doubt. But in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the Commission emerged with expanded jurisdiction over hedge funds, credit ratings agencies, and governance of public companies, among other areas. To help implement this authority, the Dodd-Frank Act added several new weapons to the Commission's already substantial enforcement arsenal. Some of the provisions are clarifications (such as provisions assuring that certain anti-manipulation provisions extend to all non government securities) or simplify the enforcement process (such as providing for nationwide service of process in civil actions).Several of the p
Client Alert | July 21, 2010
Historic liabilities arising from defined benefit pension schemes continue be a significant feature of the corporate landscape in the UK. The Pensions Regulator has sweeping powers to make orders to ensure that historic liabilities are adequately provided for. Under the Pensions Act 2004 the Pensions Regulator has the power to make orders that could have extra-territorial application and effect. The Pensions Regulator has, for the first time, exercised its enforcement powers to require a Dutch parent company to make a sizable lump sum contribution to make good the deficit in the pension scheme of its UK subsidiary. The Pensions ProblemDuring the last 10-20 years a large number of employers in the UK have scaled back their employee pension arrangements.
Client Alert | July 20, 2010
Munich partner Mark Zimmer is the author of "Gute Berufsperspektiven für Offiziere als Compliance-Beauftragte in Großunternehmen" [PDF] published in the July 2010 issue of Die Bundeswehr.
Client Alert | July 9, 2010
On June 17, 2010, the United States Supreme Court unanimously decided City of Ontario v. Quon, No. 08-1332, 560 U.S.
Client Alert | June 18, 2010
The California Supreme Court in a 4-3 decision vacated an arbitration award and provided further clarification regarding mandatory, pre-dispute employment arbitration agreements and the scope of judicial review of arbitration awards. Pearson Dental Supplies, Inc.
Client Alert | May 5, 2010
The Obama Administration has consistently sought to increase occupational safety and health oversight by expanding the enforcement activities of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration ("OSHA"). As expressed repeatedly by the Secretary of Labor, Hilda Solis, "There is a new sheriff in town" when it comes to OSHA enforcement.On April 22, 2010, OSHA took a significant step towards enhanced enforcement by issuing a new directive establishing the Severe Violator Enforcement Program ("SVEP").
Client Alert | April 26, 2010
On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the "Act"). The Act fundamentally alters the U.S.
Client Alert | April 2, 2010