The Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis is affecting businesses in various ways. For example, companies will be forced to close down or face a major decline in work and turnover. Such a financial shock can be partly absorbed by the system of temporary unemployment. Belgium has several systems of temporary unemployment, which are supervised by the National Employment Office (RVA/ONEM). Initially, there are two relevant systems: temporary unemployment due to force majeure and temporary unemployment due to economic reasons. However, the government has decided to open up the temporary unemployment procedure due to force majeure to all situations related to the coronavirus, without actually referring to a situation of force majeure. This is because the procedure for economic reasons is often much more cumbersome. If the temporary unemployment is not due to the coronavirus, the employer can still invoke the system of temporary unemployment for economic reasons.
Australian Human Rights Commission proposes significant reforms to anti-discrimination, industrial relations, and health and safety laws to curb workplace sexual harassment
The Australian Human Rights Commission has released its landmark report arising from its national inquiry into sexual harassment in Australian workplaces. The Commission’s report has been presented to the Attorney-General Christian Porter and, according to reports, will be reviewed in conjunction with state governments and the private sector.[1] Preliminary responses have been mixed with calls […]
COVID-19 | The health and political situation in France: Practical Legal Questions
Paris, March 16, 2020 – The Coronavirus and the disease it causes, COVID-19, have important legal implications for employers and their workers. The health and political situation in France is quickly evolving, on a daily basis. Below you will find guidelines on the situation as well as answers to some of the more common questions […]
China: “Employee Sharing”- is it a new solution for retailers impacted by COVID-19?
The outbreak of the novel coronavirus (officially abbreviated as “COVID-19”) took place in China in January 2020. Since then, due to the grim situation of epidemic prevention, the Chinese government has taken a series of measures to curb the virus spread, including city closedown, road closure and centralized or home-based quarantine. The epidemic prevention measures […]
USA: Six Steps for Retailers to Take Now and Important Guidance to Review
As of March 10, 2020, the World Health Organization reports 113,702 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across the globe and 4,012 deaths, the majority of both which arise out of China. These numbers outside of China are greatly increasing, however, as the WHO reports outside of China there are 32,778 confirmed cases and 872 deaths impacting […]
Spain: Employment Guidelines to React to Coronavirus Effects in the Workplace
The outbreak of coronavirus disease, officially named COVID-19, was first detected in Wuhan (China) on December 31, 2019. As the outbreak continues to spread outside China, on January 30, 2020, it has been declared as a global emergency concern by the World Health Organization. The Covid-19 has already affected Europe and is creating challenging situations […]
Poland: Coronavirus (Sars-Cov-2): What Kind of Data can be collected from the Employees in the face of an Epidemic?
While coronavirus is gaining more and more ground, employers in Poland try to figure out what means should be undertaken so their employees stay safe and their companies work as regular. It’s especially important for the employers in retail as their employees usually have direct contact with hundreds of customers. The employers have become particularly […]
USA: Time to Start Planning for H-1B Cap Season
It is time to start preparing for the upcoming H-1B visa lottery, which begins 1 April 2020, and will be the first one to require an electronic registration for each case
USA: Compliance with Changing State and Local Laws is Nonstop
In 2019, as in previous years, most of the new labour and employment law legislation was enacted at the state and local level
USA: Coronavirus Concerns in the Workplace
News of an outbreak of a new coronavirus first identified in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China raises issues for employers and employees about the appropriate workplace responses. Jackson Lewis has just published a special report on the labour and employment law implications facing employers worldwide, in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak