cross-border developments

In Germany, Allowing Employees to Post on a Company’s Facebook Page is Subject to Co-determination Rights of the Works Council

André Zimmermann and Louisa KallhoffPosted on December 22, 2016

The German Federal Labor Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht – BAG) has ruled that when an employer provides Facebook users access to publish posts on the company’s Facebook page that relate to the behavior or performance of individual employees, that process is subject to negotiation and co-determination of the works council.

The ruling is of particular significance especially for companies with an existing works council in Germany that operate a Facebook page or a page on a similar social network with a commenting function for users.

Setback for EU-US Privacy Shield – How to Safely Get HR Data Across the Pond

André Zimmermann and Louisa KallhoffPosted on April 28, 2016

After the Court of Justice of the European Union declared the EU-U.S. Safe Harbor Framework invalid in October 2015, multinational companies with employees in the EU are facing the question how to legally transfer personal data. Current developments in the process of the proposed EU-U.S. Privacy Shield result in further uncertainty for companies relying on transatlantic data flows.

Recent Changes to EU Employee Data Protection – Two Years to Comply with New Requirements

André Zimmermann and Louisa KallhoffPosted on April 21, 2016

Employee Data Protection in the EU is subject to major changes, notable to multinational companies with employees in the EU.

A few days ago, after 4 years of negotiation, the European Parliament adopted the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). As it is planned to be effective in 2018, companies should be aware that they only have two years from now to prepare for compliance.

Cross-Border Trends: Mind the Gap

Nicola WhiteleyPosted on February 26, 2016

In the heady days of the Coalition Government, gender pay gap reporting started to get some traction on the political agenda. This led to the 2011 initiative ‘Think, Act, Report’ which encouraged employers to voluntarily publish gender pay gap information. According to a Guardian article in August 2014, citing a parliamentary question from the shadow Equalities Minster at the time, 200 companies signed up to the initiative but only four of those ever published any data. £90,000 of public money later and we were clearly no further on.

Orrick World: A Quarterly Report of Global Employment Law Issues for Multinationals

Yumiko Ohta, Andrea Piermartini Rosi, Gary Siniscalco, Michael Weil and Nicola WhiteleyPosted on December 1, 2015

Asia Employment Law Update

Proposed Regulations May Complicate Reductions in Force in China

On December 31st, 2014, Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (“MOHRSS”) issued a notice to solicit public opinions on the draft Regulations on Personnel Cutbacks by Enterprises (“Draft Regulations”). The Draft Regulations set out detailed implementing rules for “mass layoffs” (defined under the Labor Contract Law as being a layoff of more than 10% of the workforce or more than 20 employees) and, if adopted in their current form, will further complicate the process for conducting reductions in force in China.

Employment Law and Litigation

Employment Law and Litigation

cross-border developments

Setback for EU-US Privacy Shield – How to Safely Get HR Data Across the Pond

Cross-Border Trends: Mind the Gap