Category: Litigation

U.S. Equal Pay and Pay Transparency Laws Are Getting More Complex

Several U.S. states have been adopting more complex pay transparency laws and stricter equal pay statutes that prohibit employers from paying two employees differently to perform the same role based on factors such as race or gender. While these two types of laws are different, they go hand in hand since pay transparency laws require...

Independent Contractors Under U.S. Law: Knowing Your ABCs

A recent trend in U.S. employment law has been the adoption of stricter and stricter tests for when a worker may be classified as an independent contractor rather than an employee. Independent contractor relationships are often less expensive and easier for employers to administer since employers are not responsible for providing healthcare benefits to independent...

Trump Administration Targets Canadian and other Foreign Companies Involved in Cuba

Canadian companies with interests in Cuba should take note of our recent eUpdate, Trump Administration Allows Lawsuits Against Persons Who Have Used Assets Confiscated by the Cuban Government, Imposes More Sanctions on Venezuela and Nicaragua, regarding new potential exposure to litigation in the United States. On April 17, 2019, the Trump Administration announced that U.S....

A WARN Act Warning

Under U.S. law, large employers have an obligation to notify their employees at least 60 days before a “plant closing” or “mass layoff.” This requirement can have serious implications for Canadian companies engaged in M&A deals with U.S. companies. The U.S. Federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (“WARN Act”) requires employers with 100 or...

The SEC’s Recent Settlement with Tesla and Elon Musk Teaches Us a Valuable Corporate Governance Lesson

The SEC’s settlement with Tesla and Elon Musk teaches us some important corporate governance lessons on monitoring and vetting executive use of social media. As background, on August 7, 2018, the markets were surprised by a series of tweets initiated by Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, Inc., in which Musk mused about taking Tesla...

U.S. Employment in the #MeToo Era

The United States isn’t the only country addressing its history of gender inequality, sexual abuse, and sexual harassment. However, the United States is having its own unique experience in doing so. For U.S. employers, the current focus on these issues poses challenges, but also opportunities to address problems of diversity and harassment in the workplace....

SEC Guidance on Cybersecurity Disclosure and Policies – Recap of Dorsey Webinar Presentation

Earlier this week, a panel of Dorsey attorneys presented a webinar on the SEC’s recent guidance on cybersecurity disclosures and policies, which included a detailed walk-through of the SEC’s 2018 guidance, including issues related to enhanced disclosure, insider trading, and Reg FD policies. The panel also discussed the impact of the SEC’s guidance within the...

The Americans with Disabilities Act: A Brief Primer on the ADA

Like Canada, the United States has federal legislation protecting employees with disabilities. While Canada has the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Canadian Human Rights Act, the United States has the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). While both Canadian and U.S. laws protect disabled employees from discrimination, the ADA has very specific procedures and...