Canada: An Employer Can File A Counterclaim Against An Employee In An Action Brought By The Labour Standards Commission On The Employee’s Behalf

In the matter of Commission des normes du travail v. Compagnie d’assurances Standard Life du Canada1, the Court of Québec had to decide whether an employer could file a counterclaim against an employee in proceedings in which Quebec’s Labour Standards Commission2 (the “Commission”) was suing the employer on behalf of the employee. It should be noted that the majority of the Court’ of Québec’s previous decisions were to the effect that it could not, […]

By | October 16th, 2014 ||

United States: NLRB Adopts New Test For Independent Contractor Misclassification, Applies It To Find FedEx Drivers Are Employees Who Can Unionize

The NLRB has tossed a new vegetable into the enormous salad of independent contractor misclassification tests. As companies might expect, the new vegetable smells rotten.

Companies who wish to analyze whether their non-employee workers are properly classified as independent contractors must now contend with a new NLRB test, in addition to the IRS Right to Control Test (used for federal tax purposes), common law Right to Control Test (used for ERISA and federal discrimination law […]

By | October 16th, 2014 ||

United States: Maryland Court Of Appeals Holds That Inclusion Of Permissive "Termination For Cause" Provisions Negates Presumption Of At-Will Employment And Creates "Continuous For-Cause" Contract

In a recent decision, Spacesaver Systems, Inc. v. Adam, — A.3d —-, No. 98, 2014 WL 4216024 (Md. Aug. 27, 2014) (“Adam”), the Maryland Court of Appeals was “asked to re-examine the contours of the firmly established doctrine of at-will employment.” Adam, 2014 WL 4216024, at *1. Specifically, petitioner Spacesaver Systems, Inc. (“SSI”) asked the Court “to determine if a written contract containing a for-cause provision but no definite term of employment exists as […]

By | October 16th, 2014 ||