Employment Law During two decades of intensive economic globalisation, business firms in nearly every country have undergone mergers, acquisitions, sales, reductions in the workforce, plant closures, and other forms of restructuring. Many legal issues of critical importance to employers arise in the course of such transactions and activities. This book offers clear comparative legal analysis of these issues, derived from the labour and employment law of 12 major trading jurisdictions: Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Chile, England and Wales, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Mexico, Spain, Sweden and the United States. The emphasis throughout is on answers to practical questions, such as the following: Is a purchasing company required to hire some or all of the employees of a target business? Can the purchaser pick and choose which employees are transferred or hired? Is a purchaser required to assume a target company's collective bargaining agreement? What is the nature and timing of notices required of purchasers? Can an acquisition, closure, or reduction in force be delayed by a strike or other industrial action? Can a company dismiss any or all employees at a facility it wants to close? How questions like these are answered in each of the 12 countries is spelled out in detail by panels of outstanding practitioners from each of the jurisdictions. The chapters in this book were developed by the 22 authors from a set of more theoretical papers delivered at a full-day session presented by Committee P (the Employment and Industrial Relations Law Committee of the section on Business Law) at the October 2002 annual conference of the International Bar Association in Durban, South Africa. Business leaders and their counsel would do well to consult this valuable book before they take any significant restructuring action in any of these 12 countries.

As more and more companies invest overseas, the need for readily available, accurate, and detailed knowledge of labour and employment laws in multiple jurisdictions becomes an essential resource for employers and their counsel. Now, this one-of-a-kind new loose-leaf publication provides exactly such a tool. Launching with chapters on no fewer than sixteen countries - all of them among the world's most important commercial jurisdictions and labour markets - the Handbook promises to become, as it expands with new chapters on more jurisdictions added regularly, the preeminent, indispensable source of information on labour and employment laws worldwide. Each country chapter, written by a distinguished legal practitioner in that country, is based on a standard outline that allows users to compare the legal landscape and analyse solutions to employment problems in each jurisdiction. The following general categories, broken down in specific detail, are covered in each chapter: Legal Framework: Employment Law Contracts of Employment Recruiting, Interviewing, Screening and Hiring Employees Managing Performance/Conduct Termination of Employees for Performance or Disciplinary Reasons Layoffs, Reductions in Force, and/or Redundancies as a Result of Job Eliminations or Other Restructuring Labour and Employment Law Ramifications upon Acquisition or Sale of a Business Use of Alternative Workforces: Independent Contractors, Contract Employees, and Temporary or Leased Workers Obligation to Bargain Collectively with Trade Unions: Employees' Right to Strike and a Company's Right to Continue Business Operations Working Conditions: Hours of Work and Payment of Wages - By Statute or Collective Agreements Other Working Conditions and Benefits - By Statute, Collective Agreements, or Company Policy Workers' Compensation Company's Obligation to Provide Safe and Healthy Workplace Immigration, Secondment and Foreign Assignment Restrictive Covenants and Protection of Trade Secrets and Confidential Information Protection of Whistleblowing Claims Prohibition of Discrimination in the Workplace Smoking in the Workplace Use of Drugs and Alcohol in the Workplace AIDS, HIV, SARS, Bloodborne Pathogens Dress and Grooming Requirements Privacy, Technology and Transfer of Personal Data Workplace Investigations for Complaints of Discrimination, Harassment, Fraud, Theft, and Whistleblowing Affirmative Action/Nondiscrimination Requirements Resolution of Labor, Discrimination and Employment Disputes: Litigation, Arbitration, Mediation and Conciliation Employer Recordkeeping, Data Protection, and Employee Access to Personnel Files and Records Required Notices and Postings For each category the chapter provides detailed coverage of applicable laws, with the addition of such practical features as checklists of do's and don'ts; step-by-step compliance measures with mandatory standards and procedures and recordkeeping requirements; specific applicable fines and penalties; and much more. Thoroughly practical in orientation, the Handbook is easy to understand for lawyers andnon-lawyers alike, and is sure to be greatly welcomed by business executives and human resources professionals as well as corporate counsel and business lawyers.