March



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March 29, 2016
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Results of alcohol test do not automatically justify dismissal

Under French employment law, the issue of alcohol consumption at the workplace is taken very seriously as it could entail significant risks, not only for the employee and his|her colleagues, but also for the company in general.
 
Moreover, the employer is bound by a duty of care towards its employees and is required by the French Labour code to prevent employees under the influence of alcohol from working on the company's premises.
 
In this context, case law permits employers to have recourse to breathalyzer devices in orders to control the alcohol blood level of their employees, particularly where this is justified by the nature of the position held by the employees and provided that it is implemented under the company's internal regulations, which must be implemented pursuant to a specific procedure and provide for means by which the employees can challenge the results of the test.
 
Against this framework, would an employer be entitled to invoke the results of an alcohol test if the internal regulations providing for such tests have not been implemented according to the procedure relating to the introduction of internal regulations? A recent decision by the Supreme Court answered no.

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March 29, 2016
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Germany adopts law to enable class actions for data protection violations

On December 17, 2015, the German Federal Diet (Bundestag) adopted a draft law introducing class action-like claims that will enable consumer protection associations to sue companies for violations of German data protection law.
 
The law amends Germany's Act on Actions for Injunctions to allow consumer protection associations to bring lawsuits against companies for improper use of consumer data in violation of German data protection law.
 
At this time, only affected individuals, German criminal prosecutors and data protection authorities have legal standing to sue businesses for breaches of data protection law.
 
Importantly, the law prevents consumer protection associations from bringing claims for violations of international data transfer rules against companies relying on the invalidated Safe Harbor agreement until the end of the day of September 30, 2016 to the extent the transfer of data was based on the Safe Harbor Framework until October 6, 2015.
 
The draft law still needs to be signed by the president and published in the Federal Law Gazette before becoming law.

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March 29, 2016
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DBS checks ruled 'unlawful'

Two people who claimed their careers were being blighted by having to disclose their minor criminal convictions to employers have won their case at the High Court. The court ruled the criminal record checks scheme used in England and Wales was "arbitrary" and unlawful.
 
People across the UK are forced to have their criminal record divulged when applying for certain jobs. The Home Office said it would consider whether to appeal against the decision. Lawyers for the pair had told the High Court that people were being unfairly disadvantaged throughout their lives by convictions for minor criminal offences committed years beforehand.
 
Lord Justice McCombe said it was not justifiable or necessary for any individual to have minor offences disclosed indefinitely, from many years ago merely because there is more than one minor offence. He asked the government to make submissions to address faults in the system, in advance of the court making its final order. In the meantime, the scheme will continue to operate as at present.

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