Getting Started & Global Expansion

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Today, an estimated 40 million people are living in modern day slavery—including an estimated 16 million individuals in forced labor across global supply chains.

Given the importance of this issue, we are proud to introduce a new publication, Eradicating Slavery: A Guide for CEOs. Prepared by the B Team in partnership with Baker McKenzie, this guide provides practical guidance and examples of successful collaboration among companies to help end modern slavery.

While there’s been increasing concern and interest from business around tackling modern slavery, to date corporate leaders have been unsuccessful in meaningfully moving the needle to end this horrific practice. The B Team’s Guide seeks to help the private sector understand its responsibility and power in making a real impact on this issue and bringing freedom to those who need it most.

Click here to access the guide.

Please join us for a complimentary breakfast briefing in Los Angeles on October 16 and in Palo Alto on October 17 to study new employment law updates from Asia Pacific.

Baker McKenzie’s employment law attorneys from Australia, China, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Singapore and Taiwan are coming to California to translate the recent trends, make sense of new laws and break down the hot topics facing US multinational employers operating in those countries today. Topics include:

  • Workplace gender equality reporting in Australia
  • The #MeToo movement in China
  • Work hour flexibility in Taiwan
  • Major employment law changes expected in Singapore
  • Contracting in the Philippines
  • Recent bonus/share option avoidance cases in Hong Kong

Click here for more details, including how to register.

(With special thanks to our Global Equity Services team and Lothar Determann for collaborating on this post.)

One month from today, on May 25, 2018, the European Union (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will go into effect. In light of this, we have been recommending companies review their data privacy policies and practices in the context of equity plan participation and update their share plan documents. In the final month, we want to highlight these items again and encourage you to make sure your company’s equity programs are ready for the GDPR.

Continue Reading Countdown to GDPR… Are Your Equity Plans Ready?

The new data privacy rules are just around the corner…are you ready?

The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into force May 25, 2018. GDPR introduces stricter requirements and higher penalties for violations, so it is important for companies to review their data privacy compliance not just with respect to customers but with respect to employees.

Join our upcoming webinar to review the new legal landscape under GDPR, discuss the different approaches for dealing with personal data after effectiveness of GDPR and consider the pros and cons of each approach.

Date: April 5, 2018

Time: 11AM – 12PM CST

Click here for more details on the webinar, including featured speakers. Register today to gain an understanding of the new rules and how to tackle them.

With the current focus on US multinational operations around the world and the pressure to meet globally acceptable and locally effective compliance, companies regularly turn to global employment policies as a tool to manage their local employment-related risks. Often the desire is to house these policies in a single “global” employment handbook. As efficient as it may seem to have a single employment handbook, a truly one-size-fits-all single, global handbook most often is not a realistic option. This paper discusses the potential problem with a single “global” handbook and outlines three approaches to get US multinationals to the same result while fully complying with local laws.

Click here to read the entire article, originally published in Bloomberg BNA.

Baker McKenzie partner Joe Deng introduces Gil Zerrudo to talk about employment laws in the Philippines and give an overview of what has changed in 2017 as well as what we can expect for the year ahead.

Key Takeaways:

  1. Employers should review their contingent workforce due to greater enforcement
  2. Employers should take stock of talent pipeline to prepare for potential downturn in global economic activity
  3. The Philippines is a good and welcoming country for employers that are looking to expand

Download now on iTunes | Android | Stitcher | TuneIn | Google Play.

We asked our Canadian colleague, partner Christopher Burkett, to describe the current labor and employment landscape in Canada and here’s what Chris had to say:

It’s evolving at a fast pace. With a left-leaning Liberal government in power at both the federal and provincial level (Canada and Ontario), legislative priorities have included legalizing marijuana, improved parental and care-giving benefits and strengthening other employee rights. As with many other parts of the world, the ever-increasing compliance landscape and the expectations of the public and employees are reshaping the workplace, and there is an increasing emphasis on internal investigations and legislative protections for workers. In addition, Canada is beginning to look closely at corporate activity abroad in terms of labor/human rights and supply chains. The government recently announced an ombudsperson for responsible business. The government is also considering a Modern Slavery Act. All of this means we are partnering with employers to look around the corner and help our clients be proactive and to fight back where there has been overreach.

We recommend subscribing to the Canadian Labour and Employment Law blog to keep up-to-date on these and other new developments impacting employers with operations in Canada.

In our latest podcast, Baker McKenzie partner Joe Deng introduces Tomohisa Muranushi to discuss employment laws in Japan and give an overview of what changed in 2017 as well as what we can expect for the year ahead.

Key Takeaways:

  1. Reduce excessive overtime
  2. Encourage greater female participation
  3. Watch out for developments regarding fixed term contracts

Download now on iTunes | Android | Stitcher | TuneIn | Google Play.