Diversity of employment contracts and use of the law

From the construction of a French data base of 309 employment contracts, we analyse current practices in firms, their manpower management methods and their use of the law in the drafting of employment contracts. We present a typology of ‘employment contracts' based on different indicators characterising the terms of the employment relationship (flexibility, employee's subordination to the firm, employee's individual accountability, appropriation of immaterial asserts) Our observations show that the contractual framework and the legal guarantees that it offers are still used relatively infrequently and concern certain types of employment relationship. In conclusion, we give some insights on the French reforms concerning labour contract legislation.labour legislation; employment contract; employee's subordination; individual accountability; flexibility

'E' for exposed? Email and privacy issues

In March 1996, American Libraries featured a piece about a librarian at the University of California/Irvine whose supervisor intercepted her e-mail while she was absent on medical leave. As a result of this, UC's Office for Academic Computing began a review of e-mail privacy on the nine-campus system. This article and UC's reaction prompted my research into this topic

Bargaining for Loyalty in the Information Age: A Reconsideration of the Role of Substantive Fairness in Enforcing Employee Noncompetes

This article explores the enforceability of employee non-compete agreements, with particular attention to their use in information-based industries as a response to increased worker mobility. Non-compete agreements have long been viewed with skepticism by courts and scholars due to historical concerns about employee bargaining power. This article argues that the current approach to assessing the fairness of these agreements is misdirected. Courts attempt to distinguish proper from improper restraints by looking to whether the non-compete protects an employer interest that is separate and distinct from the employer\u27s desire simply to retain the employee. Such an approach is unworkable in an economy where human capital is considered a valuable corporate asset. Rather, the crucial issue in crafting an approach to enforcement is the tension between fixed terms contained in the written non-compete and the norms that develop between companies and employees which informally govern employees\u27 loyalty and commitment to their work. In negotiating that difficulty, the article draws on the law of premarital agreements, an area of domestic relations law that has been influenced by many of the same policy concerns at stake in non-compete enforcement. Relying on uniform legislation in that context, the piece proposes a formation-based model of non-compete enforcement that rejects a pure contract-based approach, as well as approaches that rewrite non-competes based on relational norms, in favor of a rigorous inquiry into the quality of the parties\u27 bargaining process and the terms of their exchange

Doing Business in Poland: Legal Aspects of Doing Business in Poland

[Excerpt] The transformation of Poland\u27s economy from a centrally planned to a modern market economy continues apace. Successive governments have re-affirmed their commitment to privatization and the liberalization of the economy with the aim of encouraging private enterprise and attracting foreign investment. The Association Agreement with the European Union, which came into force in February 1994, and the acceptance by the member states of the Treaty of Nice, were important steps towards Poland\u27s goal of full EU membership. In a referendum held on June 7 and 8, 2003, Poland voted in favour of joining the EU. Poland gained full EU membership on 1 May 2004. Poland is beginning to tap international capital markets. Against this background there has been, and continues to be, rapid legislative development. It is vitally important for the investor to keep abreast of new legislation. What follows is a brief guide to the more important legal issues likely to be relevant to the foreign investor

Internal Controls in Small City Government

The flexible design multiple case study was performed to broaden the understanding of the possible rationale for city government officials\u27 failing to implement effective internal controls related to the global business problem of occupational fraud. The leadership of an organization should assume a stewardship attitude to reduce fraud risk by designing, implementing, monitoring internal controls, and testing their effectiveness. Asset misappropriation from occupational fraud results in the loss of assets and potential business failure. The research questions explored the internal control procedures implemented to prevent and detect property theft. Additionally, the research questions addressed the strategies implemented to establish segregation of duties and testing of internal controls for effectiveness. The stewardship theory was utilized to understand the leader\u27s responsibility to protect the assets. The fraud triangle theory was applied to evaluate if internal controls were designed to monitor each of the three components. Interviews of 25 participants involved with small city governments in the central United States were conducted, and coinciding city documents were reviewed. The researcher identified five themes as the result of coding the data collected. The findings included how the leadership failed to design internal controls to monitor the pressure and rationalization components of the fraud triangle theory, or test internal controls for effectiveness. The researcher also discovered the leaders’ have a stewardship attitude to protect the assets from misappropriation. The study was conducted to improve business practices based on Biblical precepts of exhibiting exceptional stewardship over God-given authority

Combating the Enemy Within: Regulating Employee Misappropriation of Business Information

Technological advancements vastly improve efficiency and productivity in the workplace. However, technology also brings with it the ability to transmit mass amounts of business information with ease. As technology continues to evolve and become increasingly prevalent in the modern workplace, the insider presents a considerable threat to employers. In fact, employers increasingly face disgruntled employees who are all too eager to download their employers\u27 sensitive, confidential, and proprietary information before terminating the employment relationship. However, the digital age, a global economy, and a highly mobile workforce have rendered the law utterly unreliable in addressing employee misappropriation. In enacting the Defend Trade Secrets Act ( DTSA ) in 2016, Congress sought to provide clear rules and predictability for everyone involved. Yet, the DTSA has already proven inadequate in creating any reliable expectations for employers or employees. This Note thus advocates for comprehensive statutory reform to address the unreliable legal framework. Specifically, this Note proposes that Congress amend the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act to limit its application in the employment context, and amend the DTSA to provide the Federal Trade Commission with the authority to regulate trade secret misappropriation