are

Supreme Court of Canada Confirms “Owners” of Construction Projects Are “Employers” Under OHSA

  • Supreme Court of Canada lets stand decision finding an “owner” of a construction project can be considered an “employer” within the meaning of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA).
  • This decision has significant implications for the construction sector, as a project owner can now be liable for OHSA violations of its contractor, subject to a due diligence defence.  




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Maryland’s Heat Stress Regulation Took Effect September 30th – Are you Prepared?

Maryland’s Occupational Safety and Health (MOSH) Division of Labor and Industry recently announced its publication of the Heat Illness Prevention Standard as a final regulation in the September 20, 2024, edition of the Maryland Register. Effective September 30, 2024, the final regulation—which creates obligations for Maryland employers to protect their employees against heat hazards—will be published in the Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR) under chapter 09.12.32 Heat Stress Standards.




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Are You Ready for the June 18th PWFA Rule?




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Mexico's Human Trafficking Law Reform: Are Employers at Risk of Criminal Sanctions for Scheduling Overtime?




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Understanding the NLRB’s Healthcare Rule in Light of Recent Union Organizing Trends and Board Decisions




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Navigating New Pay Transparency Policies




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Child Labor in the United States and Beyond: A Legal, Moral, and PR Nightmare for Employers




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Challenges and Best Practices for Home Care Employers Following the Elimination of the Companionship Exemption

On October 1, 2013, the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (DOL) published a final rule in the Federal Register eliminating the Fair Labor Standard Act's (FLSA) minimum wage and overtime exemption for home care workers employed by home care agencies and other companies.  The new regulations also significantly narrow the exemption for home care workers employed directly by the individuals or families receiving home care services. 




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Connecticut Addresses E-Cigarettes and Vapor Products, Imposes Signage Requirements on Select Employers

Connecticut has passed a new law regulating electronic nicotine delivery systems and vapor products in various venues, including numerous places of employment.  Effective October 1, 2015, Public Act No. 15 206 (the Act) supersedes and preempts any relevant provisions of municipal laws or ordinances regarding the use of these products. 

The Law

The Act prohibits the use of electronic nicotine delivery systems and vapor products in:

1. buildings owned or leased and operated by the state or its political subdivisions,




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Are Outside HR Professionals Necessary in Discrimination Cases?

Mark Phillis discusses the practice of looking to HR professionals to testify in court and conduct workplace investigations.

Bloomberg BNA Human Resources Report

View Article




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Federal Contractor Affirmative Action: Are You Up to Date?




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Viewpoint: A Checklist to Prepare for the DOL's Expansion of FMLA Audits

Jeff Nowak offers advice to employers on the DOL’s announcement that it will ramp up Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), as well as wage and hour, audits.

SHRM Online

View (Subscription required.)




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Littler Elevates 26 Attorneys to Shareholder to Kick Off the New Year

(January 2, 2024) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, is ringing in the new year with a new shareholder class. The firm elevated 26 attorneys to shareholder across its U.S., Mexico and Singapore offices, effective January 1, 2024.




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New Haven Office Kicks Off 2024 with a New Leader – Littler Selects Paula Anthony as Office Managing Shareholder

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (January 4, 2024) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has appointed Paula Anthony as office managing shareholder (OMS) of the firm’s New Haven, Connecticut office, effective January 1, 2024. Anthony succeeds Lori Alexander who will be stepping down to continue to focus on her full-time litigation and advice practice.




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Littler Adds Lisa Shevlin as Shareholder in Portland

PORTLAND, Ore. (January 9, 2024) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has added Lisa P. Shevlin as a shareholder in its Portland, Oregon office. Shevlin joins from Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP with wide-ranging experience as an employment law advisor and litigator.




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Littler Welcomes Shareholder John Nordlund in San Diego

SAN DIEGO (April 1, 2024) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has added John Nordlund as its newest shareholder in its San Diego office. Nordlund joins the firm from Jackson Lewis P.C.




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Littler Adds Shareholder John Tripoli in Milwaukee

MILWAUKEE (April 8, 2024) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has added John D. (J.D.) Tripoli as a shareholder in its Milwaukee office. Tripoli joins from Eimer Stahl LLP and focuses his practice on employment-related litigation.




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Littler’s D. Porpoise Evans Appointed as Office Managing Shareholder in Miami

MIAMI (May 8, 2024) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has appointed D. Porpoise Evans as office managing shareholder (OMS) of the firm’s Miami office. Evans succeeds Lori Brown, who will fully shift her role to focus on her firmwide management and operational responsibilities.




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Littler Welcomes Shareholder Gregory Tumolo in Providence

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (May 20, 2024) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, continues to expand its shareholder ranks with the addition of Gregory Tumolo in its Providence, Rhode Island office. He joins the firm from Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith, where he was co-chair of the Employment Advice and Counseling practice group. Tumolo’s arrival follows several recent additions at the shareholder level, including Stephen Shore (Toronto), John Tripoli (Milwaukee) and John Nordlund (San Diego).




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Briana Swift Joins as a Shareholder in Littler’s Seattle Office

SEATTLE (May 28, 2024) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has added Briana M. Swift as a shareholder in its Seattle office. She joins the firm from K&L Gates and focuses her practice on employee benefits and executive compensation. Swift is the sixth attorney to join Littler at the shareholder level since the beginning of April.




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Littler Continues Hiring Streak with Addition of Shareholder Kelly Cardin in New York City

NEW YORK (May 28, 2024) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has added Kelly M. Cardin as a shareholder in its New York City office. Cardin – who joins the firm from Ogletree Deakins, where she was co-chair of the Pay Equity practice group – marks Littler’s fifth shareholder level addition since the beginning of April.




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C-Suite Executives Are Advancing Workplace Generative AI Policies as Risks Mount, Littler Survey Finds

Survey also reveals significant misalignment among top executives, posing challenges for effective AI risk management

Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has released its 2024 AI C-Suite Survey Report, completed by more than 330 C-suite executives across the United States.




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UK: Menopause Awareness in the Workplace

  • Recent statistics indicate that menopause is having a significant effect on employees in the workplace.




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UK: Fire and rehire – where are we now and what happens next?

  • A recent UK Supreme Court decision restored an injunction preventing an employer from using the practice of “fire and rehire” to push a change in benefits through.
  • The UK Government also recently published the draft Employment Rights Bill, which contains major proposed reforms to “fire and rehire” and “fire and replace” practices.




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Littler Welcomes Shareholder Seth Mehrten in Fresno

FRESNO, Calif. (November 4, 2024) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has added Seth G. Mehrten as a shareholder in its Fresno office. Mehrten joins the firm from Barsamian & Moody.




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Strikes in the Age of Automation and AI: How HR Can Prepare for the Future

Bradford Kelley talks about how important it is for employers to create effective AI policies.

SHRM

View (Subscription required)




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How different would Harris, Trump be for HR? 5 areas to watch

Michael Lotito, Jorge Lopez, Jim Paretti and Shannon Meade share their outlooks on the biggest changes that could be coming down the pike for HR after Election Day.

HR Executive

View




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Few of Workers’ Biggest Gains From Biden Era Are Safe From Trump

Michael Lotito says everything is on the table when it comes to changes the Trump administration will make in American labor.

Bloomberg Law

View (Subscription required)




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ETSI Licensed Shared Access specifications for a trial in Portugal to support 5G deployment

ETSI Licensed Shared Access specifications for a trial in Portugal to support 5G deployment

Sophia Antipolis, 27 March 2019

Spectrum usage in the mid-term will tend to focus more on spectrum sharing among the various radiocommunications systems, as a principle rather than as an exception and technological and regulatory solutions need to be found that allow for this implementation. With 5G coming soon, Licensed Shared Access (LSA) gives carriers new spectrum capabilities in the absence of incumbent.

Read More...




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ETSI releases specification for Smart Body Area Networks to facilitate eHealth

ETSI releases specification for Smart Body Area Networks to facilitate eHealth

Sophia Antipolis,  20 May 2019

The ETSI Technical Committee Smart BAN has recently published ETSI TS 103 327, a standard for Smart Body Area Networks.

Read More...




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ETSI specifications on licensed shared spectrum successfully implemented in the Netherlands for the entertainment industry

ETSI specifications on licensed shared spectrum successfully implemented in the Netherlands for the entertainment industry

Sophia Antipolis, 8 July 2019

After a successful pilot in 2017, the Dutch administration (Radiocommunications Agency Netherlands) has decided to implement Licensed Shared Access (LSA) technology, based on ETSI specifications.

Read More...




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World Standards Day 2020: STANDARDS ARE ESSENTIAL TO PROTECT THE PLANET

World Standards Day 2020: STANDARDS ARE ESSENTIAL TO PROTECT THE PLANET

On 14 October 2020, CEN, CENELEC and ETSI, the three official European Standardization Organizations, join the international standardization community in celebrating World Standards Day. By focusing on the environment, this year’s edition aims to raise awareness on the potential of standards to help tackle the climate crisis.

Read More...




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Congratulations to Optare solutions, winner of the 2021 ETSI MEC Hackathon

Congratulations to Optare solutions, winner of the 2021 ETSI MEC Hackathon

Sophia Antipolis, 10 November 2021

Following the ETSI MEC Hackathon that took place during the Edge Computing World from 12 to 15 October, you can now discover the winner, the A Team, from Optare solutions, on the event website. The A Team presented the “flex drone concept”, edge AI autonomous drone flights, compliant with ETSI MEC standards.

Read More...




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ETSI Releases first Report on the Role of Hardware in the Security of AI

ETSI Releases Group Report on the Role of Hardware in the Security of AI

Sophia Antipolis, 28 April 2022

ETSI recently released a Group Report, ETSI GR SAI 006, outlining the role of hardware in the security of artificial intelligence (AI).

Read More...




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ETSI to transform the standards development landscape with Software Development Groups

Sophia Antipolis, 2 February 2023

ETSI, the organization for globally applicable standards for information and communication technology (ICT), has adopted a new instrument, Software Development Groups (SDGs). This game-changing move will help ETSI adapt to the ever-evolving landscape of technology and standards development. Developing software to accompany standards will accelerate the standardization process, providing faster feedback loops and improving the quality of standards.

Read More...




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ETSI releases new report enabling more transparent security techniques

Sophia Antipolis, 6 March 2023

The ETSI group on Encrypted Traffic Integration (ISG ETI) is pleased to announce the release of the group report GR-ETI-002 “Requirements definition and analysis”, the next step for the problems previously outlined in the report GR-ETI-001 “Problem Statement”.

Read More...




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ETSI IoT conference: standards are key to achieving green and digital transformation

Sophia Antipolis, 7 July 2023

The new edition of the ETSI IoT Conference, IoT Technologies for Green and Digital Transformation, ended on 6 July, highlighting through use cases and demonstrations how IoT standards can be real enablers in achieving the green and digital transformation. The programme is available here and the very stimulating presentations from our 54 international speakers are available here.

Read More...




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ETSI releases three Reports on Securing Artificial Intelligence for a secure, transparent and explicable AI system

Sophia Antipolis, 11 July 2023

ETSI is pleased to announce three new Reports developed by its Securing AI group (ISG SAI). They address explicability and transparency of AI processing and provide an AI computing platform security framework. The last Report is a multi-partner Proofs of Concepts framework.

Read More...




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ETSI launches First Software Development Group

Sophia Antipolis, 25 July 2023

ETSI is proud to announce the establishment of its first Software Development Group, called OpenSlice. With this group, ETSI positions itself as a focal point for development and experimentation with network slicing.

Read More...




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ETSI Announces New Software Development Group for Common API Framework

Sophia Antipolis, 9 November 2023

ETSI is delighted to announce the establishment of a new Software Development Group, called OpenCAPIF. OpenCAPIF is developing an open-source Common API Framework, as defined by 3GPP, allowing for secure and consistent exposure and use of APIs.

Read More...




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Preparing for a secure future: industry and business share plans for quantum era at 10th ETSI/IQC Quantum-Safe Cryptography Conference

Sophia Antipolis, 24 May 2024

Speakers at the 10th ETSI/IQC Quantum Safe Cryptography Conference have called on organizations to prepare their cybersecurity infrastructures to address the challenges of a post-quantum world.

Organized by ETSI and the Institute for Quantum Computing, this year’s conference was hosted from 14-16 May by the Centre for Quantum Technologies (CQT), National University of Singapore (NUS), in partnership with the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and the Cyber Security Agency (CSA) of Singapore. The event attracted an impressive 235 onsite delegates from 27 countries, reflecting fast-growing interest worldwide in the critical importance of quantum-safe cryptography in today’s cybersecurity strategies.

Read More...




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Are we doing it right? Promoting the human rights of children with disabilities

Starts: Thu, 28 Nov 2024 18:30:00 -0500
11/28/2024 05:30:00PM
Location: Montreal, Canada




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Take Control: Be the CEO of Your Career and Life

Starts: Wed, 04 Dec 2024 19:00:00 -0500
12/04/2024 05:30:00PM
Location: Montreal, Canada




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San Francisco Bay Area Holiday Party - Don't Miss the Fun!

Starts: Sun, 08 Dec 2024 18:30:00 -0500
12/08/2024 04:30:00PM
Location: San Mateo, U. S. A.




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Share your experiences to create some SpotOn social media tips for scientists!

It ain’t a party if you can’t join us Towards the end of April, SpotOn




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SpotOn London 2013: How are online tools changing science education?

The place we’re in as a society is a crowded field of scattered tools and




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Cybersecurity Snapshot: New Guides Offer Best Practices for Preventing Shadow AI and for Deploying Secure Software Updates

Looking for help with shadow AI? Want to boost your software updates’ safety? New publications offer valuable tips. Plus, learn why GenAI and data security have become top drivers of cyber strategies. And get the latest on the top “no-nos” for software security; the EU’s new cyber law; and CISOs’ communications with boards.

Dive into six things that are top of mind for the week ending Oct. 25.

1 - CSA: How to prevent “shadow AI” 

As organizations scale up their AI adoption, they must closely track their AI assets to secure them and mitigate their cyber risk. This includes monitoring the usage of unapproved AI tools by employees — an issue known as “shadow AI.”

So how do you identify, manage and prevent shadow AI? You may find useful ideas in the Cloud Security Alliance’s new “AI Organizational Responsibilities: Governance, Risk Management, Compliance and Cultural Aspects” white paper.

The white paper covers shadow AI topics including:

  • Creating a comprehensive inventory of AI systems
  • Conducting gap analyses to spot discrepancies between approved and actual AI usage
  • Implementing ways to detect unauthorized AI wares
  • Establishing effective access controls
  • Deploying monitoring techniques

 

 

“By focusing on these key areas, organizations can significantly reduce the risks associated with shadow AI, ensuring that all AI systems align with organizational policies, security standards, and regulatory requirements,” the white paper reads.

For example, to create an inventory that offers the required visibility into AI assets, the document explains different elements each record should have, such as:

  • The asset’s description
  • Information about its AI models
  • Information about its data sets and data sources
  • Information about the tools used for its development and deployment
  • Detailed documentation about its lifecycle, regulatory compliance, ethical considerations and adherence to industry standards
  • Records of its access control mechanisms

Shadow AI is one of four topics covered in the publication, which also unpacks risk management; governance and compliance; and safety culture and training.

To get more details, read:

For more information about AI security issues, including shadow AI, check out these Tenable blogs:

2 - Best practices for secure software updates

The security and reliability of software updates took center stage in July when an errant update caused massive and unprecedented tech outages globally.

To help prevent such episodes, U.S. and Australian cyber agencies have published “Safe Software Deployment: How Software Manufacturers Can Ensure Reliability for Customers.

“It is critical for all software manufacturers to implement a safe software deployment program supported by verified processes, including robust testing and measurements,” reads the 12-page document.

Although the guide is aimed primarily at commercial software vendors, its recommendations can be useful for any organization with software development teams that deploy updates internally.

 

 

The guide outlines key steps for a secure software development process, including planning; development and testing; internal rollout; and controlled rollout. It also addresses errors and emergency protocols.

“A safe software deployment process should be integrated with the organization’s SDLC, quality program, risk tolerance, and understanding of the customer’s environment and operations,” reads the guide, authored by the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the FBI and the Australian Cyber Security Centre.

To get more details, read:

For more information about secure software updates:

3 - Report: GenAI, attack variety, data security drive cyber strategies

What issues act as catalysts for organizations’ cybersecurity actions today? Hint: They’re fairly recent concerns. The promise and peril of generative AI ranks first. It’s closely followed by the ever growing variety of cyberattacks; and by the intensifying urgency to protect data.

That’s according to CompTIA’s “State of Cybersecurity 2025” report, based on a survey of almost 1,200 business and IT pros in North America and in parts of Europe and Asia. 

These three key factors, along with others like the scale of attacks, play a critical role in how organizations currently outline their cybersecurity game plans.

“Understanding these drivers is essential for organizations to develop proactive and adaptive cybersecurity strategies that address the evolving threat landscape and safeguard their digital assets,” reads a CompTIA blog about the report.

Organizations are eagerly trying to understand both how generative AI can help their cybersecurity programs and how this technology is being used by malicious actors to make cyberattacks harder to detect and prevent.

Meanwhile, concern about data protection has ballooned in the past couple of years. “As organizations become more data-driven, the need to protect sensitive information has never been more crucial,” reads the blog.

Not only are organizations focused on securing data at rest, in transit and in use, but they’re also creating foundational data-management practices, according to the report.

“The rise of AI has accelerated the need for robust data practices in order to properly train AI algorithms, and the demand for data science continues to be strong as businesses seek competitive differentiation,” the report reads.

To get more details, read:

For more information about data security posture management (DSPM) and preventing AI-powered attacks, check out these Tenable resources:

4 - CISA lists software dev practices most harmful for security

Recommended best practices abound in the cybersecurity world. However, CISA and the FBI are taking the opposite tack in their quest to improve the security of software products: They just released a list of the worst security practices that software manufacturers ought to avoid.

Titled “Product Security Bad Practices,” the document groups the “no-nos” into three main categories: product properties; security features; and organizational processes and policies.

“It’s 2024, and basic, preventable software defects continue to enable crippling attacks against hospitals, schools, and other critical infrastructure. This has to stop,” CISA Director Jen Easterly said in a statement.

“These product security bad practices pose unacceptable risks in this day and age, and yet are all too common,” she added.

 

 

Here are some of the worst practices detailed in the document, which is part of CISA’s “Secure by Design” effort:

  • Using programming languages considered “memory unsafe”
  • Including user-provided input in SQL query strings
  • Releasing a product with default passwords
  • Releasing a product with known and exploited vulnerabilities
  • Not using multi-factor authentication
  • Failing to disclose vulnerabilities in a timely manner

Although the guidance is aimed primarily at software makers whose products are used by critical infrastructure organizations, the recommendations apply to all software manufacturers.

If you’re interested in sharing your feedback with CISA and the FBI, you can submit comments about the document until December 16, 2024 on the Federal Register.

To get more details, check out:

For more information about how to develop secure software:

5 - New EU law focuses on cybersecurity of connected digital products

Makers of digital products — both software and hardware — that directly or indirectly connect to networks and to other devices will have to comply with specific cybersecurity safeguards in the European Union.

A newly adopted law known as the “Cyber Resilience Act” outlines cybersecurity requirements for the design, development, production and lifecycle maintenance of these types of products, including IoT wares such as connected cars.

 

 

For example, it specifies a number of “essential cybersecurity requirements” for these products, including that they:

  • Aren’t shipped with known exploitable vulnerabilities
  • Feature a “secure by default” configuration
  • Can fix their vulnerabilities via automatic software updates
  • Offer access protection via control mechanisms, such as authentication and identity management
  • Protect the data they store, transmit and process using, for example, at-rest and in-transit encryption

“The new regulation aims to fill the gaps, clarify the links, and make the existing cybersecurity legislative framework more coherent, ensuring that products with digital components (...) are made secure throughout the supply chain and throughout their lifecycle,” reads a statement from the EU’s European Council.

The law will “enter into force” after its publication in the EU’s official journal and will apply and be enforceable 36 months later, so most likely in October 2027 or November 2027. However, some of its provisions will be enforceable a year prior.

For more information and analysis about the EU’s Cyber Resilience Act:

VIDEO

The EU Cyber Resilience Act: A New Era for Business Engagement in Open Source Software (Linux Foundation) 

6 - UK cyber agency: CISOs must communicate better with boards

CISOs and boards of directors are struggling to understand each other, and this is increasing their organizations’ cyber risk, new research from the U.K.’s cyber agency has found.

For example, in one alarming finding, 80% of respondents, which included board members, CISOs and other cyber leaders in medium and large enterprises, confessed to being unsure of who is ultimately accountable for cybersecurity in their organizations.

“We found that in many organisations, the CISO (or equivalent role) thought that the Board was accountable, whilst the Board thought it was the CISO,” reads a blog about the research titled “How to talk to board members about cyber.

As a result, the U.K. National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has released new guidance aimed at helping CISOs better communicate with their organizations’ boards titled “Engaging with Boards to improve the management of cyber security risk.

“Cyber security is a strategic issue, which means you must engage with Boards on their terms and in their language to ensure the cyber risk is understood, managed and mitigated,” the document reads.

Here’s a small sampling of the advice:

  • Understand your audience, including who are the board’s members and their areas of expertise; and how the board works, such as its meeting formats and its committees.
  • Talk about cybersecurity in terms of risks, and outline these risks concretely and precisely, presenting them in a matter-of-fact way.
  • Don’t limit your communication with board members to formal board meetings. Look for opportunities to talk to them individually or in small groups outside of these board meetings.
  • Elevate the discussions so that you link cybersecurity with your organization’s business challenges, goals and context.
  • Aim to provide a holistic view, and avoid using technical jargon.
  • Aim to advise instead of to educate.




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Social Media for Science Outreach – A Case Study: Career changing and pseudonyms

To tie in with this month’s SoNYC birthday celebrations, we are hosting a collection of case




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Social Media for Science Outreach – A Case Study: Chemicals Are Your Friends

To tie in with this month’s SoNYC birthday celebrations, we are hosting a collection of case




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OSC study finds ESG ratings greatly influence investor decisions but are difficult to understand

TORONTO – The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) today released the results of a study examining the influence of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors on retail investor decision making.