In this issue - #109 March 31, 2008

Pushor Mitchell partner Theresa Arsenault has been appointed to the Board of Governors of the University of British Columbia.

Pushor Mitchell partner Paul Mitchell was recently appointed Queens Counsel.

Pushor Mitchell LLP is pleased to welcome Andrew Brunton to the firm and to Kelowna. 

You know that Sharper Image gift card you got for Christmas?

Following the lead of other jurisdictions, B.C.’s legislature has introduced a bill to amend the Employment Standards Act to protect the employment of Canadian armed forces reservists who are away from work on duty, training, or medical leave resulting from service. 

Many employers offer dental benefits coverage to employees.  Many of those employers are growing concerned with the associated costs.

In Taiwan, a veterinarian at the Shaoshan Zoo learned a lesson (the hard way) about keeping his hand out of the cage of a wild animal. 

You know you really don’t like your job when you’ll resort to self-mutilation in order to get a day off.  In Pasco, Washington, an employee had his friend shoot him in the shoulder so that he wouldn’t have to go to work. 

Occasionally an individual is defamed by having been publicly associated with the actions of a former employer.

In a recent edition of his weekly column, “Legal Ease”, which appears nationally in a variety of print and electronic media, Robert Smithson addressed the issue of the range of deductions employers are, and are not, permitted to take from an employee’s pay.  Robert puts forward the view that the Employment Standards Branch should allow employers to deduct amounts legitimately owed by the employee for theft, overpayments, etc.

Bill 13, the Labour and Citizen’s Services Statutes Amendment Act, 2008, was introduced to enhance the protection of farm workers in the Province of British Columbia.

Most employers consider that it is safe to conclude that an employment contract is terminated if an employee leaves work due to a terminal illness.

Gov. Eliot Spitzer completed a spectacular fall from power for a politician whose once-promising career imploded amid allegations that he paid thousands of dollars for high-end prostitutes.

The Canadian government said Tuesday it is considering new measures to stamp out Internet gaming sites based on a native reserve in Quebec, in a move that could spark conflict between Ottawa and Canada's First Nations ahead of a second national "day of action" this summer.

EBay is decrying the lack of interest in cybercrime by authorities in countries such as Romania, Russia, and China. 

Hospitals are taking steps to prevent errors in the use of so-called high-alert medications -- those that, when given in the wrong dose or used incorrectly, have the highest risk of seriously harming or even killing a patient.

A recent Ontario study indicates that doctors seldom report their patient's medical risk of driving to licencing authorioties, even though they are obligated to do so by law.

Can you imagine what would happen if three jumbo jets crashed in one month?

Established and start-up businesses are repeatedly told of the importance of protecting their intellectual property, or “IP” as it is frequently called.

Computer chip designer Rambus Inc. has been awarded $306.5 million in damages against rival chip manufacturer Hynix Semiconductor by a jury on March 26.  Rambus sued Hynix for infringing patents that Rambus held on types of computer memory chips. 

CBA President Bernard Amyot, together with 34 bar leaders from around the world, has called on U.S. President George W. Bush to immediately close the prison facility at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.