In this issue - #87 June 29, 2006

We are pleased to announce that Pushor Mitchell LLP partner Sue Connaghan has been appointed to the Board of Directors for the B.C. Cancer Agency Foundation.

Newfoundland has amended its Human Rights Code to eliminate the age restriction of 65 in employment.

The recent decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in Bisaillon v. Concordia University affirmed the Court’s commitment to providing grievance arbitrators with exclusive jurisdiction over disputes arising from collective agreements.

In another weird “team building” exercise gone awry, a Fresno, California, jury has awarded $500,000 in damages to a woman who was spanked (yes, spanked) in front of her colleagues

Canada’s federal government is extending the availability of compassionate care benefits.

Should fast-food restaurants be giving their staff mandatory training on how to respond to attempted extortion? 

Fortune recently reported that, faced with the inability of two bickering attorneys to resolve even the most innocuous scheduling questions without his intervention, a Florida federal judge ordered the two to meet on the steps of the federal courthouse and resolve their latest quarrel by playing "one (1) game of 'rock, paper, scissors.' "

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 opportunities available to B.C. employers in the high tech sector to avoid paying overtime.

One of Canada's largest Internet service providers is warning its customers that Big Brother is lurking on-line, with the federal government expected to revive an Internet surveillance bill.
 

In Colombia, beauty can kill.

A popular class of drugs for high blood pressure, ACE inhibitors, may cause birth defects if taken during the first three months of pregnancy, doctors are reporting.

U.S. NHTSA provides rollover ratings for 2006 model-year vehicles.

This on-line checklist covers many of the symptoms and impairments often associated with brain injury.

Landmark Lawsuit Seeks to Link Welding Fumes to Parkinson's

The Province has amended the Manufactured Home Park Tenancy Regulation to make the formula for allowable rent increases consistent with the Residential Tenancy Act, which applies to all other rental accommodation in B.C.

The British Columbia Court of Appeal decision in Hardwoods Specialty Products LP v. Rite Style Manufacturing Ltd. will be of interest to business owners who grant their customers credit.

If your export venture involves a foreign supplier, this article will help you evaluate your supplier with a handy list of questions you should ask before proceeding.

If you’re planning to travel to the United States as part of your export efforts, this article will get you up to speed on customs requirements, NAFTA classifications for business travel, and transporting business gifts and samples across the border.
 

Aother example of a patent reminding us again that, apparently, it's not as hard to get a US patent as people think: