Top 10 Labour and Employment Headlines from North America The Obama administration continues to tout the performance of the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009," signed into law February 17, 2009 and commonly called the "Stimulus Bill" (Public Law 111-5). The November Visa Bulletin—issued by the U.S. Department of State—continues a positive trend started in October, which made visas available for individuals with older priority dates in the Employment-Based Third Preference (EB-3) category following five months of visa unavailability and priority date retrogression. In anticipation of higher-than-average absenteeism due to seasonal and H1N1 flu outbreaks, employers should implement specific best practices that protect employees, minimize business disruptions and avoid employment claims. On August 19, 2009 the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement issued an Opinion Letter stating that an employer having significant economic difficulties will not violate the "salary basis" of its exempt employees by temporarily reducing the work schedules of those exempt employees from five days to four days per week, with a corresponding reduction of 20 percent to their weekly salary. A serious concern has arisen over the last few months regarding the rapid spread of the H1N1 influenza virus, also known as swine flu (“H1N1”), and the possibility of significant social and economic disruption. Failing to comply with various federal group health plan mandates, including COBRA and HIPAA portability, just got riskier and costlier for employers. On September 23, 2009, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission published in the Federal Register a long-awaited Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding the ADA Amendments Act of 2008. On April 23, 2009, the Ontario Legislature passed into law the Countering Distracted Driving and Promoting Green Transportation Act, (the "Cell Phone Act"), which amends the Highway Traffic Act to prohibit the use of certain display and handheld communication and entertainment devices while operating a motor vehicle, particularly those that are capable of receiving or transmitting telephone communications, electronic data, mail or text messages. The popularity of employee furlough programs in the United States has increased in the economic recession. A furlough is a temporary period when employees take unpaid leaves from work in response to slower business activity. Employers are learning the hard way that gaining access to private employee information during workplace investigations can lead to lawsuits, liability and headaches. | 
