Kavitha Gupta's blog

  This Year’s Top Ten!  By Kristy Grant-Hart  November 22, 2024   Reference:  https://compliancekristy.com/this-years-top-ten/ The end of the year makes me nostalgic. It’s meaningful to look back and reflect. I’m always excited to see how far I’ve come and how things have changed. One thing is certain – things are always changing in the compliance field. From regulatory expectations to new laws, the state of the profession never stands still. I’ve been writing blogs for the past eight years (time flies!). I’m particularly proud of the following ten blogs from this year. If you missed any of them, just click on the links! In no particular order… 1. New DOJ Guidance: What To Do NOW for Risk Assessments When the DOJ’s updates its  Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs  guidance, it’s always the biggest news of the compliance year. This time, I’ve focused on what to do now for your risk assessments to meet their new e...

  Criminal Breach of Trust vs. Cheating: Decoding the Confusion By  Nikhil Varshney ,  Kartik Sharma  &  Rishita Khandelwal  on  August 29, 2024 Introduction Offences such as cheating and criminal breach of trust are often invoked in Indian criminal law system. It is common practice that when a First Information Report (“ FIR ”) is registered under Section 406 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (“ IPC ”) (Section 316 of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (“ BNS” )) for criminal breach of trust, the same is also registered under Section 420 of IPC (Section 318 of BNS) for cheating. This practice is on account of a long-drawn confusion between the two offences, wherein the two are often equated and thus understood as offences with similar ingredients. In a recent ruling of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in  Delhi Race Club (1940) Limited v. State of Uttar Pradesh , Criminal Appeal No. 3114 of 2024 (“ Delhi Race Club case ”), the Apex Court dealt with it in...

Private sector could face scrutiny after US software company reveals it wined and dined NDIA officials  Parliamentary report finds agency officials also failed to declare gifts and outings paid for by IT firm Salesforce.   The potential “inappropriate cultivation” of government officials by the private sector could soon be under the microscope after US software company Salesforce revealed it wined and dined NDIA officials on at least 118 instances before, during and after the signing of a multimillion-dollar software contract. A parliamentary audit committee has recommended the federal government look into a number of contracts between the public service and major IT companies to see whether the behaviour is more widespread. The committee also noted the agency in charge of the national disability insurance scheme failed to publicly declare the ritzy outings with Salesforce officials. The final report on contracting arrangements at the NDIA and Services Australia, releas...

  Moonlighting employees: how to avoid the legal risks Locke Lord LLP USA   June 1 2009 In this unpredictable economic climate, many employees are looking for additional sources of income. This may mean working a second or third job or starting a business “on the side.” While most employers prefer not to intrude needlessly on employees’ private lives, “moonlighting” has the potential to create serious problems for employers. For example, moonlighting employees may not have the energy to perform at their full capacity, which in turn may pose a safety hazard. In addition, moonlighting may hinder an employee’s ability to work overtime, there is an increased risk that confidential information will be divulged when an employee works more than one job and moonlighting may create a conflict of interest if the employee works for a competitor. Employers should take the following steps to lawfully address employee moonlighting. STEP 1: Identify business-related concerns related to moonl...

  What is an employer to do when it makes an employment decision based on mistaken information? Historically, employers have been able to rely on the "honest belief" doctrine to demonstrate that while the information it relied on was incorrect, it was not a pretext for unlawful discrimination. The Eighth and Eleventh Circuit Courts of Appeal will be hearing cases that question the continued application of the "honest belief" doctrine. We will discuss the current state of the law and what the future may hold for employers. https://youtu.be/RAIkvJlRnfQ This is a web-based program that connects audio through computer or cellular device by Internet connection. Continuing Education Credit: This program is pending CLE credit approval in the state of Tennessee. It has been submitted to the HR Certification Institute and SHRM for review.

  Leverage the 'Honest Belief Rule' When Conducting Workplace Investigations Barnes & Thornburg LLP USA   June 10 2022 Conducting investigations of disputed workplace events is a routine responsibility for HR leaders. Faced with disputed facts, employers can make reasonable fact determinations based on a diligent investigation and still obtain summary dismissal of a discrimination claim. A recent U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit decision confirms how employers can best assure that the results of their investigations are respected and upheld. In  Rafee v. Volvo Group North America, LLC , Case No. 21-5891 (June 3, 2022), the plaintiff supervisor was terminated for directing combative behavior and profane language to a direct report for failing to complete a task assigned to him. During the investigation, the employee who was yelled at neither confirmed nor denied the allegations, but instead was dismissive of them. The supervisor completely denied the inciden...

  Check out the video of Association of Corporate Counsel India Chapter virtual discussion on India: Decoding of the New Labour Codes – Part I by the Law Maker, Dr. Manjunath held on 16 December 2020 The Central Government of India proposed to replace 29 existing  Labour Laws with four Codes to simplify and modernise labour regulation. The Labour Codes which were passed in both the Houses of the Parliament and received Presidential Assent are as follows:  1- Code on Wages 2- Industrial Relations Code 3- Social Security Code 4- Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code

http://www.accdocket.com/articles/gdpr-employer-interests-and-employee-privacy.cfm A company collects the data of its employees throughout the employees’ lifecycle — beginning with recruitment and concluding with resignation, termination, or retirement. The data is collected and processed at all stages. Many organizations are deploying new digital HR technologies to better manage and support the entire employment life cycle, including in the cloud to analyse data that can lead to HR improvements. The rapid adoption of new technologies in the workplace has been useful in detecting the loss of intellectual property or data breaches by an employee. What’s more, there are now predictive analytics and location data from smart devices that improve employee productivity. However, these technological developments are sometimes seen as intrusive and pervasive ways of cheaper monitoring and have raised concerns and challenges about employee privacy and data protection. Such te...

Mere Physical Contact Without Sexual Overtones Would Not Amount To Sexual Harassment At Workplace : Delhi HC [Read Judgment] BY: APOORVA MANDHANI NOVEMBER 2, 2017 1:36 PM 2.5K SHARES Change Font Size The Delhi High Court, on Tuesday, refused to ca... The Delhi High Court, on Tuesday, refused to categorize every unwelcome physical contact as sexual harassment. Justice Vibhu Bakhru explained, “Undoubtedly, physical contact or advances would constitute sexual harassment provided such physical cont... Read more at: http://www.livelaw.in/mere-physical-contact-without-sexual-overtones-not-amount-sexual-harassment-workplace-delhi-hc-read-judgment/

Maternity Leave in India Increased to Six Months §   Maternity leave increased from 12 to 26 weeks. §   Female employees with at least two children continue to be entitled to 12 weeks of maternity leave. §   Maternity leave of 12 weeks for female employees adopting a child below 3 months and for commissioning mothers. §   Employers having at least 50 employees to provide creche facility. §   Working mothers may be entitled to work from home. §   Effective date of the amendment yet to be notified. The wait finally ends! Maternity leave in India stands increased to 26 weeks for the private sector. The effective date of the amendment will be separately notified. After enactment of the stringent law on prevention of sexual harassment of women at workplace in 2013, the Indian government has now given female employees another reason to rejoice. With this development, maternity leave to be offered by private employers in India has bee...