News

On April 24, 2020, the Versailles Court of Appeals handed down an insightful decision concerning the implementation of employee protection measures by employers in the current health context and lockdown imposed by the Government on March 16.

Ruling on an appeal lodged by the American giant Amazon against the order issued by the Nanterre Judicial Court on April 14, 2020, the Versailles Court of Appeals upheld the order in that it provided for a mandatory obligation to implement a comprehensive national health and safety prevention plan for employees, with prior consultation with staff representatives. This decision is in line with the need to reconcile the necessity to maintain a business activity with the preservation of employees’ health.

The national lockdown exit protocol intended for employers has just been published by the Ministry of Labor.

Its objectives: to help and support companies, whatever their size, activity or geographical location, to resume their business operations while ensuring the protection of their employees’ health through the application of universal rules.

In the context of the Covid-19 epidemic and its impact on the European Union’s economy, the European Commission published on March 26, 2020 a communication designed to alert Member States to the need to protect strategic European assets from foreign direct investments.

While reaffirming the European Union’s openness to foreign investments, the European Commission encourages Member States to protect assets that cover the health needs of their citizens and, more generally, to safeguard Europe’s strategic capacities.

Given the unprecedented health crisis that we are currently experiencing, one of the key measures imposed by the Government to contain the Covid-19 epidemic is the massive and imperative use of telework for all types of employment positions that allow it.

The legal framework for telework has become considerably more flexible in recent years to support the development of this work arrangement in France.

However, although the use of telework has been significantly streamlined, the employer remains subject to specific obligations that must be complied with.

The Covid-19 pandemic has prompted many companies to implement teleworking solutions. The implementation of this type of working method requires that rules be duly followed to guarantee the security of information systems and processed data.

The French Data Protection Authority (Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés or “CNIL”) has published recommendations to help secure personal data in this context.

Adopted in furtherance of the Emergency Law No. 2020-290 of March 23, 2020 to deal with the Covid-19 epidemic, Ordinance No. 2020-318 dated March 25, 2020 adapting the rules relating to the preparation, closing, audit, review, approval and publication of accounts and other documents and information that private law legal persons and entities without legal personality are required to file or publish in the context of the covid-19 epidemic has introduced temporary exceptional derogations, particularly with regard to the approval of accounts.