Perspectives – Legal Voices on Business

Fasken Product Liability specialists in the Litigation & Dispute Resolution Group from the South African office share valuable insights in this next episode focusing on product recalls and recourses. This episode is beneficial for organisations interested in the legal aspects of product recalls and seeking guidance on how to address such issues.

Fasken Product Liability specialists in the Life Sciences Industry Group from the South African office share valuable insights in this introductory podcast on the lay of the land of product liability and product recalls.

In this new episode of Perspectives, Antoine Aylwin and Iara Griffith, lawyers in the Privacy and Cybersecurity Law group, discuss the new provisions brought to the Charter of the French language by Bill 96 and their impact on the business community. One year after the amendments to the Charter came into force, Antoine and Iara report on the new provisions applicable as of June 1, 2023. They present the highlights of Bill 96 and discuss the changes it implies for companies in Quebec. They discuss membership contracts and their exceptions, the consumer protection law as well as the legal advertising law, and they clarify everything that “administration” entails within the meaning of the Charter.

Fasken Labour and Employment practice group partners Daphney Willem and Owethu Mbambo chat on this podcast about romantic relationships in the workplace in South Africa this Valentine’s Day. They cover what the law says and doesn’t say about these relationships in the workplace, as well as share important considerations for employers on this topic.

Please join us to introduce Christine Elliott, former Deputy Premier and Minister of Health in Ontario who has recently joined Fasken. As Ontario – and every other jurisdiction – tackles the task of understanding the lessons learned over the past two and one half years and the appropriate balance between continuity, innovation and change in our health care system, there are few in this country better positioned than Christine Elliott to help those in the health care, life sciences and technology sectors better understand the opportunities and potential pitfalls. In this Q & A, among other matters, ​Christine addresses her new position and how she plans to draw on her past experiences to help clients adapt to and be successful in Ontario’s evolving health care system.”

In this podcast episode dispute resolution partner Jesicca Rajpal along side candidate attorney's Catherine Hendriks and Alice Letsoalo discuss governance risk in cyber crimes as it relates to the Cyber Crimes Act. In their conversation they address how cybersecurity also has an impact on organizations. In addition the team provide a brief overview of key elements of contracts with service providers who ensure the overall cybersecurity hygiene of your organization.

In this special podcast episode, Mr. Raymond Chrétien, C.C., Partner and Strategic Counsel, on behalf of the Fasken partners, hosted a virtual event on May 19, 2022, in honour of Mrs. Anne Leahy, former Ambassador of Canada to Russia and Poland. In conversation, they discuss the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its fallout for the world. They also look further into the geopolitical, diplomatic, humanitarian, economic and commercial aspects of this conflict. This event was held mainly in English, with a question period in English, French or Russian.

With the assent of Bill 96, An Act respecting French, the official and common language of Québec, Antoine Aylwin and Iara Griffith discuss the new Bill’s impact on the use of French in Quebec. In this episode of Perspectives, they review the main changes that will affect companies located in or doing business in Quebec in their day-to-day. They tackle the following themes: scope, the language of work, francization, the language of commerce, public signage, and finally, penalties and effective dates. For more information, we invite you to consult our Resource Center and our Annotated Charter of the French Language as amended by the Bill; this will help you identify the changes and the various effective dates. Take our test now and get an idea of your company’s compliance with the changes.

In this podcast episode pension law partner Rosemary Hunter and Labour and Employment Law associate Tshepo Mokoana discuss the Constitutional Court judgment, Municipal Employees Pension Fund and another v Dineo Mongwaketse and another, handed down on 14 March 2022. In their conversation they discuss the Constitutional Court’s ruling, its impact and the finding that pension contributions of a person who was erroneously enrolled as a member of the pension fund must be refunded with interest. In addition the team discusses the finding that you do not need to have been a member, beneficiary, participating employer or board of a fund in order to be a ‘complainant’ as defined in section 1 of the Pension Funds Act (PFA).

Senior associates Venolan Naidoo and Daphney Willem sit down to chat together in this podcast recording titled “Can an employee be dismissed by an AI system?”. They discuss the role played by AI systems in the selection of candidates employment and the possible dismissal of employees. This is often quite a big challenge for organisations, especially with the rapid advancement of technology, and so they approach the subject in a practical manner by examining this topic through the lens of POPIA, as well as looking at the dynamics around employers and employees, and the impact of technology in the workplace. Venolan sheds some light on what employers need to consider when implementing 3rd party AI applications.

The commissioning of statements or affidavits is an imperative process that has been done in a particular manner over decades. However, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown regulations forced the world to find new ways of doing things. South African courts have followed suit by ruling that there is an acceptable alternative way of commissioning affidavits from the norm, and this is virtual commissioning. The team unpack the rules that govern the commissioning of affidavits, they look at recent judgments on virtual commissioning of affidavits, and whether this will be beneficial or not, and the risks and pitfalls.

Fasken Associates in the Johannesburg office Dispute Resolution & Litigation practice group Emma Alimohammadi and Andricia Hinckemann examine the damages as a result of a breach in terms of the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (otherwise known as POPI or POPIA). Section 22 of POPI, deals with a responsible parties obligation to notify data subjects of security compromises and may also result in civil action to be taken against the responsible party. An example of non-compliance with this section may include instances where an unauthorised person accesses or acquires the personal information of a data subject and the responsible party fails to notify the data subject and Information Regulator. Emma and Andricia discuss this specific section of POPIA in this episode of Fasken Perspectives.

Fasken Senior Associates in the Johannesburg office Labour & Employment Law Daphney Willem and Venolan Naidoo delve into the world of artificial intelligence, the impact of the 4th Industrial Revolution and the possible impact of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) on workforce technology usage. This includes from chatbots that attend to general queries; systems that train or coach individuals on best sales/marketing techniques; or biometric technology, automation of administratively repetitive tasks; cyber security or fraud detection; or robotic process automation in the healthcare, manufacturing, and logistics industries. These are already part of the changes employers are implementing as workplaces move further forward into the 4th Industrial Revolution.