The European Commission has issued its first fine in a no-poach case in the labor market, and its first sanction of the anti-competitive use of a minority share in a competing business. With the fine of EUR 329 million, the Commission joins the ranks of a number of high-profile antitrust enforcers worldwide that have targeted HR-related infringements. The Commission’s first intervention is also likely to encourage other EU regulators to follow suit and is an important reminder of the need to carefully manage antitrust risk (specifically information flows) where a company holds a minority shareholding in a competitor.

In the past few years, enforcement against restrictive labor market agreements has become a priority for many competition authorities worldwide. As a result, certain HR practices are in the spotlight of antitrust enforcers and may result in significant fines or even criminal liability. For more information, please read our briefing document, International Antitrust Onslaught against HR practices: Act now to stay ahead of the game.

The German Whistleblower Protection Act was (finally) passed on 12 May 2023, after several attempts, following final amendments proposed by the Mediation Committee on 9 May 2023, which have now been accepted by the Federal Parliament (Bundestag) and the Federal Council (Bundesrat). The long overdue law serves to implement the European Whistleblower Directive (Directive (EU) 2019/1937), which actually provided for an implementation deadline of December 2021. The law will now come into force in mid-June 2023.

We provided an overview perspective on EU Whistleblowing Directive: Local Implementation which includes updates on the latest EU employment and compliance developments.
The European Whistleblowing Directive was supposed to be implemented by the European Union’s 27 member states by no later than 17 December 2021, impacting employers with operations in those jurisdictions.

Join Baker McKenzie for their EU Whistleblowing Directive: Local Implementation Update webinar on Wednesday 29 March 2023 at 14:00 UK / 15:00 Madrid which includes updates on the latest EU employment and compliance developments.

FeMale Leaders by Baker McKenzie is an innovative and unique initiative. Our goal is to steadily increase the proportion of female leaders. To achieve this, we want to bring great women together for a high-level exchange and in a relaxed atmosphere.
With our new type of format, we will also include male supporters of our goal at FeMale Leaders for future panel discussions. Be excited about our future ideas and events!

The European Whistleblowing Directive (WBD) was supposed to be implemented by the European Union’s 27 member states by no later than 17th December 2021, impacting employers with operations in those jurisdictions.
This article looks at what those key challenges are and the unique support we can offer in helping global employers harmonize their global approach to managing whistleblowing reports within the prescriptive requirements of the WBD.

The German Bundestag passed the German Whistleblower Protection Act on 16 December 2022. After initially not being expected to be passed this year, the bill did make it onto the agenda of the last session day of the year at short notice and was passed in a version amended by the Legal Affairs Committee (Rechtsausschuss) with the coalition’s majority. The next step is for the Bundesrat to approve the bill. However, this is not expected until the first plenary session in February 2023 at the earliest.

The European Whistleblowing Directive was to be implemented by the European Union’s 27 member states by no later than 17 December 2021, impacting employers with operations in those jurisdictions. Member states are still passing their implementing legislation, meaning employers are facing a period of intense activity as they adapt to changes in legislation across the region.

On 21 September 2022, colleagues from the German Baker McKenzie offices will host a webinar exploring current developments in German and European Antitrust Law. The event will be in German only.