Ammunition in Employment Disputes Over FSIA
On October 23, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston provided plaintiffs and defendants with more ammunication in disputes over employment terms governing local hires at consulates and, possibly, embassies, with its interpretation of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act in the matter Merlini v. Canada. In the latest release, a minority opinion argues that the FSIA must be construed by its text, not merely the legislative history. As such, the opinion finds certain restraints of foreign missions incompatible with the FSIA, congressional intent as well as the interests of U.S. missions abroad:
The majority's conclusion that Canada's administration of its own statutory workers' compensation scheme here is not protected by its sovereign immunity leads to the conclusion that our government's similar actions as to employees, foreign or American, of its consulates and embassies will not be granted immunity. … By denying Canada's choice to implement a federal workers' compensation scheme the respect and deference it is entitled to, the consequences of the opinion will likely be that FECA--Congress's choice of comprehensive workers' compensation--will not be given that deference.-- Clemens Kochinke, partner, Berliner Corcoran & Rowe LLP, Washington, DC.
Wed, / Embassy Law Link