The House of Assembly was busy during the month of July, which saw our parliamentarians enact several pieces of legislation having an effect on the Island’s employment and immigration law.I will be writing about the various pieces of legislation, and other initiatives, in this column over the next several weeks, but by way of breezy summer reading and an overview, the following pieces of legislation and policy are of interest as they relate to employment and immigration issues.The Good Governance Act 2011 seeks to amend the Public Treasury (Administration and Payments) Act 1969. More importantly, it also amends the Employment Act 2000 by inserting a new section 29A by which the concept of “whistleblowing” is now recognised in law.The new section protects an employee from making a protected disclosure (notification of an employer or another employee committing a criminal offence or breach of any statutory obligation) to a listed person. Listed persons are defined in section 29A and include, amongst others, a Police Officer.The effect of the protection is to prevent an employer terminating or taking any other action against an employee who makes a protected disclosure. Should an employer attempt to prevent an employee making such a disclosure, either in the terms of the employment contract or other agreement specifically, such provision will be void because it purports to prevent a person (the employee) from making the protected disclosure.Until the Human Rights (Unreasonable Hardship) Amendment Act 2011 was tabled, an employer had to rely upon the common law to determine whether a disabled person’s employment could continue, or even whether the disabled person could be employed, in light of the disability. The common law required an employer to address several areas related to the disability such as the place of work and whether or not the work area could be adapted to accommodate the disabled person. This approach was open to different interpretations.The new legislation aims to make it clear that an employer must comply with what appears to be fairly rigorous obligations before determining whether modification of the disabled person’s work itself, place of work, apparatus or facilities would cause unreasonable hardship to the employer.These provisions, amongst other things, protect an employee against discrimination on the grounds of the employee’s disability, and also safeguard the disabled employee’s continued employment. They also provide clear guidance about how an employer should determine ‘unreasonable hardship’.The Bermuda Immigration & Protection Act 1956 has been amended to provide for the establishment of an Immigration Appeal Tribunal. This new body replaces the Cabinet Appeals Tribunal in relation to all those matters that are subject to appeal under the terms of the 1956 Act. Previously, the Cabinet Appeals Tribunal consisted of three Cabinet Ministers (but not the Minister responsible for Immigration), and determined any appeal. It has been said that the Cabinet Appeals Tribunal may have been unconstitutional.The new Immigration Appeal Tribunal will consist of a pool of not less than nine or more than 14 persons, four of whom will be Barristers and Attorneys from which the Chairman and Deputy Chairman will be appointed. Features of the new Appeals Tribunal include the ability to receive evidence, both written and oral, to conduct hearings, to confirm or quash decisions of the Minister and to award costs and conduct itself with the powers of a Court of summary jurisdiction.A further important feature is the ability of an aggrieved party to appeal a decision of the Immigration Appeal Tribunal to the Supreme Court within 21 days of the determination of the appeal. Previously, no appeal was possible from the decision of the Cabinet Appeals Tribunal and the only remedy available to an aggrieved person was an application for judicial review, which was granted only in qualified circumstances.Finally, Immigration policy is to be amended to clarify the position on the grant of ten-year work permits, both as standalone permits and in relation to work permit waivers for business owners, chief executive officers and other senior executives. This should not be confused with any abolition of work permit term limits.Consideration will also be given to the formulation of policy conferring automatic exemption from term limits for certain categories of job positions in addition to the exemptions that already apply to individuals who have been deemed and accepted by the Department of Immigration as key to the business.Attorney E Kelvin Hastings-Smith, FCIArb, is Counsel and Manager of the Litigation Practice Group at Appleby (Bermuda) Limited. A copy of Mr Hastings-Smith’s column can be obtained on the Appleby website at www.applebyglobal.com.This column should not be used as a substitute for professional legal advice. Before proceeding with any matters discussed here, persons are advised to consult with a lawyer.