Since late fall 2021, we have seen a steady flow of arbitration awards emerge in Ontario and British Columbia that consider issues relating to mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies in the [...]
In Lewis v. WestJet Airlines Ltd.1, the British Columbia Court of Appeal certified a class action concerning the alleged workplace sexual harassment of female flight attendants at WestJet Airlines. The decision [...]
Workplace accommodation is a challenging process, often without easy answers. Employers know they have to be proactive when assessing and implementing accommodation plans to ensure compliance with human rights legislation. [...]
Money may buy matching diamonds, but can an employer then pay its employees with those diamonds when money is running low? A recent decision in Alberta, Hubbard v. 651398 British Columbia [...]
A number of arbitration awards dealing with COVID-19 vaccination policies were released in late 2021 and early 2022. While most of these policies were upheld, it remained to be seen [...]
On April 4, 2022, in Fraser Health Authority v British Columbia General Employees' Union, 2022 CanLII 25560, Arbitrator Koml Kandola of the British Columbia Labour Relations Board dismissed the union's grievance respecting [...]
In Morningstar v. WSIAT, 2021 ONSC 5576, the Ontario Divisional Court conducted a judicial review of Decision No. 1227/19, 2019 ONWSIAT 2324 and Reconsideration Decision No. 1227/19R, 2020 ONWSIAT 1151 (the "Decisions"): two decisions of [...]
On March 1, 2022, the Federal Minister of Official Languages presented Bill C-13, An Act to amend the Official Languages Act, to enact the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private [...]
Dias case highlights need for code of ethics in workplaces. In the wake of allegations against Unifor former national president Jerry Dias, experts say companies should make sure their ethics [...]
The Accessibility for Manitobans Act (the "AMA") has established certain standards to achieve accessibility for Manitobans disabled by a barrier. The Accessible Employment Standard Regulation came into force on May 1, [...]
In follow-up to the notice given to health professionals in October 2021, the provincial health officer is finalizing, in consultation with all health professional colleges, an order that requires all [...]
What Happened? The employer terminated a senior male employee with 20 years’ service for just cause following an investigation into a complaint made by a female co-worker, regarding four inappropriate [...]
Potash mine workers laid off in Jan. 2021 received pay in lieu of notice, as required by the collective agreement. In May, the mine recalled them for the remainder of [...]
A mental health centre fired a nurse for rough handling a patient with dementia. The nurse admitted to grabbing the patient by both arms and pinning her against the wall, [...]
A fire department fired a recently recruited firefighter upon learning that his father was its Chief Operations Officer. The decision was made not because the rookie had lied or covered [...]
For 4 straight days, a hospital maintenance worker signed a workplace form attesting that he was free of COVID-19 symptoms, even though he had a heavy cough and was experiencing [...]
Mandatory vaccine has withstood another legal challenge. This case involved a Hamilton food plant that required workers to disclose their vaccination status. The union claimed that the policy violated workers’ [...]
An employee went on medical leave in 2016 and never returned. Three years later, the company terminated her employment for frustration of contract. A month later, she sued for constructive [...]
In June 2019, a union applied for certification to represent the 2 employees doing plumbing, pipefitting, pipe welding, instrumentation and sprinkler fitting work at a wastewater treatment site in Gander. [...]
With negotiations deadlocked and a strike looming, the province unilaterally reclassified nearly 2,000 Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) forming 22% of CUPE, Local 1252, to make them part of the New [...]
A supervisor ordered a worker with COVID-19 symptoms to get tested and self-isolate while awaiting the results, in accordance with company protocols. The worker did neither of these things; to [...]
An elevator construction and maintenance firm issued employees a mobile device that, among other things, deploys global positioning satellite (GPS) technology to track their whereabouts during work hours. The union [...]
A nurse terminated for workplace harassment after nearly 20 years of employment claimed his behaviour was the product of a depressive disorder. But the Alberta arbitrator didn’t buy it and [...]
A yard manager initiated a work refusal claiming that his farm plant co-workers weren’t social distancing or using face masks. The OHS investigator concluded that the plant was complying with [...]
A waitress claimed that the employer cut her hours and then fired her because she was pregnant without notice or severance. The employer claimed she was fired because of her [...]
Management of a maximum security prison replaced guards’ 9 mm rifles with more powerful Colt 556 rifles (C‑8). An agent working on the same floor as guards equipped with the [...]
A track operations foreman got fired after a post-incident test came back positive for cocaine. The union contended that the penalty was a gross over-reaction resulting from an unfair investigation. [...]
Union employees claimed they were entitled to paid sick leave under the collective agreement for days they had to isolate due to COVID-19; the employer disagreed since the employees weren’t [...]
Is a telecommuter that gets injured while working from home entitled to workers comp benefits? A Québec labour tribunal answered yes to this crucial question. The claim was made by [...]
A secretary exposed to a confirmed COVID-19 case at work was denied permission to work at home while awaiting her test results due to “security reasons.” The employer also refused [...]
