Reasonable Safety Is Sufficient To Absolve An Occupier Of Liability Under The OLA
In the recent Alberta Court of Queen's Bench decision of Westerveld v Cineplex Entertainment Corp, 2022 CarswellAlta 920, Master Mattis described the obligations imposed on an occupier under the Occupiers' Liability Act (OLA). In […]
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Employment Protections for Gig Workers – Know The Laws Of Your Province
Gig workers can unionize in some provinces but lack ESA and OHS protections in most of Canada. As many as 20% to 30% of all Canadian workers engage in some form […]
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New Ontario Law Gives Gig Workers Employment Standards Rights
Bill 88 provides new employment protections for “digital platform workers”. As many as 20% to 30% of all Canadian workers engage in some form of “gig work,” like driving, freelance writing, […]
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Take 4 Steps to Protect New & Young Employees
How to comply with employment standards and OHS requirements for employees under age 17. Bringing in students or young people to work for the summer can be a win-win. But it […]
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Company Not Liable for Fraudulent Purchases Made on Its Charge Account
Mr. F, made over $10,000 worth of purchases on a trucking company’s expense account at a store where the company maintained a corporate charge account. The problem is that Mr. […]
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Deducting Employee’s Training Costs Violates ESC
A skin care center agreed to provide free training to estheticians, provided that they stay at least 24 months; if not, they had to repay the center’s training costs. In […]
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Federal Alert: Pay Transparency Changes Take Effect
Payroll Alert: New Federal Pay Transparency Rules Take Effect on June 1, 2022 Ensure your June 1 annual employment equity report meets the new requirements If you’re federally-regulated, be sure that the […]
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Choosing One Of Your Adult Children As Your RRSP/RRIF/TFSA Beneficiary? Think-And Act-Carefully
It's an increasingly common story. A widow has several children, all of them adults. She makes a will that leaves her assets to all her children equally. The widow, however, decides to […]
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Accommodation: What You Should Know In Less Than Two Minutes
You just received a request to accommodate childcare obligations, or to accommodate an injury. How do you respond? Do you need some form of accommodation and are unsure how to proceed? Whether you are […]
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Honesty Is The Best Policy: Employer Punished For Misleading Employee About Sale Of Business
In Gascon v Newmont Goldcorp. ("Gascon"),1 an Ontario court has sent a strong warning to employers about the consequences of misleading employees into believing that they will remain employed following a sale […]
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Paying Employees With Your Favourite Things? Court Permits Giving Equipment As Severance
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 […]
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Pay Transparency Under The Employment Equity Act
New reporting obligations in effect for June 1, 2022 Amendments to the Employment Equity Regulations, SOR/96-470 (the “Regulations”) introduced new “pay transparency” reporting obligations, amongst other things, under the Employment Equity Act (the “Act”). […]
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Offer Your Employees Twice The Retirement Income
The competition for top talent is fierce. Give yourself a hiring advantage by offering a pension plan that pays employees more money in retirement. THE NUMBERS DON'T LIE Research has shown that […]
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The Clock’s Ticking: Ontario Court Of Appeal Dismisses Bank’s Appeal In Overtime Class Action
After nearly 15-years of protracted litigation, the Ontario Court of Appeal recently dismissed the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce's appeal of Justice Belobaba's trio of decisions, released in 2020, finding […]
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Ontario, Canada Court Concludes Secondment Agreement Was Not A Fixed-term Employment Agreement
In Nader v. University Health Network, 2022 ONSC 447, the court examined the language of a secondment agreement and concluded that the plaintiff-employee was not a fixed-term employee of the organization […]
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Ontario Proposes Minimum Wage And Other Entitlements For “Digital Platform Workers” With Introduction Of New Legislation
On February 28, the Ontario government introduced the Working for Workers Act, 2022 (the Act). If passed, the Act will create new entitlements for "digital platform" workers, including a minimum wage. The […]
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2022 Automobile Expenses Deduction Rates & Limits
Information you need to calculate 2022 CRA and MRQ automobile expense deductions. Increases to automobile expense deduction rates and limits took effect this year. You can use this chart to calculate […]
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Do Prior Year Bonus Payments Affect EI Benefits of Employees on Maternity Leave? – Ask The Expert
Bonus payments for prior years may lead to EI overpayments that employees must repay. QUESTION Can an employee who began maternity leave in January 2022 be paid in February 2022 for a […]
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Banking of Overtime – Know The Laws Of Your Province
All but 3 jurisdictions allow employees to trade overtime for extra paid time off. Like overtime averaging, overtime banking is subject to specific requirements under employment standards laws. While you don’t […]
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Federal Bill C-3 Gives Employees 10 Days’ Paid Sick Leave
COVID-19 temporary paid sick leave is morphing into something permanent Federally regulated employees are enjoying a merry Christmas. In addition to the federal $15.00 minimum wage that just took effect, the […]
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Employees in COVID-19 Isolation Get Sick Pay Even Though They Weren’t Sick
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 […]
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Many Canadians Considering Job Switch
Many Canadians considering job switch: Hays report TORONTO — Roughly two-thirds of Canadians are seriously considering leaving their job because of issues such as compensation, declining job satisfaction, and overall well-being, […]
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Avoid Payment Errors When Adjusting to Minimum Wage Hikes
The payroll challenges of incorporating changes to minimum wage rates. As they do every fall, minimum wage increases took effect in many provinces in October. Adjusting for these increases can create […]
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Opportunity Knocks: Court Awards Damages for Loss of Opportunity in Wrongful Dismissal
Wrongful dismissal claims generally attract three types of damages: compensation in lieu of notice, general damages (including aggravated and punitive damages); and special damages (which can include items such as […]
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Canada Is Introducing A Federal Minimum Wage: What Employers Need To Know
From 29 December 2021, a new federal minimum wage of CAD 15 per hour will take effect. A new Canadian federal minimum wage of CAD 15 per hour was included in […]
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Equal Pay – Know The Laws Of Your Province
Equality of pay may be required by human rights, employment standards or pay equity laws. No matter what part of Canada you’re in, it’s illegal to deliberately pay employees of one […]
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The 8 Things You Must Know to Comply with the New Federal Pay Equity Law
You must implement a pay equity plan by August 31, 2024 When are we legally allowed to require employees to submit to drug testing? One of the most significant pieces of new […]
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New Act Aims to Close Gender Pay Gap
Introduction On 7 July 2021, the Federal Pay Equity Commissioner and Minister of Labour jointly announced that the new federal Pay Equity Act (the Act) and its supporting regulations (the Regulations) […]
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