Feb 2: Testing Policies at Work: Drugs, Alcohol & COVID-19
Date: February 2, 2022 Time: 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM PST Speaker: Preston Parsons Register Here to register for this webinar. This session will look at the current state of the law around testing your workers […]
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New Critical Worker Exemption In Alberta Allows Workers With COVID-19 To Attend Work
Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Chief Medical Officer of Health for Alberta, signed an Order on January 3, 2022, and amended January 10, 2022, creating an exception to the isolation requirements for […]
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Another Vaccination Policy is Upheld in Arbitration
Bunge Hamilton Canada (“Bunge”) operates a processing facility in Hamilton. Its facility had two sites separated by a roadway; one was owned by Bunge and the other was leased from […]
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Does Workers Comp Cover COVID-19? – Ask The Expert
QUESTION Can a worker who gets COVID-19 at the workplace get workers comp benefits? ANSWER It depends. EXPLANATION Since workers comp covers only work-related injuries and illnesses, workers would have to prove that they contracted […]
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Is “Personal Freedom” Grounds for Not Complying with a Mandatory Vaccination Policy? – Ask The Expert
QUESTION One of our workers is refusing to obey our organization’s mandatory vaccination policy out of “personal principles.” She insists that the vaccine is unsafe and is threatening to sue us […]
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Stay home or work sick? Omicron poses a conundrum in U.S.
As the raging omicron variant of COVID-19 infects workers across the nation, millions of those whose jobs don’t provide paid sick days are having to choose between their health and their paycheck. While […]
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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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Unreasonable Not to Let Employee Exposed to COVID-19 Work from Home
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 […]
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NEW Court Says It Has No Authority to Block RCMP Mandatory Vaccination Policy
Officers who don’t want to get vaccinated are suing the RCMP contending that its mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy violates their constitutional rights. They’ve asked for an interim injunction, i.e., order […]
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Employers Claim Early Edge in Litigation Battle Over Mandatory Vaccination
Union legal challenges to mandatory vaccination policies have failed in 3 of 4 cases. Are mandatory vaccination policies legally enforceable? Since the vaccination rollout began, human rights commissions across Canada have […]
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The 11 Biggest HR Compliance Cases of 2021 & Their Impact on You
The court cases most likely to directly affect your HR program and policies. While new legislation always gets the lion’s share of attention, many (if not most) of the most impactful […]
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What Should You Do If Employees Exhibit Symptoms of COVID-19? – Quiz
Send employees with COVID-19 symptoms home, regardless of their vaccination status. There’s been some confusion about what employers should do when one of their employees exhibits symptoms of COVID-19. The last […]
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COVID-19 Recalls & Constructive Dismissal Risks
When do employment restructuring changes cross the line? Many organizations are calling employees back to work; but in many cases, the new terms of employment are less favourable to the employee. […]
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COVID-19 Infection Considered an Employment Injury
On September 23, 2021, the Tribunal administratif du travail [Administrative Labour Tribunal] (the “Tribunal”) determined that a COVID-19 infection could constitute an employment injury[1], within the meaning of the Act respecting industrial accidents […]
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Vaccinate or Test COVID-19 Policy: Arbitrator Hints Termination For Cause Could Be Upheld
Almost a year ago, we wrote an article about whether a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy could be enforced at arbitration. The answer was the classic (and frustrating) it depends. When we wrote […]
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Ask The Expert: Do Telecommuters Have the Right to Work from Outside Canada?
The right to telecommute doesn’t necessarily mean the right to work from anywhere in the world. QUESTION We just learned that an employee we approved for telecommuting has been working from Miami. […]
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COVID-19 Status Update: Workplace Precautions, Vaccinations, and Where We Go From Here
Date: December 1, 2021 Time: 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM PST Speaker: Preston Parsons Click Here to access the recording. This session will look at the current state of the COVID-19 pandemic for your workplace, […]
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Court Won’t Order Province to Lift COVID-19 Emergency Measures
Three citizens claiming that there’s no decisive evidence to prove that COVID-19 poses a serious health and safety threat pose asked the court to order the Québec government to lift […]
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COVID-Strapped Airline Can Cut Inactive Employees’ Benefits to Stay in Business
Feeling the strains of the pandemic, a business travel company put 90% of its workforce on temporary layoff. The only good news was that the company promised to maintain their […]
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Nurses’ Union Loses Bid to Widen COVID-19 N95 Respirator Directive
In the early days of the pandemic, the Ontario Chief Public Health Officer issued a directive that healthcare workers be equipped with N95 respirators to protect against exposure to aerosols […]
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How to Complete ROE for Employees Fired for Refusing Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination
Vaccine refusers may not qualify for EI benefits. Many of the employees across Canada who have chosen to give up their jobs rather than comply with their company’s mandatory vaccination policy […]
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What to Do When an Employee Defies Your Mandatory Vaccination Policy
Find out why the employee is refusing before deciding what to do. Before the pandemic, mandatory vaccination policies were rare and limited to sensitive sectors like health care and travel. But […]
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COVID-19: Updates on Work Agreements, Safety & Constructive Dismissal Claims
The COVID-19 pandemic, among other things, has been a huge experiment in the efficiency and effectiveness of telecommuting. Currently, more than 3x as many Canadians are working from home (at […]
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Failure to Cooperate Dooms Employee’s Face Mask Work Refusal
An aircraft engineer sought a medical exemption from the company’s mandatory 3-ply face mask policy and asked permission to wear a face shield instead. The company denied the request on […]
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Face Mask Refuser Loses Her Disability Discrimination Lawsuit
A car dealer asked a customer to leave because she refused to put on a facemask. The customer claimed she was medically exempt from the mask order and sued for […]
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Impact Of COVID-19 On The Reasonable Notice Period
In every non-unionized employment relationship, the employer has an implied common law obligation to give the employee reasonable notice of its intention to terminate the employment relationship, unless there is […]
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Managing The Great Resignation: Tips For Employers Reopening Workplaces
There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has altered views of work and career. Employees are seeking greater flexibility and autonomy in how and when they work. A recent global survey conducted […]
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4 Key Areas Your Remote Work Policy Should Cover
As we progress through the COVID-19 pandemic, we are seeing more businesses adopt a hybrid model workplace with some employees returning to the office and others continuing to work from […]
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Is Enforcing Mandatory Vaccination Employment Discrimination? – Quiz
It depends on whether employees refuse due to a disability or personal preference. Getting the COVID-19 vaccination is still a personal choice. But as the delta variant wreaks devastation, more and […]
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