Apple Faces Backlash on Return to Work Policy
APPLE MINI-REVOLT SHOWS DANGERS OF MAKING REMOTE EMPLOYEES RETURN TO WORK Having gotten used to working from home, many employees are reluctant to heed the call to return to the office. […]
Favorite
MAY 18 – Legal Strategies For Dealing With Difficult Employees and Getting Ready for the New Normal
DATE: May 18, 2022 TIME: 9:ooAM - 10:30AM PDT SPEAKERS: Evan Campbell and Erin Minuk Click Here to Register Legal Strategies For Dealing With Difficult Employees and Getting Ready for the New Normal Employers are dealing […]
Favorite
Alberta, Canada Human Rights Tribunal Reminds Employees They Have Duties In The Workplace Accommodation Process
In Zupcic v Saputo Foods Limited, 2022 AHRC 13 (Saputo), the Human Rights Tribunal of Alberta (Tribunal) dismissed an employee's complaint that that she was discriminated against in employment on the ground […]
Favorite
An Update On Paid Leave For Illness And Injury Under The Employment Standards Act In British Columbia
Recently, the BC Government passed Bill 19 to make further changes to paid and unpaid leave for personal illness or injury under the Employment Standards Act (the "Act") Background Five days of paid leave […]
Favorite
How Can Employers Overcome Labour Shortages In Québec And Across Canada?
The repercussions of a global pandemic have left the province of Québec, and, in fact, all of Canada facing longlasting labour shortage issues with thousands of unfilled jobs. According to […]
Favorite
You Make the Call—Employee or Independent Contractor?
One of the trickiest challenges faced by payroll is distinguishing between employees and independent contractors. Here’s a scenario illustrating the factors that apply in the context of determining whether employment […]
Favorite
Court Of Appeal Certifies WestJet Sexual Harassment Class Action
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 […]
Favorite
May 25 – Essential Knowledge for the Canadian Corporate Immigration System
DATE: May 25, 2022 TIME: 9:00 AM PST SPEAKER: Benjamin Kranc Click Here to Register It’s that time of year when employers are seeking seasonal labourers. With the labour shortages across North America, many […]
Favorite
Avoiding Liability For Gender Expression & Identity Discrimination
The transgendered and gender non-conforming remain a common target for workplace discrimination, harassment and even violence, even though human rights laws are supposed to protect against discrimination on the basis […]
Favorite
A Review of Medical Surveillance In Occupational Health Programs
DATE: April 28, 2022 TIME: 11:00AM PT SPEAKER: Doug Trout Click Here to Register This session will provide an overview of several aspects of medical screening and surveillance as part of an Occupational Health […]
Favorite
Unionization Made Simpler In BC
Today the BC government announced changes to the BC Labour Relations Code that will make the unionization process much simpler for unions in the province. Employees are currently entitled to a secret ballot […]
Favorite
The “Historic Trade-Off”: Ontario Divisional Court Considers The Interplay Between The Workers’ Compensation Scheme And Constructive Dismissal Actions Arising From Workplace Harassment
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 […]
Favorite
Bill 19 Introduces Amendments to Personal Illness or Injury Leave
On March 28, 2022, British Columbia introduced Bill 19 - 2022, Employment Standards Amendment Act, 2022 (Bill 19) for first reading. Bill 19 addresses issues raised after the province’s Employment Standards Act (ESA) was […]
Favorite
A Look At Bill C-13: What Federal Jurisdiction Employers Need To Know
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 […]
Favorite
Cameras in the Workplace: From Justified Surveillance to Psychological Harassment
In a recent decision,[1] the Tribunal administratif du travail (the “Tribunal”) concluded that an employer’s excessive surveillance by means of security cameras was a violation of its employees’ right to dignity and integrity, and […]
Favorite
Canadian Workforce Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
When we talk about diversity we often reference several aspect of diversity. Diversity as defined by Employment Equity refers to 4 groups: Women, Visible minorities, Indigenous people, People with a […]
Favorite
More New Requirements On The Horizon For Ontario Employers
On February 24, 2022, the Ontario government announced it would be introducing legislation requiring large employers to “tell their workers if, how and why” they are being monitored electronically. This […]
Favorite
…Introducing Electronic Monitoring Legislation, A First Of Its Kind
On February 28, the Ontario government tabled Bill 88, the Working for Workers Act, 2022, which, if passed, would enact the Digital Platform Workers’ Rights Act, 2022 and make amendments to the Employment Standards […]
Favorite
Accessibility Standard For Employment – Compliance Deadline For All Employers: May 1, 2022
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, […]
Favorite
Collective Bargaining In 2022
While truly an understatement, over the last two years society has undergone significant change. We have rising inflation. We have seen COVID-19’s transformational effects on public health, the economy and […]
Favorite
Hotel Employees Laid Off Due to COVID-19 File Class Action Lawsuit
Beware of class action lawsuits by employees laid off during the COVID-19 pandemic. This case was filed by hourly rate hotel employees who claim they were constructively dismissed and thus […]
Favorite
Union Employee Fired for Distracted Driving Can’t Sue for Money Damages
A bus driver who got fired for distracted driving denied the accusation and sued his ex-employer for $50,000 in damages for defamation and wrongful dismissal. The Alberta court said it […]
Favorite
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 […]
Favorite
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 […]
Favorite
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 […]
Favorite
Court Limits Employee Right to Sue Related Corporation as “Common Employer”
Corporate entities often operate their businesses via multiple corporations for purposes of tax, liability and other strategic reasons. Thus, employees can get caught up in corporate shell games if the […]
Favorite
Senior Engineer with Kiln Experience Is Qualified for Kiln Position
A fifth-class power engineer on layoff asked to be “bumped” into a less senior kiln attendant position at a sawmill. Even though the engineer had experience working in the kiln, […]
Favorite
Casino Gets Greenlight for Lockout Even Though It’s Already Closed Down
From February to March 2020, the casino and union tried without success to negotiate a new collective agreement. When Alberta declared the COVID emergency, the casino shut down and didn’t […]
Favorite
BC High Court Upholds “Common Employer” Ruling
The BC Labour Relations Board ruled that 3 related trucking companies were a single “common employer” for labour relations purposes. Practical impact: The 2 companies still in operation had to […]
Favorite
Union Loses Termination Case because It Took Too Long to Name Arbitrator
After an employee was fired for allegedly assaulting a co-worker, the union filed a grievance the very next day. But it took the union 26 months to actually appoint the […]
Favorite