Can You Fire an Employee for Secretly Recording Work Conversations? – Quiz
It may not be a crime but secretly taping co-workers and managers can be just cause to terminate Employees can turn into spies, especially when they feel like you’re mistreating them […]
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How Do You Know If It Is Constructive Dismissal?
Date: July 20, 2022 Time: 9:00 AM PST Speaker: Teri Treiber & Tessa Green How Do You Know If It Is Constructive Dismissal? Constructive dismissal occurs where the employer demonstrates an intention to no longer […]
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Trashing Company on Facebook Is Last Straw for Employee with Poor Attendance
Two weeks after returning from a 5-day suspension for leaving work without permission, a maintenance electrician with a track record of missing work and overstaying breaks shows up for work […]
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Bus Driver Fired for Causing Fatal Accident to Passenger Gets Reinstated
A bus driver got fired for accidentally running over a passenger after she exited the vehicle with fatal results. The union grieved and the Ontario arbitrator reinstated the driver, who […]
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High Court Upholds Decision Not to Enforce Overly Broad Non-Compete Clause
The Employee agrees that during the Employee’s employment with the Company and during the one year period following the termination of the Employee’s employment with the Company, for any reason […]
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Worker Fired for Refusing Vaccination Sues Union for Not Grieving
A pipefitter who got fired for defying his hospital employer’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy sued the union for not filing a grievance on his behalf. The Newfoundland labour relations board […]
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Ineligibility to Work Due to Vaccine Refusal Is Just Cause to Terminate
She didn’t get fired because she refused to get vaccinated; she got fired because in so refusing, she disqualified herself from being available for work under the agency’s mandatory vaccination […]
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Injured Worker Didn’t Abandon His Job, He Got Fired
If we don’t hear back from you within 72 hours, a company policy stated, we’ll assume you’ve abandoned the job and terminate your employment. I didn’t know about the policy, […]
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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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Texting While Operating Train Not Cause to Terminate Since Boss Did It Too
The union admitted that an engineer used his cell phone to text his supervisor while in sole control of a moving locomotive but claimed that termination was disproportional. The federal […]
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No Duty to Accommodate Drug Addiction that Employer Didn’t Know About
The employer knew a railway worker was struggling with personal issues and undergoing counseling via the company’s employee assistance program. But it didn’t know about his substance addiction until he […]
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Just Cause Terminations
Date: June 8, 2022 Time: 9:00 AM PT Speaker: Anthony Panacci Employers have a very high bar to meet when terminating for “just cause”. This has left employers asking the question: “Can employers […]
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How to Manage Off Duty Conduct
Holding employees accountable for what they do when they’re off duty and away from work. What employees do when they’re away from work is none of your business; your disciplinary authority […]
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Off Duty Conduct – Ask the Expert
Can You Terminate an Employee for Posting Anti-Semitic Remarks on Facebook? Off-duty conduct is grounds for discipline when it directly impacts the workplace. QUESTION We just discovered that one of our employees is […]
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Dishonest/Theft in the Workplace Policy
Employee dishonesty, theft and fraud are a perennial challenge for HR directors. Here’s a template you can adapt to prevent and, if necessary, discipline employees who engage in such conduct. […]
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Complicit In The Implicit: Labour Board Finds A Termination To Be Tainted With Discrimination Due To Implicit Racial Bias In The Workplace
A recent construction industry grievance referral decision from the Ontario Labour Relations Board (the "Board"), Labourers' International Union of North America, Local 183 v CTS (ASDE) Inc, 2022 CanLII 14925 (ON LRB) ("CTS"), […]
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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. […]
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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 […]
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Is Time Theft Grounds for Discipline? – Ask The Expert
Time theft is a serious violation that warrants discipline or termination, depending on the circumstances. QUESTION We just discovered that one of our employees was having her co-worker punch her timecard for […]
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Negative Performance Reviews Are Just a Pretext When You’ve Already Decided on Termination – Ask The Expert
Provide performance reviews consistently and give employees a fair chance to improve. QUESTION We’re finally ready to terminate an employee who’s been underperforming for years. The problem is that she’s never had […]
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Are You Prepared For An Incident Of Workplace Violence In Your Workplace?
Many of us were stunned to witness Will Smith slapping Chris Rock live on stage at the 2022 Oscars award show. Fallout from that incident is still continuing to mount […]
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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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COVID-19 Vaccination Policies: Early Employer Successes In Round Two
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 […]
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Arbitrator Decides Employer Could Terminate Employee Who Refused Government-Ordered Vaccination
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 […]
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At a Glance: Termination of Employment in Canada
Termination of employment Grounds for termination May an employer dismiss an employee for any reason or must there be ‘cause’? How is cause defined under the applicable statute or regulation? In most jurisdictions, […]
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Is Moonlighting Without Permission Just Cause to Terminate?
Don’t let employees compete or use company time for their personal businesses. Moonlighting can be a tricky issue for HR. While you want to be supportive of full-time employees who must […]
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Even Innocent Mistakes Can Lead to Punitive Damages
In Moffatt v Prospera Credit Union, 2021 BCSC 2463, Ms. Moffatt commenced an action against her former employer, Prospera Credit Union (“Prospera”) for wrongful dismissal. She had been terminated without cause. Prior […]
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Surreptitious Recordings Of Colleagues At Work May Be Cause For Dismissal
In Shalagin v. Mercer Celgar Limited Partnership, 2022 BCSC 112, the British Columbia Supreme Court found that an employee's surreptitious recording of colleagues was cause for dismissal. The Court also provided helpful […]
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The High Cost Of Reinstatement For Québec Employers
On January 20, 2022, the Administrative Labour Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) awarded an employee dismissed without cause, termination pay in the amount of $716,970.71 as well as an indemnity for lost wages, […]
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Insolence, Insubordination And After-Acquired Evidence Of Just Cause
On November 9, 2021, the B.C. Supreme Court released its decision in the case of Golob v. Fort St. John (City), 2021 BCSC 2192. The case concerned a wrongful dismissal claim against the City […]
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