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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OK to Fire Public Employee for Defying Mandatory COVID Testing Policy
After nearly 24 years of service, an unvaccinated public service employee was terminated for refusing to undergo at-home COVID-19 testing 3 times a week. The employee claimed that she should […]
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Video Surveillance Policy
Closed circuit television and other surveillance equipment can help you keep your work facility safe and secure. But it can also violate the personal privacy of individuals who are monitored. […]
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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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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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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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Employers Can Enforce Masking Policies Even After Provincial Mandates Are Gone
After much anticipation, the Ford government ended its mask mandate on March 21. For many, this caused them to breathe a sigh of relief, both literally and figuratively. But make no […]
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Alberta Labour Relations Board Ices Union Complaint Against Vaccination Policy
Alberta Labour Relations Board dismisses unfair labour practice complaint against vaccination policy implemented during statutory freeze period. In Amalgamated Transit Union, Local No. 583 v Calgary (City), the Alberta Labour Relations Board […]
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Work Refusals: Prison Guards’ Powerful Rifles Justify Work Refusal of Nearby Worker
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 […]
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Raising Health And Safety Concern Real Motivation For Terminating Worker For “Poor Fit” During Probationary Period
A recent decision[1] by the British Columbia Workers’ Compensation Appeal Tribunal (“WCAT”) upheld a Workers’ Compensation Board (the “Board”) decision that determined an employer’s termination of a worker during her probationary period for […]
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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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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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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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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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How to Complete the ROE for COVID-19-Earnings Interruptions
Vaccine refusers may not qualify for EI benefits. Another reason to hate COVID-19 is that it interrupts employees’ earnings and forces payroll to complete the Record of Employment (ROE) form so […]
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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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To What Extent are Employees Barred From Pursuing Stress Claims in Court?
Recorded Date: November 18, 2021 Time: 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM PST Speaker: Ryan Conlin Recording: To access the recording of this webinar, please go here. Historically, workers’ compensation law placed a highly restrictive definition […]
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Worker’s Deliberate Refusal to Wash Hands Is Worthy of a 4-Month Suspension
A longshore worker passed by a wash station without stopping to wash his hands. When his supervisor ordered him to go back to the wash station, he refused and was […]
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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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Applying Game Theory Principles in the Management of Employee Absences
Recorded Date: August 25, 2021 Time: 9:00 AM PDT Speaker: Patricia J. Forte Click Here with discount code "HRIVIP21" to watch this recording for free Managing employee attendance can be the bane of the […]
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Do Covid-19 Fears Justify Employee Refusals To Return To Work?
Based on the number of questions I’ve been getting, it seems that employers are having a hard getting employees who were allowed to work from home during the pandemic to […]
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Shift Cut Is Retaliation for COVID Work Refusal
A security guard refused to work dayshifts at a downtown office building during the December COVID outbreak. He preferred to work at night when there’d be fewer people and he’d […]
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Worker Got Fired After, Not Because She Complained of Safety
The Alberta OHS reprisal law is a bit confusing. It bans employers from taking “discriminatory action,” defined as including termination, against workers because they exercise their OHS rights. In other […]
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Nurse’s N95 OHS Work Refusal Claim Deserves a Hearing
A registered nurse refused to perform COVID-19 swab testing on patients without an N95 particulate filter respirator. The employer contended that it was following public health guidelines, noting that it […]
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Mandatory Vaccinations For Employees: What Are The Issues?
While Canada is still in the early stages of its COVID-19 vaccine rollout, given the limited availability and potential interruptions in vaccine supply, many employers are already turning their minds […]
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The 7 Most Immediate HR Compliance Challenges of 2021
During the COVID crisis, legal slip-ups can get your business shut down. As the misery of 2020 winds down, HR directors need to start looking ahead to 2021. Of course, complying […]
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