First Reference Blog

Federal budget expert commentaries

Author: Adam Gorley

Friday, March 5th, 2010 at 12:10 pm

The federal government tabled its new budget yesterday, outlining how it plans to continue to improve Canada’s economic recovery after the recession. A large part of the budget revolves around the traditional growth strategies of creating jobs, building the economy and balancing the budget. Look here for commentaries from the Canadian Payroll Association and Ernst & Young LLP.

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Tags: budget, commentary, cpa, economy, ernst & young, job growth
March 5th, 2010 | Posted in Human Resources, Internal Controls | Make a Comment »

Federal throne speech 2010

Author: Yosie Saint-Cyr

Thursday, March 4th, 2010 at 1:15 pm

On March 3, 2010, the federal government presented the Speech from the Throne in the House of Commons. The speech cautiously affirmed that Canada’s Economic Action Plan is working, although the effects of the global recession have not fully faded. Tax cuts and enhanced Employment Insurance benefits are providing direct support to Canadians who have paid into government programs over the years and now need help. The government intends to complete the second year of the economic plan and to continue creating jobs and growth. It will work with its provincial, territorial and municipal partners to ensure that measures under the plan come to an end by March 31, 2011. Visit HRinfodesk to read more.

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Tags: economic action plan, job creation, throne speech
March 4th, 2010 | Posted in Human Resources, Internal Controls | Make a Comment »

Background checks: Of job applications and credit checks

Author: Adam Gorley

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010 at 11:00 am

Starting in 2006, Mark’s Work Wearhouse in Alberta was running background credit checks on employees looking for work at the clothing store. Not criminal record checks; not general reference checks; credit checks.

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Tags: Alberta, background checks, credit checks, discrimination, employment reference, personal information, PIPA, privacy, privacy legislation, private sector privacy legislation, reference checking
March 2nd, 2010 | Posted in Human Resources | 2 Comments »

Background checks: Prospective employer asking for reference — Is it safe to provide?

Author: Christina Catenacci

Friday, February 26th, 2010 at 11:00 am

Upon first thought, employers may not be sure what to do when a prospective employer calls asking for a reference on a former employee. Is it safe to provide a reference when a prospective employer is conducting a background check on one of your former employees?

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Tags: background check, background checks, employee references, employer reference checking, Employment background checks, former employer, hiring, prospective employee, prospective employer, recruiting, reference, reference checking, selection process
February 26th, 2010 | Posted in Human Resources | Make a Comment »

Human rights: Racism in the news; racism in the workplace

Author: Adam Gorley

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 at 8:00 am

Anyone who thinks that the days of individual and systemic racism in Canada are behind us should think again. It might not be nice to think about, but across the country, Canadians and visitors to Canada face racism every day.

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Tags: Cheryl Khan, discrimination, diversity, employment, employment discrimination, harassment, human rights, policies, racism, sensitivity training, workplace, workplace harassment, workplace policies
February 24th, 2010 | Posted in Human Resources | Make a Comment »

Workplace human rights: Before we really know for sure . . .

Author: Andrew Lawson

Monday, February 22nd, 2010 at 11:50 am

Recently I was sitting on a bench in the park near my home. Regular readers know that I spend lots of my spare time in this beautiful park and I derive many “aha” moments of inspiration there. Anyway, this day I sat down and noticed that there were a number of empty soft drink containers littering the area around the bench. Soon after I sat down on the bench, a young child walked by, stopped in front of me and began pointing at all the empty pop cans.

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Tags: canadian employment law, canadian human rights law, discrimination, harassment, human rights
February 22nd, 2010 | Posted in Human Resources | Make a Comment »

Workplace training: Proactive or reactive

Author: Andrew Lawson

Thursday, February 18th, 2010 at 11:56 am

Here’s a training tip I share with my workshop participants: Human rights sensitiviy training will probably not change racist opinions. Training will however let employees know how to file a complaint internally. This mechanism allows you to deal with the issue before it gets to the Human Right Tribunal. LEARN–DON’T LITIGATE.

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Tags: human rights training, workplace training
February 18th, 2010 | Posted in Human Resources | Make a Comment »

Human rights: Overt racism in the workplace – it’s still here

Author: Adam Gorley

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010 at 1:26 pm

I think most people recognize that racism—even overt racism—is still a factor in Canadian culture, but these strategy and news item make it clear: we’ve come a long way and can now openly say that racism exists and is something we want to eliminate; but we have also a long way to go yet before the Canadian dream of a multiculturally diverse society moves beyond mere tolerance toward true acceptance and equality.

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Tags: discrimination, diversity, harassment, human rights, occupational health and safety, ontario, Ontario Human Rights Code, racism, workplace harassment
February 17th, 2010 | Posted in Human Resources | 3 Comments »

An aging workforce: mandatory retirement (Part II)

Author: Yosie Saint-Cyr

Monday, February 8th, 2010 at 2:15 pm

Across Canada, mandatory retirement has been all but completely phased out. Recently, all Canadian jurisdictions in Canada, except for federally regulated workplaces, have enacted legislation to amend their human rights laws and end the practice of mandatory retirement at age 65. This means…

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Tags: aging workforce, canadian human rights law, human rights act, human rights code, human rights law, human rights legislation, mandatory retirement
February 8th, 2010 | Posted in Human Resources | Make a Comment »

Are your employees surfing the Internet during work hours?

Author: Christina Catenacci

Friday, February 5th, 2010 at 10:00 am

With the technology at employees’ fingertips, employers worry about whether their employees are engaging in personal Internet use during work hours.

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Tags: canadian employment law, employee Internet use, employee theft, hours of work, Internet use during work hours, Internet use policy, policies and procedures, prohibited Internet use at work, social networking, theft
February 5th, 2010 | Posted in Human Resources | 2 Comments »

What to do about employee theft

Author: Adam Gorley

Thursday, February 4th, 2010 at 9:00 am

Have you experienced theft at your business? Who did it—an outsider, a new hire or the long-term employee you’d never have suspected? It could be any of them, and you shouldn’t be surprised if it’s the latter.

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Tags: Bob Sutton, employee fraud, employee theft, loss, surveillance, theft
February 4th, 2010 | Posted in Human Resources, Internal Controls | 3 Comments »

Sleeping on the Job? What do you have to do to get fired in Canada, anyway?

Author: Stuart Rudner

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010 at 6:35 am

Employees can be dismissed for cause, and therefore without notice or severance, when their misconduct or performance is so egregious that the employment relationship has been irreparably harmed. In assessing this issue, employers must adopt a contextual approach, which considers not only the misconduct in question, but the entirety of the employment relationship.

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Tags: canadian employment law, Dismissal, employment law, HR issues, Human Resources, Labour Law
February 3rd, 2010 | Posted in Human Resources | 2 Comments »

Now is the time to arrange training

Author: Andrew Lawson

Friday, January 29th, 2010 at 11:00 am

I have been busy at the HRPA Annual Conference and Tradeshow this week where I had the pleasure of presenting, “Protecting Your Organization from the Workplace Bully.” I can report that, based on the buzz among HR Professionals and decision makers I have talked to, employers are really aware of their obligations and challenges under the amended Occupational Health & Safety Act. Employers, for the most part, also have a renewed interest in reaching up and pulling down from the shelf, those plans for training in the areas of harassment prevention!

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Tags: Bill 168 violence, harassment, harassment training, health and safety, HRPA 2010, human rights, occupational health and safety, ontario, training, workplace harassment, workplace training, workplace violence
January 29th, 2010 | Posted in Human Resources | Make a Comment »

Don’t underestimate conflicts that arise from harassment

Author: Yosie Saint-Cyr

Friday, January 29th, 2010 at 9:02 am

One other session I attended at the 2010 Ontario HRPA conference was Andrew Lawson’s on Protecting your organization from the workplace bully. He made a couple of good points on the topic of workplace harassment that I would like to share with you.

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Tags: Andrew Lawson, Bill 168, bully, bullying, canadian employment law, harassment, harassment in the workplace, health and safety, HR issues, HRPA, Human Resources, occupational health and safety, Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act, privacy legislation, privacy rights, workplace conflicts, workplace harassment
January 29th, 2010 | Posted in Human Resources | 2 Comments »

Clarification on Ontario Bill 168

Author: Yosie Saint-Cyr

Thursday, January 28th, 2010 at 11:15 am

On January 27, 2010, I attended the HRPA annual conference. I was most interested on the session titled, Violence in the Workplace: An Update on Bill 168 from the Ministry of Labour. I needed some clarification on possible exemptions to the new violence and harassment prevention law and the application of certain measures in the bill.

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Tags: Bill 168, Bill 168 violence, disclosure of personal information, disclosure of persons with a history of violence, domestic violence, harassment policy, ontario, Ontario Ministry of Labour, Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act, violence in the workplace, violence policy, workplace harassment, workplace violence, workplace violence and harassment
January 28th, 2010 | Posted in Human Resources | 4 Comments »

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