November, 2009
November 24, 2009 Yosie Saint-Cyr Human Resources, Human Rights
I first wrote about genetic discrimination in the workplace in August of 2004. At that time, I compared it to the movie Gattaca, in which a man tries to hide his “imperfect” genetic makeup so that he can enjoy a way of life and secure a job reserved for people without “flawed” genes. Although Gattaca is science fiction, the movie’s plot is not that remote from present-day reality.
anti-discrimination law, discrimination, employment discrimination cases, employment law, genetic data, Genetic discrimination, genetic makeup, genetic predispositions, genetic testing, genomics, human DNA, Human Genome Project, human rights, The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, work environment, workplace performance
November 19, 2009 Adam Gorley Health and Safety, Human Resources
Imagine this: a customer enters your office or store and very quickly suffers an attack of some sort, causing her to break out in hives and have difficulty breathing. Employees remove her from the store, but she’s in such a state that she has to go to the hospital. You later discover that the customer suffers from environmental sensitivities, and unfortunately she had her first major attack at your workplace. Oh, and she claims she can no longer work because of the episode, so she’s suing you for damages and lost wages.
accommodation, chemical sensitivities, compliance, Disability, environmental illness, environmental sensitivities, human rights, multiple chemical sensitivity, occupational health and safety, personal injury, policies and procedures
November 12, 2009 Yosie Saint-Cyr Health and Safety, Human Resources, Human Rights
However limited an organization’s party budget is, most of them still use the holiday season to show their employees their appreciation for their year-long efforts by holding a holiday party on or off company premises. In the last several years, however, many organizations have looked carefully at how they approach the annual holiday party, for legal and economical reasons.
Challenges in planning the holiday party, company sponsored event, drinking at a holiday party, employment standards, holiday party, HR issues, Human Resources, human right, liability for sexual and other types of harassment, occupational health and safety, planning the holiday party, religious accommodation, Responsibilities of employers during a company hosted party, The do's and don'ts of company-sponsored events, vicarious liability
November 11, 2009 Yosie Saint-Cyr Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Human Rights
The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal recently awarded a woman $35,000 after her employer fired her when she revealed on her first day of work that she was four months pregnant. (The award covered $20,000 in lost wages and benefits, and $15,000 for injury to dignity, feelings and self-respect.) In addition to the damage award, given the overwhelming number of women working for the employer, the tribunal ordered the company to implement and distribute a written policy on the accommodation of pregnancy to ensure future compliance.
employment standards, feelings and self-respect, firing pregnant employee, HR issues, HR policy, Human Resources, human rights, injury to dignity, interview and human rights, maternity leave, ontario employment standards act, Ontario Human Rights Code, Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, parental leave, policy, policy manual, pregnancy, pregnancy and the workplace, terminating a pregnant employee, terminating an employee on maternity/parental leave, termination
November 10, 2009 Adam Gorley Employee Relations, Human Resources, Privacy and Security
Connected employees are ambassadors for their employers. Some employers might find this frightening, but it is also inevitable. Some companies will worry about the message that their employees are spreading across their social networks and the Internet, and complain about their inability to control it; but others would pay good money for employees who are so engaged that they will work at all hours and act as corporate social media ambassadors at all times.
employment standards, facebook, Generation Y, generational differences, IT controls, productivity, social media, social networking, web 2.0
November 6, 2009 Yosie Saint-Cyr Announcements
It’s a pleasure to welcome Andrew Lawson as a guest blogger. He will be blogging about human resources, employment and labour law issues, specifically in the areas of human rights and health and safety .
Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, Accessibility standards, Andrew Lawson, canadian employment law, employment law, health and safety, human rights, occupational health and safety, OH&S, OHSA, Ontario Human Rights Code, training, workplace training
November 5, 2009 Stuart Rudner Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources
Clearly, if a court finds that one party has been dishonest, it will have serious negative repercussions with respect to their chances of success. It can also result in a cost award against them. The question for today, however, is whether it is appropriate to also find parties who lie during the litigation process in contempt, and if so, what the appropriate penalty should be.
Alberta, Alberta employment standards act, breach of confidential information, canadian employment law, civil action, competing with former employer, contempt, Dismissal, employment law, employment related dispute, HR issues, Human Resources, Labour Law, litigation, non compete, ontario employment standards act, resignation, restrictive covenant
November 4, 2009 Adam Gorley Employee Relations, Human Resources, Privacy and Security
Social media are new, and their value is not entirely clear, especially to businesses that are doing just fine as they are, thank you very much. Heck, it’s even possible that blogs, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other Web 2.0 and social networking services will turn out to be passing fads, in which case, maybe companies that ignore them will have the last laugh on the matter. I don’t know about that, but I will say this: the generation that grew up on the Internet and began to enter the labour market over the last decade is unlikely to want to shift to a way of doing things that doesn’t involve the Internet and its associated applications and gadgets. And their children—well, who can say how connected they’ll be. It would take an extremely authoritarian approach to return to the workplace of our parents, and likely an approach that looks backward rather than ahead. But enough of prediction, let’s talk about some interesting stuff!
business strategy, employment standards, facebook, Generation Y, generational differences, hours of work, LinkedIn, productivity, social media, social networking, twitter, web 2.0
November 3, 2009 Yosie Saint-Cyr Health and Safety, Human Resources, Human Rights
With this whole text-messaging explosion, a new epidemic called “textual harassment” has emerged. I recently read a couple of articles dealing with this new liability concern for employers: textual-sexual harassment. Of course this warning comes from the United States—according to a recent US Justice Department report to Congress, 23 percent of stalking or harassment is happening via text messages. The problem has become so large in the US that 46 states have anti-stalking laws that refer to electronic forms of communication. However… since US lawsuits that involve texting and harassing behaviours are increasing, Canadian employers should beware!
bullying, canadian employment law, common law, cyberbullying, cyberstalking, discrimination, employment law, employment standard, employment standards, harassment, HR issues, Human Resources, human rights, occupational health and safety, sexual harassment, social media, text messages, texting, textual harassment
Hi John, Thanks for your comment. Check out paragraph 67 of the decision: "Accordingly, none of what I have written above is to suggest or... – May 22, 4:38 PM
This is really spin doctoring the decision. My firm appeared at the Court of Appeal for an intervenor the University of Saskatchewan. Whatever the Supreme... – May 22, 1:00 AM
