Friday, November 27th, 2009
Do companies really need to implement and integrate social responsibility and social media strategies in order to succeed in today’s business world? These ideas didn’t even exist until relatively recently, and most businesses appeared to run smoothly before. But in the last couple of years, rarely a day has gone by without some mention in the news of companies taking on the role of social or environmental steward or engaging their customers and creating communities on the Internet. With all the talk, it seems businesses that don’t incorporate these strategies will look like obsolete outcasts, soon to disappear from the market.
Read the rest of this post »Tuesday, November 24th, 2009
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.
Read the rest of this post »Thursday, November 19th, 2009
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.
Read the rest of this post »Wednesday, November 18th, 2009
You’d think that in tough economic times, political parties might get together to support public policy that is fiscally progressive, good for business and (if the experience of Atlantic Canada is anything to go by) not such a bad deal for consumers. But you’d be wrong.
Read the rest of this post »Monday, November 16th, 2009
In a previous post, I commented that the Industry, Science and Technology Committee made relatively few amendments to Bill C-27, the Electronic Commerce Protection Act (ECPA). Now, McCarthy Tétreault has analyzed the Committee’s changes, and concludes that, from its perspective, some but not all of the most troublesome aspects of the Bill have been amended.
Read the rest of this post »Monday, November 16th, 2009
Halloween costumes often provoke this question in people and I wonder why. We seem to have a strong need to label or categorize people. We even want to do this on festive occasions when the whole point is to have fun!
Read the rest of this post »Monday, November 16th, 2009
I am honoured to have this opportunity to share with you my insights and ideas in the important and ever-changing area of workplace human rights and occupational health & safety. Looking forward to a lively and interactive online exchange!
Read the rest of this post »Thursday, November 12th, 2009
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.
Read the rest of this post »Wednesday, November 11th, 2009
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.
Read the rest of this post »Tuesday, November 10th, 2009
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.
Read the rest of this post »Friday, November 6th, 2009
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 .
Read the rest of this post »Thursday, November 5th, 2009
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.
Read the rest of this post »Wednesday, November 4th, 2009
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!
Read the rest of this post »Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009
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!
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