2010
December 23, 2010 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Health and Safety, Human Resources
The Office québécois de la langue française requires that all communications between the Commission de la Santé et de la Sécurité du Travail du Québec (CSST, Quebec’s workplace health and safety board) and employers, suppliers and partners take place in French only, to comply with…
Charter of the French Language, Commission de la Santé et de la Sécurité du Travail du Québec, CSST, Office québécois de la langue française, Quebec, Slaw, slaw.ca, workplace health and safety board
December 22, 2010 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Human Resources, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits
On Monday December 20, 2010, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced that the provinces, territories and the federal government came to an agreement during their meeting in Alberta to move ahead with a new private-sector pension plan called the pooled registered pension plan framework. This means any talk regarding the expansion of the Canada Pension Plan is put on hold for now.
canada pension plan, cpp, pension plan, pooled registered pension plan, private-sector pension plan, PRPP, workplace pension plans
December 21, 2010 Earl Altman Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources
The oddly named Open for Business Act 2010 received royal assent on October 21, 2010. The purpose of this Ontario statute, as its name implies, is to promote Ontario as being “open for business”. It amends and simplifies procedures within a number of government ministries, including the Ministry of Labour.
canadian employment law, complaint process, employment law, Employment Standards Claim, Employment standards complaint, Employment standards investigation, Employment Standards Officer, ESA complaint, Filing an Employment Standards Claim, Ministry of Labour, ontario, Open for Business Act
December 20, 2010 Adam Gorley Accessibility Standards, Health and Safety, Human Resources, Standard for Employment
What types of pressures you’re feeling this season—both at and away from work—and how do you deal with them? My coping method is to pray desperately for vacation (four days away!) and think about how great I’ll feel in the new year.
Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, AODA, Christmas, coping with stress, four day workweek, Health Canada, Holidays, illness, ontario, overtime, stress, stressors, vacation, work culture, work-life balance
December 20, 2010 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Human Resources
Bill 138, the Registered Human Resources Professionals Act, 2010 received first reading in the Ontario Legislature on November 23, 2010. The aim of the Bill is to make human resources…
Bill 138 the Registered Human Resources Professionals Act, HR, HRPA, Human Resources Professional Association, ontario, regulated profession
December 17, 2010 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Health and Safety, Human Resources
On December 10, 2010, the Expert Advisory Panel on Occupational Health and Safety submitted its report to the Ontario government, containing several significant recommendations that will help improve workplace health and safety. The panel believes that…
canadian employment law, employment law, enforcement, Expert Advisory Panel on Occupational Health and Safety, health and safety training, mandatory training, Ministry of Labour, ontario, Tony Dean, workplace health and safety
December 17, 2010 Christina Catenacci Human Resources, Privacy and Security
I recently read a news release by the Alberta Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner that indicated that there are still high incidences of laptops containing personal information being stolen—without having security measures such as encryption put in place. The commissioner was left scratching his head.
Alberta, canadian employment law, employment law, encryption, Encryption technology, identity theft, laptops, Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner, personal information, private sector privacy legislation, protecting personal information, security measures, stolen laptops, technology
December 16, 2010 Henry J. Chang, Blaney McMurtry LLP Corporate Immigration, Human Resources
On November 24, 2010, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC”) announced that it was implementing a pilot project to grant open work permits to foreign spouses, common law partners, and dependent children of skilled Canadian citizens and Canadian permanent residents who are returning to Ontario for work. However, the pilot project is extremely limited.
Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, foreign spouse, Immigration Law, Labour Market Opinion, Operation Bulletin 229, permanent residents, Skilled Worker, work permits
December 15, 2010 Andrew Taillon Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources
As Christina Catenacci recently blogged, my home Province of Nova Scotia has taken steps to create a unified labour board. While the establishment of the Labour Board itself has not been the subject of much debate, the Bill that introduced it did create some controversy as it also introduced changes to our Trade Union Act.
canadian employment law, employment law, employment related dispute, Labour-Management Review Committee, Nova Scotia, Superboard, Trade Union Act, Union relations
December 14, 2010 Andrew Lawson Health and Safety, Human Resources, Human Rights
You can’t say ‘Merry Christmas’ anymore—they have taken all the fun out of coming to work. What about my human rights? Wow! Where did all this negativity come from? I decided to do some research and look for the origins of this Christmas bashing and I turned up some interesting cases.
Christmas greetings may be offensive, discrimination, Discrimination based on religious beliefs, human rights issue, human rights training workshops, Merry Christmas, policy and procedures, policy manual, political correctness, religious accommodation, religious beliefs, religious observances, Workplace policy, You Tube
December 10, 2010 Christina Catenacci Human Resources, Privacy and Security
I recently read an investigation report from the Alberta Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner, where an employer made a big mistake and ended up violating the privacy of at least 25 employees.
Alberta, Alberta Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner, canadian employment law, credit check, credit report, credit reporting, Employee privacy, employment law, Equifax Canada, Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, investigation, Privacy Commissioner, privacy policy, procedures, unauthorized collection, unauthorized credit checks on employees, unauthorized use, violating the privacy of employees, violation of privacy
December 9, 2010 Adam Gorley Health and Safety, Human Resources, Human Rights
I guess I’m lucky never to have experienced harassment at work and I certainly never expect to at my current job—unless you count some gentle ribbing at the annual croquet tournament. But nevertheless, First Reference recently had its first mandated workplace violence and harassment training session to educate me and my co-workers on the company’s new mandated policies.
canadian employment law, employment law, harassment prevention training, manitoba, occupational health and safety act, ontario, psychological harassment, Quebec, racism, Saskatchewan, workplace harassment, workplace harassment policy, workplace harassment prevention, workplace harassment prevention guide, Workplace Safety and Health Regulation, workplace violence
December 8, 2010 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, Human Resources
A Manitoba business owner was fined $33,500 for numerous workplace and safety violations which contributed to the death of a 15-year-old boy who was buried in burning asphalt.
canadian employment law, employment law, employment standards act, employment standards code, fines, HRinfodesk, minimum age of employment, occupational health and safety, OHS penalties, orientation and training of young and new workers, The Human Resources Advisor, workplace and safety violations, Workplace Health and Safety Act
December 7, 2010 Earl Altman Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources
In Ontario, the Employment Standards Act (ESA) requires employers to pay at least time and a half for all hours worked by an employee in excess of 44 per week. Employers who, for different reasons, fail to pay overtime pay have faced two types of claims by employees…
canadian employment law, Class action suits, employee handbook, employment law, employment standards act, hours of work, overtime, overtime pay, Overtime threshold, policies and procedures, policy manual