Author Archive - David Hyde
David Hyde, M.Sc, CPC is a security and business risk consultant, author and educator with 26 years of broad-based leadership experience. He is principal consultant with David Hyde and Associates and in this role is a trusted advisor to a number of Canada’s top corporations on operational and reputational due diligence matters. Read more
July 31, 2013 David Hyde Employee Relations, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Union Relations
A recent investigation and ruling by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (“HRSDC”) has found that OC Transpo, the public transit operator in Canada’s capital city, is not doing enough to protect its bus drivers from workplace violence as required under the CLC.
Amalgamated Transit Union, Canada labour Code, Canada's national transportation system, criminal code, criminal penalties, employee exposed to workplace violence, employment law, federally regulated, growing number of bus driver assaults, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, installing cameras on buses, investigation, Is driving a bus unsafe, Labour Law, Labour Relations Act, OC Transpo transit system, OH&S, protecting bus drivers from violence, risk factors for violence, risk of violence, safety of bus drivers, sexual assaults, surveillance cameras, Toronto Transit Commission Labour Disputes Resolution Act, video surveillance, violence, Violence against bus drivers in Canada, violence prevention measures, workplace violence, workplace violence prevention policy
May 24, 2013 David Hyde Employee Relations, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Privacy and Security
This column will address the increasingly important subject of crime in the workplace. A review of news headlines across Canada on any given day shows the sheer prevalence and harmful impact of work-related crime. Organizations have a moral and legal obligation to understand the crime threats they face and to take diligent steps in managing crime and security risks.
9/11, business crime prevention, company data breaches, costs of crime at work, crime and violence, crime at work, crime in the workplace, crime threats, crime vulnerability assessment, criminal offences, diligent steps in managing crime and security ris, employment law, faceless victim, moral and legal obligation, part of doing business, requirement for employers to protect employees, risk of victimization, security risks, threat assessment, violent crime, work-related crime, workplace crime prevention, workplace shootings, workplaces
April 26, 2013 David Hyde Employee Relations, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Privacy and Security, Training and Development
It’s been a month marred by violence and disruption. In recent days we have witnessed the troubling arrests of alleged terrorists in Toronto and Montreal, the heinous Boston Marathon Bombing, a violent takeover robbery and double-shooting at a Toronto bank, the assault of a Port Coquitlam, BC security guard, and sexual assaults at a Toronto community college to name a few. Each of these incidents had (or would have had) an impact on the workplace.
domestic workplace violence incident, escalating pattern of aberrant behaviour, If you see something, impact on the workplace, prevent violent incidents, preventing acts of violence in the workplace, preventing workplace violence, say something, serious incidents of violence, threatening workplace behaviour, threats or violence in the workplace, violence and disruption, violent incidents, work-related shooting, workplace, workplace assault, workplace violence
February 21, 2013 David Hyde Employee Relations, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, International HR Law, Privacy and Security
The shocking death of an Arizona law firm partner last month at the hands of a mediation opponent has shaken up legal communities across North American and has brought the issue of workplace violence in the legal profession to the fore. In Canada, the issue of violence against lawyers has received little attention yet available research and anecdotal evidence suggest that many law professionals face a higher-than-average risk of work-related violence and threats.
Canada, Employ, employment law, HRlaw, lawyers, legal community, physically assaulted, research studies on violence and threats against lawyers, risk of work-related violence and threats, United States, victims of violence, violence against lawyers, Violence and threats against lawyers, violent and threatening incidents, workplace violence in the legal profession, workplace violence incidents
January 21, 2013 David Hyde Employee Relations, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Privacy and Security, Union Relations
Many organizations have introduced video surveillance in the name of improving safety and security within workplaces, physical facilities and public spaces. An all-too-common catalyst for the installation or expansion of camera surveillance systems is a crime or security incident that captures the attention of the media, the public, or both. In the immediate aftermath of a crime or other troubling occurrence, there is often pressure on senior decision-makers within the organizations to act swiftly and visibly to recapture the confidence of key stakeholder groups such as customers, shareholders or the public.
camera surveillance systems, compliance with privacy legislation, crime or security incident, decision-makers, Dispelling popular myths, installation, integrated security program, legal developments, physical facilities, public spaces, safety and security within workplaces, safety threats, strategy, video surveillance, video surveillance system
December 17, 2012 David Hyde Employee Relations, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Privacy and Security, Union Relations
The presence of video surveillance cameras has become a normal and often expected part of everyday Canadian life from the workplace to almost every imaginable type of facility and mass gathering area. In the aftermath of crimes or other unsavoury incidents in stores, hospitals, concert halls, office reception areas, school campuses or other facilities, one of the very first questions asked is whether video images have been captured of the offender(s).
appropriate solution to combat the crime, businesses, camera systems in workplaces, crime prevention, crime-free zone, Dispelling popular myths, employment law, In the aftermath of crimes or other unsavoury incidents, Labour Law, lasting reductions in crime, meaningful guidelines or standards, objective risk assessment, policy framework, security breach, security incidents, security measures, security program, security risk, surveillance technology, video camera technology, Video surveillance cameras prevent crime, video surveillance in workplaces, video surveillance may not prevent crime, violent crime, whether video images have been captured of the offender
November 22, 2012 David Hyde Employee Relations, Health and Safety, Human Resources
Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety has announced the enactment of a new regulatory amendment aimed at enhancing the protection of late night retail workers in that province. The new law comes into force on January 1st, 2013, and compels those operating late night retail establishments to conduct a hazard assessment and implement a range of specific crime prevention measures to protect late night retail workers.
employment law, hazard assessment, late night retail establishments, late night retail workers, lone or isolated workers, Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety, occupational health and safety, OH&S, protection of late night retail workers, Regulation and legislation, Saskatchewan, specific safety requirements, violence, Working alone, workplace violence
October 24, 2012 David Hyde Employee Relations, Health and Safety, Human Resources, Human Rights
The Ontario Labour Relations Board (“the Board”) has provided additional legal interpretation of workplace harassment under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (“OHSA”) in Amodeo v Craiglee Nursing Home Limited, 2012 CanLII 53919 (ON LRB), which was decided on September 19th, 2012. In drawing a clear distinction between “workplace harassment” and “legitimate management conduct”, the Board has provided some welcome direction on this sometimes contentious workplace issue.
bullying, conduct of a manager, employment law, examples of behaviours, Job performance, legal interpretation, legitimate management conduct, managerial authority, occupational health and safety act, Ontario Labour Relations Board, post-Bill 168 decisions, reprimanded, reprisal, TBCS Toolkit, the exercise of management functions, vexatious conduct, workplace harassment, workplace issue
September 26, 2012 David Hyde Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Training and Development, Union Relations
Under Canadian Occupational Health and Safety legislation, employers are obligated to take all reasonable steps to maintain a safe work environment. In many Provinces (e.g., Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta) as well as the Federal jurisdiction, employers are statutorily obligated to put in place a workplace violence prevention and intervention program (i.e., measures and procedures designed to mitigate the risk of harm from work-related violence)…
active threats, Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, Canadian Occupational Health and Safety legislation, critical incident management, critical incident response plan, critical workplace violence incidents, employment law, indirect critical incidents, physical assaults, risk of violence, safe work environment, sexual assaults, violence prevention, work-related violence, workplace violence, workplace violence prevention and intervention program
August 22, 2012 David Hyde Employee Relations, Health and Safety, Human Resources, Human Rights, Privacy and Security
A growing body of research suggests that serious acts of workplace violence are frequently precipitated by “warning signs” (i.e., less serious incidents and/or observable “behaviours of concern”). Perhaps the most famous example in the cultural consciousness is the continuing signs of mental instability exhibited by Seung Hui Cho for a number of months prior to perpetrating the mass shooting at Virginia Polytechnic Institute (“Virginia Tech”) in April, 2007.
aggressive behaviour, complaints, concerning behaviours, identification of actual or threatened violence, mental instability, potential threats of violence, problematic behaviours, report incidents, social media sites, threat assessment, Threat identification, threat management, violence prevention, violence risk screening, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, workplace violence, workplace violence incident
July 20, 2012 David Hyde Health and Safety, Human Resources, Privacy and Security
Ontario’s recently enacted workplace violence amendment places a legal onus on provincially regulated employers to safeguard employees from the risk of domestic violence in the workplace. Additional jurisdictions are likely to follow suit. In legal terms, domestic violence is increasingly becoming a foreseeable workplace risk. In moral terms, inaction on this growing workplace issue would introduce unacceptable human risk.
Bill 168, domestic violence, domestic violence and the workplace, Due diligence, employment law, foreseeable harm, occupational health and safety act, OHSA, ontario, personal safety plan, reasonability, risk management, risk management strategy, safety plan, section 32.0.4, threat assessment, threat management plan, threat of domestic violence, threat of violence, workplace harassment, workplace injury, workplace investigation, workplace safety plan, workplace violence, workplace violence policy, workplace violence program, WorksafeBC
June 29, 2012 David Hyde Employee Relations, Health and Safety, Human Resources, Privacy and Security
The Conservative government is poised to enact the first substantive expansion of citizen’s arrest laws in Canada since 1955. The catalyst for the Bill C-26 amendment to the citizen’s arrest section of the Criminal Code of Canada was the 2010 case of Toronto grocer David Chen who faced criminal assault charges after performing a citizen’s arrest of a habitual thief he had seen stealing from his store earlier in the day.
Bill C-26, citizen's arrest, citizen's arrest by employees, criminal code, criminal offence, David Chen, Employer liability, employment law, non-security employees, Pope v. Route 66 Clothing Inc., private security, R v. Chen et. al., reasonable time, risk management, Section 494, The Citizen’s Arrest and Self-defence Act, training, vicarious liability, video surveillance, violence, workplace hazard, workplace theft or assault, workplace violence
May 18, 2012 David Hyde Health and Safety, Human Resources, Training and Development
Despite the fact that a significant majority of Canadian organizations are legally obligated to conduct workplace violence risk assessments, it appears that uncertainty and inconsistency are commonplace when it comes to the actual conduct of the assessment. This month, we will take a closer look at workplace violence risk assessments: what they are, what they aren’t, common pitfalls in conducting them and some best practice considerations from the available literature.
atlantic provinces, BC, Bill 168, British Columbia, Canadian Standards Association, conditions of work, CSA, employment law, federal jurisdiction, hazard identification, health and safety committee, independent contractors, internal responsibility system, manitoba, nature of the workplace, occupational health and safety act, Occupational Health and Safety Council of Ontario, OHSCO, ontario, potential for violence, reports of violence, risk assessment, risk assessment checklist, type of work, violence prevention, workplace harassment, workplace investigation, workplace violence, workplace violence and harassment policy, workplace violence program, workplace violence training
April 20, 2012 David Hyde Human Resources, Privacy and Security
A mixture of incognizance and apathy often prevails in the private sector when it comes to understanding and applying legal privacy considerations in the installation and use of video cameras…
access to information, Alberta, British Columbia, collection of personal information, data storage, employment law, invasion of privacy, need for video surveillance, ontario, OPC, Personal Information Protection Act, Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, PIPA, PIPEDA, Privacy Commissioner, privacy controls, Privacy in the workplace, privacy law, Private sector, private sector privacy legislation, scope creep, security override, surveillance notification, video, video cameras, video surveillance, video surveillance policy
March 16, 2012 David Hyde Employee Relations, Human Resources, Privacy and Security, Union Relations
A number of recent, unrelated legal developments have caught my attention in relation to video surveillance, privacy and the Canadian workplace. This blog post is the first of a two-part series that will identify some of these recent developments and consider their broader implications.
criminal prosecutions, employment law, grievance, Labour Law, mobile video surveillance, operational risks, Personal Information and Protection of Electronic Data Act, privacy and the Canadian workplace, privacy controls, privacy proportional to the benefit gained, security, video camera as a security, video surveillance