Tuesday, September 27th, 2011
“I am at a party on my day off and a coworker hurls racial insults at me or makes sexual suggestive comments to me.” Am I protected by my employer’s harassment and discrimination policy? Likewise, if I am the one doing the hurling or suggestive commenting, am I subject to discipline under my employer’s policies?
Read the rest of this post »Thursday, July 28th, 2011
On July 7, 2011 the New Brunswick Court of Appeal handed down a decision regarding an employer’s alcohol testing policy. In Irving Pulp and Paper Limited v. Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada Local 30, 2011 NBCA 58, the Court found that the random alcohol testing policy in the case was reasonable.
Read the rest of this post »Wednesday, May 11th, 2011
Ontario’s Employment Standards Act provides that in most circumstance, an employee who works more than 44 hours in a given week shall be paid at least one and one-half times his or her regular rate of pay for overtime hours worked. However, this simple rule can become complicated and lead to lawsuits, as several employers have found out recently due to their failure to pay statutory overtime.
Read the rest of this post »Friday, March 11th, 2011
On March 8, 2011, just in time for International Women’s Day, the Ontario Human Rights Commission released a new policy regarding sexual and gender-based harassment. It has been noted that although great strides have been made for women in the past hundred years, there is still a long way to go to eliminate the barriers women face. The new policy deals mainly with sexual harassment in employment, housing and education.
Read the rest of this post »Friday, February 18th, 2011
All jurisdictions in Canada provide for a number of public (also called statutory or general holidays) holidays each year. Some are common to all jurisdictions; others are specific to individual provinces and territories. Family Day is a public holiday under provincial employment standards legislation, observed the third Monday in February every year in five jurisdictions in Canada.
Read the rest of this post »Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011
Alzheimer’s/dementia is becoming a nationwide epidemic and impacting the workforce more and more every day. “Alzheimer’s not only touches more and more lives every day but also impacts the workplace, especially as older people are postponing retirement and continuing to work into their 70s…”
Read the rest of this post »Monday, January 31st, 2011
Under human rights legislation in all jurisdictions in Canada, employers cannot ignore the religious needs or observances of employees but must work with employees to try to accommodate them. In addition, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects freedom of religion and expression…
Read the rest of this post »Friday, January 28th, 2011
Ontario’s Labour Arbitration Board recently held that an employer did not overreact when it terminated an IT employee for cause after he used an employer computer to download, store and share thousands of copyrighted works including movies, TV shows, music tracks, games and pornographic material, totalling over half a terabyte of data. The board found that the employee violated the employer’s trust in him and acted in flagrant disregard for the employer’s computer information access policy over many years.
Read the rest of this post »Tuesday, January 25th, 2011
Pursuant to my blog post of January 11, 2011 discussing the implications of firing by email when an employee files a complaint under human rights legislation, Is it okay to fire an employee by email? It may depend on what course of legal action your former employee pursues.
Read the rest of this post »Tuesday, December 14th, 2010
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.
Read the rest of this post »Tuesday, December 7th, 2010
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…
Read the rest of this post »Tuesday, November 30th, 2010
The holidays are right around the corner and this often translates into lots of company-sponsored events, parties and commitments. While these events bring joy and merriment to employees, they can also bring legal troubles for employers related to alcohol, harassment, violence and discrimination.
Read the rest of this post »Thursday, November 11th, 2010
Do you know about the types of risk that corporate directors are increasingly facing? I’ve been talking quite a bit about various types of risk, and Earl Altman recently asked on First Reference Talks, When are directors liable to employees for debts of the corporation? A new guide looks at the main sources of risk that directors face and a number of strategies to reduce the risk.
Read the rest of this post »Wednesday, September 8th, 2010
On September 2, 2010, the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services published the proposed Integrated Accessibility Regulation (IAR) under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) for public consultation by interested stakeholders. The IAR combines the information and communications, employment and transportation standards into a single, integrated regulation. The proposed compliance timelines are also listed.
Read the rest of this post »Friday, August 13th, 2010
I recently read in the news a classic case of unaddressed harassment claims that led to the worst form of workplace violence. This case may stem from the US but all the same principles and warnings apply in Canada as well. The case involves the death of nine people (including the suspected gunman) on Tuesday August 3, 2010, in a shooting rampage at a beer distributor in Connecticut.
Read the rest of this post »
Leslie D Foreman:Andrew Taillon:
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