Tuesday, January 10th, 2012
Like most of you, I’m sure, I was extra busy before Christmas last year, and to top it all off, I got sick and had to leave some things unfinished. So I couldn’t bring you this brief round-up of things that happened in the last three months of 2011, much of which has to do with technology and how employers will use it to interact with employees and customers. But it’s a new year and I’ve recovered from my illness and my holidays, so without further ado…
Read the rest of this post »Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012
The 2011 CLawBie Awards have been announced. First Reference Talks is proud to be the runner up in the Fodden Award for Best Canadian Law Blog category in 2011!
Read the rest of this post »Tuesday, November 15th, 2011
When was the last time you read a privacy policy? I use dozens of online services—email, social networking, data storage, banking, photos, shopping, etc.—and I’ve only skimmed a couple. What does this mean for the companies that offer these services? Can they reasonably say that they have informed their users of the content of their policies, if most users simply click “Okay” without bothering to read the things?
Read the rest of this post »Friday, November 11th, 2011
A first-grade teacher in New Jersey could lose her job following a questionable Facebook post. While this story comes out of the US, the lessons can apply to workplaces located in Canada.
Read the rest of this post »Thursday, September 15th, 2011
In the age of social media like Facebook and Twitter, school administrators are asking whether such electronic communication is appropriate between students and teachers. They are wondering where boundaries for such communication should be placed. Many school boards are choosing a strict path, forbidding or restricting any communication via social media between students and teachers.
Read the rest of this post »Monday, September 12th, 2011
In a recent decision from the Ontario courts, a judge has ordered an anonymous blogger to reveal his or her identity to the plaintiff, so the plaintiff can sue them for defamation. There is only one catch: how does one go about enforcing such order?
Read the rest of this post »Tuesday, September 6th, 2011
In 2010, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada conducted consultations on current privacy issues, including online tracking, profiling, targeting and cloud computing. The office released its report on the consultations earlier this year, and it’s available online.
Read the rest of this post »Monday, August 22nd, 2011
You might have heard about the case in which two car dealership workers were fired for cause after they wrote offensive and harassing messages on Facebook about their employer and managers.
Read the rest of this post »Friday, August 19th, 2011
New research suggests that it may be wise for employers to take a reasonable approach when dealing with issues of employee web surfing during work; in fact, by banning it outright and excessively patrolling the workplace, employers may cause more harm than good.
Read the rest of this post »Monday, August 8th, 2011
One year ago, I wrote about the Canadian courts’ trend of ordering Internet service providers or website operators to reveal the identity of anonymous bloggers, when it is alleged that the bloggers had defamed the plaintiff. A recent decision by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, suggests that, when the plaintiff is a politician, the bloggers may continue to remain anonymous.
Read the rest of this post »Thursday, July 28th, 2011
On July 15, 2011, several workers showed up to work as usual at IQT Solutions, only to be told that their employer had unexpectedly shut down its Canadian operations: three call centres, one in Ontario and two in Quebec. About 1,200 IQT employees were suddenly unemployed with no final paycheque, vacation pay or notice of termination.
Read the rest of this post »Friday, July 15th, 2011
Consider this: you have encouraged your employee to use online social media during work time to build professional contacts to grow your business. The employee goes ahead and invests time during the workday visiting sites like Linkedin, Twitter and Facebook. This strategy proves to be positive; the contacts have been part of the business growth you have experienced. Then, your employee wants to leave the company and move on to another job. Can you, as the employer, ask for the contact information the employee accumulated during his or her employment?
Read the rest of this post »Tuesday, June 28th, 2011
So here’s a question to ask yourself—what are your legal obligations under Ontario law when you see an online photo of your worker committing violent acts?
Read the rest of this post »Tuesday, June 14th, 2011
Internet communication through social networking (or social media), such as Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace and Twitter, is fast becoming the most popular mode of communication in the 21st century, and has facilitated freedom of expression and speech, globalization of information and even popular revolutions. Many people enjoy posting their personal views, opinions and musings on blogs, chat rooms, newspaper and magazine articles, and other forums on all topics—artistic, philosophical, educational, social, political and legal.
Read the rest of this post »Thursday, May 26th, 2011
If you think Facebook is too personal and LinkedIn too general, maybe beansTalk is the social network for you—if you’re an accounting professional, that is.
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Andrew Taillon:
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