Author Archive - Michele Glassford

Michele Glassford, is a lawyer, researcher and policy analyst with a background in employment and labour law. In addition to a part-time law practice in Stoney Creek, Ontario, Michele has worked in the field of labour adjustment for the Health Sector Training and Adjustment Program and has been a Researcher for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Michele also holds the position of President and Managing Editor at D.R. Hancocks & Associates Inc., author of the Human Resources PolicyPros. Read more

Discrimination or accommodation?

February 5, 2018 Michele Glassford Human Resources, Human Rights, Recruiting and Hiring

Accessibility legislation in Ontario requires employers to communicate with employees and the public about the availability of accommodation for job applicants with disabilities in both the recruitment process and when making job offers. There is no duty to pro-actively identify an employee’s or candidate’s disability.

accommodation, discrimination, Discrimination or accommodation, employment law, hiring, human rights, personal information, prohibited grounds of discrimination, recruiting

Sexual harassment house of cards

January 8, 2018 Michele Glassford Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Privacy and Security

Another week, another list of public allegations of sexual abuse, sexual assault and sexual harassment against high profile men in the entertainment industry, politics and beyond. The onslaught of allegations, which began in earnest with the allegations against Harvey Weinstein, followed soon after by allegations against what appears to be almost every other man in Hollywood, created a #MeToo movement indicating that it is a rare occurrence for a woman to have not been abused or harassed, with many instances work-related.

#metoo, employment law, harassment policy, Harvey Weinstein, occupational health and safety legislation, public allegations, sexual abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassment, sexual harassment policy, workplace harassment, workplace violence

What is a right to request under employment standards?

December 4, 2017 Michele Glassford Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Payroll, Wages and Compensation

With the new Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017 coming into force, new provisions have been put into place. One such provision is the right to request a change to work schedule or location. What are an employer’s obligations under this provision?

Bill 148, employee relations, employment law, Employment Standards Act 2000, fair workplaces better jobs act, Human Resources PolicyPro, human rights, policies and procedures, protected grounds of discrimination, right to request, The Changing Workplaces Review

The curious incident of the sick dog and paid leave in the work day

November 1, 2017 Michele Glassford Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Payroll, Wages and Compensation

Earlier in October news outlets reported that a woman in Italy had successfully petitioned her employer to allow her to use two days of paid leave to care for her sick dog, rather than use vacation allotment.

Absenteeism, accommodation, accommodation on the basis of family status, bereavement leave, employment law, family leave, Human Resources, paid leave, personal emergency leave, policies and procedures

Keeping abreast of discriminatory dress codes

October 2, 2017 Michele Glassford Employee Relations, Human Resources, Human Rights

There remains a puritanical discomfort with women’s breasts in public, evident in numerous cases of discrimination against mothers breastfeeding in public and high school dress codes prohibiting bra straps from showing. In September the issue spilled over into the workplace.

discrimination, dress codes, employment law, gender expression, gender identitiy, human rights

Workplace politics of politics in the workplace

September 5, 2017 Michele Glassford Employee Relations, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Training and Development

I drove past a house flying a confederate flag last week and asked myself, “Could I live beside that person?” You can’t do anything about the politics of your neighbour, although you don’t have to invite him or her to your backyard BBQ. The workplace, however is another story. How does an employer deal with an employee’s unpopular politics?

Conduct and behaviour in the workplace, employment law, Google, harassment, human rights, political belief, protected grounds of discrimination, workplace harassment, workplace polices

Major issues with minor provisions – Child leaves

August 1, 2017 Michele Glassford Employment/Labour Standards, Government Budgets, Throne Speeches and Plans, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits

Ontario’s Bill 148 “Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017″ was introduced on June 1, 2017 and it is assumed that with the Liberal majority, it will pass into law in the fall. The bill proposes a few changes to leave entitlements in Ontario which are a step in the right direction but which in my opinion still contain an inexplicable flaw, common in most provinces.

bereavement leave, Bill 148, Compassionate Care Leave, critical illness, critical illness of a child, Critically Ill Child Care and Crime-Related Child Death or Disappearance leaves, employment law, fair workplaces better jobs act, Human Resources PolicyPro, leave entitlements

Ontario takes on part-time employment

June 28, 2017 Michele Glassford Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Recruiting and Hiring, Source Deductions and Reporting, Wages and Compensation

In Minister Flynn’s address to the conference participants, it was evident that one of the objectives of Bill 148 was to discourage the growth of part-time employment at the expense of full-time employment by introducing a number of measures to reduce or eliminate any savings employers might achieve by hiring part-time employees rather than full-time employees.

Bill 148, emergency leave, employment law, managing part-time workforce, Part-time, part-time employment, scheduling rules

Rewriting employment standards: Gearing up for policy revisions

June 6, 2017 Michele Glassford Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Recruiting and Hiring, Source Deductions and Reporting, Union Relations, Wages and Compensation

On Wednesday May 24, 2017, Alberta introduced Bill 17, Fair and Family Friendly Workplace Act, which is its first major overhaul of employment standards in that province since 1996. The proposed amendments to the Employment Standards Code include unpaid leaves for employees (including domestic violence leave), reduced qualification periods for leaves, increased overtime banking rates and amended vacation entitlements, to name a few.

Bill 17, Changing Workplaces Review, domestic violence leave, employment law, Employment Standards legislation, Fair and Family Friendly Workplace Act, human resources policies, minimum wage, overtime, unpaid leaves, vacation

Dealing with domestic violence in the workplace

May 1, 2017 Michele Glassford Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources

A policy specifically providing domestic violence leave, even if there is no legislation requiring it, would not only provide employees with some protections and benefits during a crisis, but would have the indirect effect of providing the employer with key information to better assess risks of violence to employees in the workplace and to better protect their safety.

domestic violence, domestic violence leave, domestic violence leave policy, employment law, workplace leave

Compensation for Employers of Reservists Program update: Part 2

April 3, 2017 Michele Glassford Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Recruiting and Hiring, Union Relations, Wages and Compensation

As you may recall, we at Human Resources PolicyPro have been following up on the Compensation for Employers of Reservists Program (CERP) since 2015. On February 3, 2017, the federal government announced the roll–out of the CERP.

CERP, Compensation for Employers of Reservists Program, Department of National Defence, Employment and Social Development Canada, employment law, ESDC, military leave of absence, reservist leave of absence, Reservists, Yearly Maximum Pensionable Earnings, ympe

EI waiting period changes January 1, 2017

November 1, 2016 Michele Glassford Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Source Deductions and Reporting, Union Relations, Wages and Compensation

As reported by Yosie Saint-Cyr in the October 24, 2016 edition of HR Infodesk, the federal Employment Insurance Act was amended on June 22, 2016, in part to decrease the waiting period for benefits to commence from two weeks to one week. The new waiting period is to commence on January 1, 2017. The change, in effect, reduces the total benefit entitlement period under EI, although it doesn’t change the maximum benefit period, or weeks of benefits payable.

benefit entitlements, Compassionate Care Leave, critically ill child care leave, EI, EI waiting period, Employment Insurance, Employment Insurance Act, employment law, employment leave, leave entitlements, parental leave, pregnancy leave, SUB Plans, Supplementary Unemployment Benefit Plans

Update on Compensation for Employers of Reservists Program

October 3, 2016 Michele Glassford Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Recruiting and Hiring, Union Relations, Wages and Compensation

In late November 2015 we were advised by the Department of National Defence that it was “working with Employment and Social Development Canada to finalize all elements of the Program to ensure a seamless and comprehensive roll-out…., it is projected that web-based information for CERP will be fully accessible online through the Canada.gc.ca website in winter 2016.” In July I was still unable to find any further information on the program, and so I contacted the Department of National Defence and asked them for an update.

CERP, Compensation for Employers of Reservists Program, Department of National Defence, Employment and Social Development Canada, employment law

The standard of decency

September 6, 2016 Michele Glassford Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Penalties and Fines, Pensions and Benefits, Recruiting and Hiring, Training and Development, Union Relations, Wages and Compensation

I have an internal debate with myself over whether most of the new or amended legal obligations answer a real need of employers and employees, or are borne of a need of legislators to justify their existence, or appear to addressing crises which really aren’t. And just as soon as I have convinced myself that additional laws and regulations are, for the most part, too onerous to justify their limited value, I read numerous news reports on the prevalency of wage theft in Ontario and workplace employment standards violations.

Changing Workplaces Review, complexity of the law, compliance with legisation, complying with the law, employment law, employment legislation, employment standards act, Employment Standards Enforcement, Employment Standards Enforcement: a Scan of Employment Standards Complaints and Workplace Inspections and their Resolutions under the Employment Standards Act, Interim Report, legal obligations, small businesses, wage theft, workplace employment standards violations

Is it hot enough for you… to have an extreme heat policy?

August 2, 2016 Michele Glassford Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Union Relations

Work in extreme weather conditions, such as heat or direct sunlight, for extended periods of time creates risk to employees. 2016 is shaping up to be the hottest summer on record, creating extreme working conditions for many. Most jurisdictions have specific regulatory provisions regarding thermal conditions or heat exposure, in addition to the general duty in all jurisdictions for employers to take every reasonable precaution in the circumstances for the protection of workers under occupational health and safety provisions.

assessment of potential hazard, employment law, extreme heat policy, extreme weather conditions, extreme working conditions, heat exposure and heat stress, heat exposure in workplace, heat stress exposure limits, heat stressed workers, occupational health and safety, personal protective equipment, protection of workers, regulatory requirements, thermal conditions in workplace, working safely in extreme heat