discrimination

Starting an investigation when no one asked (or wanted) you to

April 2, 2020 Rubin Thomlinson LLP Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, Human Resources, Human Rights, 0

Somewhere between going on an ill-advised “fishing expedition” and commencing a clearly defined investigation of a formal complaint, lies a grey area rife with uncertain legal obligations and sticky situations.

discrimination, employment law, investigation, misconduct, violence and harassment

Sick with worry: An employer’s guide to managing coronavirus concerns in the workplace

March 17, 2020 Piccolo Heath LLP Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Payroll, Training and Development, Wages and Compensation, 0

Coronavirus – by now, that’s a term we’ve all heard. The 2019 Novel Coronavirus is a new and contagious respiratory virus characterized by fever, coughing, and shortness of breath. Coronavirus symptoms are common to a lot of viral illnesses, and in many respects, a mild coronavirus infection can look a lot like a bad cold or flu. However, in some cases, coronavirus can lead to significant and life-threatening complications.

caregiver leave, Coronavirus, COVID-19, discrimination, employment law, pandemic planning, refusal to work, sick days, sick leave

Hearing racial slur in song lyrics not prohibited discrimination: BCHRT

March 16, 2020 Sean Bawden Human Resources, Human Rights, 0

Is hearing music that contains a racial slur, playing in a retail establishment, sufficient to establish discrimination under section 8 of the British Columbia Human Rights Code.

British Columbia Hu, discrimination, employment law, human rights discrimination claims, racism

Investigating the invisible: Examining subtle racial discrimination (part 2)

February 3, 2020 Rubin Thomlinson LLP Employee Relations, Human Resources, Human Rights, 0

The concept of a “microaggression” has received significant attention in recent years, and was explored more fully in a previous post. At its core, a microaggression is a subtle, often unintentional, behaviour that is rooted in stereotypes about marginalized groups. Despite the absence of ill will, microaggressions in the workplace can nonetheless amount to discrimination or harassment.

discrimination, employment law, microaggression, racial discrimination, Workplace discrimination

How an external investigation actually saved money for an employer

November 6, 2019 Rubin Thomlinson LLP Employee Relations, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Training and Development, 0

A recent Human Rights Tribunal decision demonstrates that the short-term financial costs of an external investigation might also be balanced out by long-term financial savings.

discrimination, employment law, harassment, human rights, human rights damages, Workplace Assessments, Workplace discrimination, workplace investigations

Three popular articles this week on HRinfodesk

October 10, 2019 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Employee Relations, Health and Safety, Human Resources, Payroll, Wages and Compensation, 0

The three popular articles this week on HRinfodesk deal with expected salary increases in 2020, worker reluctance to admit mental illness at work and discriminatory hiring practices.

depression, discrimination, discriminatory hiring practices, employment law, hiring practices, injury to dignity, Mental illness, salary increases

Looking in the mirror: Harassment in legal workplaces

July 12, 2019 Rubin Thomlinson LLP Employee Relations, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Training and Development, 0

Whether advocating for a client before the Human Rights Tribunal, drafting a Respect at Work Policy or assisting a client with engaging a workplace investigator, many lawyers are familiar with providing advice about harassment at work, but how many of us have thought about harassment in our own workplaces?

bullying, discrimination, employment law, harassment, harassment and bullying, racial discrimination

Employer reminder: Summary hearing tool at the Human Rights Tribunal for allegations of bullying and harassment

June 21, 2019 Jeff Dutton, Dutton Employment Law Employee Relations, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, 0

An “Order for a Summary Hearing” is an employer’s tool to seek early dismissal of the Application on the basis that ‘there is no reasonable prospect that the Application will succeed’ at a full hearing. Hence, it should be dispensed quickly and efficiently.

bullying and harassment, discrimination, discrmination, employment law, prohibited grounds of discrimination, summary hearing, summary hearing process

BC’s 14 protected grounds of discrimination

June 14, 2019 Occasional Contributors Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, 0

The Federal government, along with every province and territory in Canada, has human rights legislation prohibiting discrimination on grounds such as race, gender and disability in a number of public environments.

discrimination, employment law, gender identity, Gender Identity and Gender Expression

Equality when you are born this way … Not the same way

June 11, 2019 Piccolo Heath LLP Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Human Rights, 0

When it comes to employers navigating human resource issues and relationships with their employees, the concept of equal versus identical is even more obvious. For employers, “equal” does not mean the individual employees are all the same, but that they be given the same opportunities.

Canadian Human Rights Act, Caster Semenya, discrimination, employment law, gender discrimination, Genetic characteristics, genetic condition, Genetic discrimination, genetically different, Ontario Human Rights Code, prohibited ground of discrimination

Alberta Human Rights Tribunal adopts findings of Workers’ Compensation Board

June 10, 2019 Employer Advisor, McCarthy Tétrault LLP Employee Relations, Human Resources, Human Rights, 0

In Kebede v. SGS Canada Inc., 2019 AHRC 3, the Alberta Human Rights Tribunal recently dismissed a portion of a human rights complaint on the grounds that the issue was already decided by the Alberta Workers’ Compensation Board.

discrimination, discrimination in employment, employment law, human rights

The Bikini Bistro and discrimination in the restaurant industry

May 29, 2019 Occasional Contributors Employee Relations, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, 2

An article recently came across my news feed that gave me pause. A new restaurant will be opening in Kamloops, BC, with a ‘unique’ dress code. As the name suggests, the Teenie Bikini Bistro will serve typical pub-style fare served by – wait for it –

discrimination, dress code, employment law, gender discrimination, sexualized dress codes

Has BC Court opened the door to more court claims of harassment?

March 29, 2019 Stringer LLP Employee Relations, Human Resources, Human Rights, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll

Since the early 1980s, plaintiffs have been precluded from bringing court actions solely predicated on suffering discrimination or harassment under human rights legislation.

court claims of harassment, discrimination

Human rights – Your duty as an employer

March 20, 2019 Beyond Rewards Inc Employee Relations, Human Resources, Human Rights, Payroll, Wages and Compensation

In 2017, 66% of all human rights claims were employment-related. Employers have the duty to be compliant with the Ontario Human Rights Code.

discrimination, duty to accommodate, employment law, human rights claims

No skirting around the issue: Gender identity and sexual orientation discrimination appear to be on the rise

December 7, 2018 Rudner Law, Employment / HR Law & Mediation Employee Relations, HR and Technology, Human Resources, Human Rights, Training and Development

Employers who fail to take action when there are complaints of unlawful discrimination in the workplace are exposing themselves to serious potential liability, both from a financial and a reputational perspective.

discrimination, employment law, gender expression, gender identity, LGBTQ+ rights, protected grounds of discrimination, sexual orientation