expectation of privacy

Surveillance in the workplace

March 11, 2020 Lisa Stam, Spring Law Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, Human Resources, Privacy and Security, 0

Workplace privacy is an evolving and somewhat muddy area of law. In Ontario, our key employment law statutes, the Employment Standards Act and the Occupational Health and Safety Act, are silent on the issue of privacy. Yet surveillance is ubiquitous.

employment law, expectation of privacy, PIPEDA, surveillance, surveillance cameras, video surveillance

Case involving voyeuristic teacher leads to clarification of law relating to private vs. ‎public places and provides valuable lesson for employers

December 5, 2019 Occasional Contributors HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Privacy and Security, 0

On August 27th, 2019 former Ontario school teacher Ryan Jarvis was sentenced to six months in jail and 12 months’ probation after the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) convicted him of voyeurism earlier this year.

Breach of privacy, criminal code, employment law, expectation of privacy, privacy, voyeurism

Video cameras in the workplace – The Vigi Santé Ltée decision: The Court of Appeal weighs in

August 8, 2017 Occasional Contributors Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR and Technology, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Privacy and Security, Union Relations

The presence of video cameras in the workplace, as well as other measures of surveillance put in place by employers, have generated considerable commentary in recent years in Quebec. Administrative and civil tribunals are increasingly called upon to rule on the legality of these measures which are increasingly accessible to employers, as well as to assess their probative value in the context of the administration of evidence.

Charter of Human Rights and Freedom, employment law, expectation of privacy, privacy law, right to just and reasonable conditions of work, surveillance cameras, video cameras in the workplace, Vigi Santé, workplace surveillance

Can an organization monitor or search the personal emails sent by its employees?

August 7, 2015 Rudner Law, Employment / HR Law & Mediation Employee Relations, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Privacy and Security, Union Relations

It is a question that employment lawyers are asked all the time: can an organization monitor or search the personal emails sent by its employees? The answer, as is often the case, is that it depends. In this context, the issue is the expectation of privacy that the employee reasonably has.

Charter of Rights and Freedoms, correctional services, email search was an unwarranted breach of the grievor’s privacy since they were personal emails, employee use of company internet, employee’s personal email, employment law, expectation of privacy, Labour Law, Labour Relations Officer, office network system, personal emails, stored on company-owned equipment, totality of the circumstances test, work computer, workplace policies and practices

Controlling employee use of social media through contract

February 7, 2013 Rudner Law, Employment / HR Law & Mediation Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Privacy and Security, Union Relations

If employers were not already convinced that social media is a legitimate concern and that they need to take steps to control their employees’ use thereof, some recent events should make this even clearer. Within the last week, HMV found itself on the wrong end of extremely negative publicity after some of its employees took […]

cause for dismissal, company’s Twitter account, damage to its reputation, discipline, Dismissal, employment contracts, employment law, expectation of privacy, harassment and bullying, HMV, how social media accounts are to be used, Labour Law, live Twitter feed, off-duty conduct, Ontario Hockey League referee, Ownership and use of social media accounts, policies and procedures, social media, terminations, tweeting live from HR where we're all being fired, tweets, Twitter account, unflattering and offensive comments about, use employer-owned equipment

Individual privacy in the workplace – a case precedent

March 31, 2011 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Human Resources, Privacy and Security

On March 22, 2011, the Ontario Court of Appeal rendered a significant judgment concerning the protection of privacy in the workplace. Specifically, the Court determined that an employee had an expectation of privacy when using a laptop made available by the employer on which he was allowed to retain personal information.

canadian charter of rights and freedoms, child pornography, computer, conduct and behaviour, criminal code, employee relations, employment law, expectation of privacy, Individual privacy in the workplace, Internet and email use, search warrant, use the laptops for personal use, workplace policies, workplace privacy