HR policy

Loose lips sink shifts?

July 4, 2016 Michele Glassford Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Payroll, Privacy and Security, Recruiting and Hiring, Union Relations, Wages and Compensation

A recent online article reported that two seventeen-year-old employees were fired from a Kansas City pizza joint for talking about their pay rates. Both were new employees with the same experience, and the female employee discovered she was earning $0.25/hour less than her male co-worker. When she contacted her employer for an explanation, she was fired for discussing wages with a co-worker, as was the male co-worker. The employer advised that discussing pay was against employer policy, even though both employees stated that such policy was never disclosed to them.

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Another failure to implement random alcohol and drug testing policy in the workplace

June 25, 2014 Devry Smith Frank LLP Employee Relations, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Privacy and Security, Union Relations

Suncor Energy Inc. has recently attempted to implement a mandatory, random drug and alcohol testing policy among employees in “safety-sensitive” or “specified” positions at their oil sands work site Fort McMurray, Alberta. These positions are held by about 82 percent of the 3,383 union members employed at the site.

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Alzheimer’s disease/dementia in the workplace

February 2, 2011 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Health and Safety, Human Resources, Human Rights

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…”

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Tribunal awards $35,000 to fired pregnant employee

November 11, 2009 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Human Rights

The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal recently awarded a woman $35,000 after her employer fired her when she revealed on her first day of work that she was four months pregnant. (The award covered $20,000 in lost wages and benefits, and $15,000 for injury to dignity, feelings and self-respect.) In addition to the damage award, given the overwhelming number of women working for the employer, the tribunal ordered the company to implement and distribute a written policy on the accommodation of pregnancy to ensure future compliance.

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