in the course of employment

Accommodating injured workers vs. accommodating disabled employees

May 13, 2014 Doug MacLeod, MacLeod Law Firm Accessibility Standards, Employee Relations, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Standard for Employment

Under the Workplace Safety & Insurance Act (WSIA), an employer who employs 20 or more employees generally has a duty to re-employ an injured worker who has at least one year continuous service. And under the Ontario Human Rights Code, an employer has a duty to accommodate an employee with a disability. The duty to re-employ is however different than the duty to accommodate.

duty to accommodate, duty to re-employ, employee with a disability, essential job duties, human rights code, in the course of employment, Injured worker, mental stress, pre-injury job duty, re-employ a worker, sudden and unexpected traumatic event, undue hardship, Workers Compensation Appeals Tribunal, workplace, Workplace Safety & Insurance Act

Court rules workers compensation legislation bars civil claim for harassment and bullying

November 12, 2013 Alison J. Bird Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Wages and Compensation

There appears to be a growing trend of employee claims against employers arising from their treatment in the workplace. This can take many forms such as an action for constructive dismissal based on a poisoned workplace, or a demand for bad faith damages as a result of the manner of dismissal, or a claim for damages to compensate for the mental distress caused by harassment or bullying.

Alberta, Alberta Court of Queen's Bench, bad faith damages, canadian employment law, civil claim, co-workers’ demeaning and harassing conduct, constructive dismissal, employee claims against employers arising from their treatment in the workplace, employment law, harassment and bullying, in the course of employment, legal principles, loss of income, manner of dismissal, mental anguish caused or aggravated a series of physical ailments which resulted in inability to work, mental distress, pain and suffering, poisoned work environment, poisoned workplace, traumatic stress, Workers Compensation Act, workers compensation legislation

Most-viewed articles this week on HRinfodesk

May 2, 2013 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, Human Resources, Human Rights, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Recruiting and Hiring

The three most viewed articles on HRinfodesk this week deal with the drafting of termination clauses to exclude benefits, a collision involving two employees in the employer parking lot entitling them to WSIB benefits and the right of employers to hire employees with certain language skills.

benefit continuation, drafting of termination clauses, employer's parking lot, employment contract, employment law, hiring employees, HR Law, HRinfodesk, in the course of employment, language discrimination, limiting employee entitlement, Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal, Termination clause

Do you need a cellphone policy for your workplace? And should cellphones be subsidized?

February 12, 2013 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Employee Relations, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Union Relations, Wages and Compensation

It seems that the majority of respondents to our recent HRinfodesk poll believe that they do need a cellphone policy. Last September we asked you: Does your company have a cellphone policy? 289 (61.75 percent) respondents out of 468 said they do; 163 (34.83 percent) respondents indicated they did not have a cellphone policy; and 16 believed they did not need one. So do you need one or not?

careless driving, cellphone policy, cellphone use, cellphones, collective agreements, complying with the policy, criminal negligence causing death or injury, dangerous driving, Distracted driving, Does your company have a cellphone policy?, employee's personal use, Employer liability, employers can be held liable for employees involved in an accident, employment contracts, employment law, hand-held cellphone, HR, HRinfodesk, in the course of employment, policies and procedures, providing employees with hands-free devices, safe cellphone practices, should cellphones be subsidized?, subsidizing the cost of employees' personal cellphone for work use can be costly, talking on a company cellphone while driving, taxable benefit, use of cellphones while on company business, vicarious liability

Worker injured in parking lot on way to work not eligible for workers’ compensation benefits

June 1, 2012 Christina Catenacci Health and Safety, Human Resources, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits

Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal has decided that a worker was not acting in the course of employment when she slipped and fell in the parking lot of the mall where she worked. As a result, she could not access workers’ compensation benefits; however, she retained her right of action in a civil suit […]

Accident in the Course of Employment, civil suit, employment law, in the course of employment, injury in parking lot, ontario, the employer exercised any degree of control over the area, workers’ compensation, Workplace accident, Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, Workplace Saftety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal, wsib, WSIB policies

Can employers protect business contacts acquired by employees’ use of social media?

July 15, 2011 Christina Catenacci Employee Relations, Human Resources, Privacy and Security

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?

business opportunities, Emails, employment contract, employment law, employment relationship, facebook, in the course of employment, LinkedIn, networking, non-disclosure, non-solicitation, personal versus work, professional contacts, restrictive covenants, social media, social media portability, social media sites, social networking, twitter, work-related

Slaw: Court limits liability for mental suffering

July 7, 2010 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources

In December 2008, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice awarded Marta Piresferreira, a former employee of Bell Mobility Inc., more than $500,000 in damages arising from an assault at the hands of her supervisor. The Court found the company and supervisor jointly liable for Piresferreira’s damages. Then in May of this year, the Court of Appeal reversed the lower court decision.

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