Internet
July 25, 2014 Adam Gorley Employee Relations, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Privacy and Security, Union Relations
The names of people involved in labour arbitration should be disclosed with the arbitrator’s decisions, unless there are compelling reasons not to do so, according to the open-court principle and the public’s interest. The British Columbia Labour Relations Board affirmed the law in a recent review of an arbitrator’s decision. The board also affirmed arbitrators’ […]
addiction disability, addictions, anonymized by using only initials, British Columbia Labour Relations Board, Charter values, Disability, discipline, discretion to disclose or withhold personal information, employment law, grievors' and witnesses' names should not be published, human rights, human rights code, Internet, labour arbitration, Labour Law, Labour Relations Code, mental health, mental health issue, misuse of personal information, new technological innovations, Non-publication of names in awards, Ontario human rights commission, open-court principle and the public’s interest, personal information, Personal Information Protection Act, policy, privacy spectrum, psychiatric disability, quasi-constitutional in nature, substance abuse, substance dependenc, traditional custom of publicizing the names of grievors and witnesses, union grieved the punishment, unionized employee
May 10, 2013 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Accessibility Standards, Employee Relations, Human Resources, Human Rights, Integrated Accessibility Regulation, Standard for Information and Communications
Today, May 9, 2013, is the second year for Global Accessibility Awareness Day! This day is meant to “get people talking, thinking and learning about digital (web, software, mobile, etc.) accessibility and users with different disabilities”
accessibility barriers, Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, AODA, digital accessibility, disabilities, equal opportunity, Global Accessibility Awareness Day, information and communications technologies and systems, Internet, people with disabilities, person with disabilities, W3C, web accessibility, World Wide Web, World Wide Web Consortium
March 25, 2013 Adam Gorley Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Training and Development
When a workplace supervisor accessed pornographic, racist and other inappropriate material via a work computer and circulated it to employees and employer contacts, the employer had just cause to dismiss him. The employee claimed he was wrongfully dismissed, but the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench was not convinced and acceded to the employer’s request to dismiss the employee’s claim without trial.
abusing Internet access, Alberta, Business, code of conduct, computer use, confidential information, damaged employment relationship, discipline, discriminating and harassing, discrimination, email messages, employer conducted an investigation, employment law, employment relationship, five-day suspension, harassment, harassment policy, inappropriate material via a work computer, Internet, paid administrative suspension, policies, policies and procedures, safety workshop, supervisor, system usage policy, terminated for cause, termination of his employment, warning letters, workplace supervisor, wrongful dismissal, wrongfully dismissed
August 19, 2011 Christina Catenacci Employee Relations, Human Resources
New research suggests that it may be wise for employers to take a reasonable approach when dealing with issues of employee web surfing during work; in fact, by banning it outright and excessively patrolling the workplace, employers may cause more harm than good.
Emails, employee browsing, employee conduct and behaviour, employee productivity, employee surveillance, Employer monitoring, employment law, Internet, policies and procedures, social media, social networking, Web surfing, web surfing during work, workplace policies
June 14, 2011 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Employee Relations, Human Resources, Privacy and Security
Internet communication through social networking (or social media), such as Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace and Twitter, is fast becoming the most popular mode of communication in the 21st century, and has facilitated freedom of expression and speech, globalization of information and even popular revolutions. Many people enjoy posting their personal views, opinions and musings on blogs, chat rooms, newspaper and magazine articles, and other forums on all topics—artistic, philosophical, educational, social, political and legal.
Centre for Constitutional Studies, common law tort, cyber-libel, defamation, defamation law, defamation of character, defamatory statement, employment law, facebook, Internet, Internet communication, internet defamation, law, libel, online, slander, social media, social networking, twitter
May 18, 2011 Adam Gorley Conferences, Human Resources, Privacy and Security
We’ve written plenty on First Reference Talks about the significant effects—both negative and positive—that online social networking can have on workplaces. Whether its Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, news or entertainment blogs or what-have-you, employees are using social media, and increasingly they’re doing it on your time. Employers should be aware of the potential value they can derive from social media, as well as the potential risks.
blogs, communication, defamation, employment law, facebook, harassment, Internet, internet policies, LinkedIn, morale, Network Security, Ontario Employment Law Conference, performance management, productivity, security, social media, social networking, social networking policies, Stringer Brisbin Humphrey, termination, time theft, twitter, YouTube
April 1, 2011 Christina Catenacci Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Privacy and Security
A Quebec school board has suspended a high school office assistant with pay after discovering she also happened to be a porn video star on the side. How did the school board find out about her extra-curricular activity? A student found out her secret and posted it on Facebook, and almost instantly, she was a high school celebrity.
Conduct and behaviour in the workplace, disicpline, employer's reputation, employment law, facebook, Internet, off-duty activities, off-duty blogging, off-duty conduct, porn video star, pornography, Quebec, social media in the workplace, suspension with pay, termination, termination with cause, using technology to damage reputation
March 29, 2011 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Accessibility Standards, Standard for Information and Communications
There are specific requirements for each of the Proposed Integrated Accessibility Regulation (PIAR) standards. This post will focus on the specific requirements under the AODA Information and Communication Standard.
accessibility, Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, accessible format, Accessible websites, ADA, AODA, assistive technologies, communication support, Disability, employment law, employment standard, information and communication platforms, Information and Communication standard, Internet, PIAR standards, proposed integrated accessibility regulation, The Internet accessibility standards, Transportation Standard, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0
February 1, 2011 Adam Gorley Health and Safety, Human Resources
I’ve caved. The end of my phone contract has been looming large, and as I pondered my options, somehow I thought, “I’d really like to be more connected.” So I’m ditching my two-year-old, decidedly not smart, flip phone and getting an iPhone—and a data plan. Soon I’ll be able to tweet and update my Facebook status and share photos wherever I am. And I’m afraid.
conduct and behaviour, distraction, downtime, employee Internet use, employee relations, exhaustion, facebook, focus, hours of work and overtime claims, Internet, iPhone, multi-tasking, overtime, performance, productivity, risky behaviour, smartphones, social media, stall-call, stress, technology, twitter, wireless
September 15, 2010 Andrew Taillon Human Resources, Human Rights, Privacy and Security, Recruiting and Hiring
It is becoming more and more common to hear of employers “googling” prospective employees. Where a prospective employee has a significant presence on the Internet through social media, the employer may become privy to a number of facts about the prospective employee that he or she may not have known previously.
discrimination, facebook, Google, googling, hiring practices, HR profession, Internet, Labour and Employment law, liability, privacy settings, prohibited grounds, prospective employees, religion, religious beliefs, social media, Workplace discrimination
August 23, 2010 Adam Gorley Human Resources, Training and Development
The common meaning of multi-tasking is doing more than one thing at once, like walking and chewing gum. Do you hold several conversations at the same time—on the phone, on Facebook and in person? Do you listen to music or the radio or watch TV or eat lunch while you check your favourite blogs and watch your auctions on eBay? Do you have several work projects on the go, spread across your real and virtual desktops? Is it hard to keep track?
distraction, facebook, focus, Internet, multi-tasking, performance, productivity, social networking, television, thermodynamics, time management, training, twitter, virtual desktops, working
Which is more practical, absolutely no office romance policy or allowed but need to disclose? IMO, the need to disclose, while accommodating, complexity and unnecessary... – Dec 15, 1:39 PM
Ageism is a big problem in the legal community. Bay Street firms and others are not interested in applicants' skills, knowledge, etc. unless they are... – Nov 16, 11:05 AM
