Internet

Arbitrators should apply ‘privacy spectrum’ to personal information

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’ […]

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Global Accessibility Awareness Day – May 9

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”

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Supervisor circulated pornography, damaged employment relationship, terminated for cause

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.

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Web surfing during work – it is better for employers to take a reasonable approach

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.

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A brief understanding of Internet defamation or cyber-libel

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.

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Social networking and Internet abuse in the workplace – Learn the latest

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.

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High school office assistant by day, porn video star by night – should there be ramifications?

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.

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Slaw: AODA era part III: Information and communication standard

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.

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Are our devices harming our health?

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.

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Social media presenting new challenges and opportunities for people in HR

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.

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Multi-tasking: the unfulfilled promise of doing more with less

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?

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