workplace policies and practices

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.

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Employee privacy update: Supreme Court of Canada releases decision in R v Cole

October 25, 2012 Alison J. Bird Employee Relations, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Privacy and Security

The Supreme Court of Canada released its much-awaited decision in R. v. Cole, 2012 SCC 53, on October 19. This criminal law case is notable for employers because it provides commentary on an employee’s right to privacy when using an employer-supplied laptop.

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Travelling for business – not all fun and games!

July 6, 2012 Clear Path Employer Services Employee Relations, Health and Safety, Human Resources, Training and Development

How often do your employees travel? If your answer is: “Not that often,” you may not have considered implementing a policy regarding work travel. More importantly, you may not have considered whether you are liable if something happens to a worker while they are travelling. Do you know how the new changes to Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act affect work travel and your employees?

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Think proactively about workplace policies and practices even if it’s not the law (yet)

August 9, 2011 Andrew Lawson Human Resources, Human Rights

In these articles that I write for First Reference Talks readers and in the training programs I design for my clients I usually focus on two important topics: Legal obligations of employers (especially new laws) Best practices in employee management (usually based on legal obligations) This article is about all that but also provides the […]

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