June 2016

On July 1, 2016, the Accessibility Standards for Customer Service officially joins force with the Integrated Accessibility Standards, O. Reg 191/11 (“IASR”)  under the Accessibility for Ontarians Act (“AODA”).

This amendment, encapsulated by O. Reg. 165/16 does bring a few minor changes:

  • The training for accessible customer service has been expanded to all employees and

On 23 June 2016, voters in the UK referendum chose to leave the European Union. Exit from the EU will require the government to make a formal application under Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union.  This provides for a period of negotiation of up to two years (which can be extended if agreed). 

In October 2015 the UK regulators, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), released new whistleblowing rules for certain regulated entities in the UK (the New Rules). The New Rules impose obligations on these entities in addition to the requirements of existing whistleblowing legislation found in the Public Interest Disclosure

Under French employment law, the definition of a disciplinary sanction is broad as it is defined by law as being “any measure, other than a verbal observation, taken by an employer in response to an act of an employee which the employer considers incorrect, whether or not such measure has an immediate effect upon the

French employment law does not yet provide for a comprehensive and consistent set of rules for the purpose of protecting whistleblowers. Instead, French employment law tackles issues arising out of whistleblowing situations through a relatively meager set of legislative provisions.

Current legislation

Under currently applicable legislation, no employee can be disciplined, dismissed or discriminated against

Earlier this month, a unanimous Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) handed down a decision that is set to lay the landscape for the interpretation of union eligibility rules into the future.[1] In its reasons, the Full Bench provided critical guidance on how union eligibility rules should be interpreted. In particular, the Full Bench considered that the position adopted by the appellant, the Australian Rail, Tram and Bus Industry Union (RTBU), during the award modernisation process was instructive.

The decision is significant, upholding long-standing industrial arrangements for the representation of locomotive drivers and rail workers in Australia’s strategically important Pilbara region and the mining industry more generally.

Ontario mines will soon be facing a new regulatory environment. As of July 1st, 2016, Regulation 854 (Mines and Mining Plants) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act will contain new requirements that are aimed at improving workplace safety within Ontario mines. The amendments cover a wide variety of areas, including:

  • Updated training requirements for

In the recent decision of Suncor Energy Inc v Unifor Local 707A, 2016 ABQB 269 [Suncor] the Court of Queen’s Bench found that an arbitration board’s decision was unreasonable and sent it back for rehearing by a fresh panel.

The decision stems from the implementation of a random drug and alcohol testing policy

Introduction

Minnesota businesses may soon see differences in disability access claims.

wheelchair

On May 22, 2016, Minnesota’s Governor Mark Dayton signed into law a new amendment to the Minnesota Human Rights Act (“MHRA”). The amendment governs what must occur before attorneys can bring suit under the MHRA challenging architectural barriers that limit accessibility to public spaces.

Apart from the well-known Wiki-leaks, recent prominent cases of whistleblowing such as Lux-leaks, the Panama Papers or the case of the German geriatric nurse Brigitte Heinisch, who was dismissed after revealing the ill-treatment of elderly people in a Berlin retirement home, continue to highlight the continued relevance of the topic “whistleblowing”. While this has resulted