Leading commentary and perspectives on employment and labor law
The Liberal Government’s 2017 federal budget (“Budget 2017”) proposes changes that affect maternity and parental leaves and associated Employment Insurance (“EI”) benefits.
Currently, EI combined parental and maternity benefits are available at the benefit rate of 55 per cent over a period of up to 12 months. Budget 2017 proposes that this option continue to…
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…
Surprisingly, name tag policies have become the subject of recent litigation and labour board decisions on the topic have been hitting the news. However, the resulting litigation still leaves room for debate. In the recent decision of Prairie North Health Region v Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 5111, an arbitration board in…
Constructive dismissal occurs when an employer substantially alters, without the employee’s consent, an essential term of the employee’s contract of employment. This can give rise to litigation and financial liability for an employer. However, for a unilateral change by an employer to constitute constructive dismissal, the change must be a fundamental one going to the …
In what may be considered a particularly rare occasion, the Ontario Court of Appeal has addressed an employment law issue in the context of Go-Kart racing.
In this case, the appellant volunteered to be a “race director” for a Go-Kart race, for which he received a small stipend. When a Go-Kart driver crashed into…
The Toronto Star recently reported that the Ontario Ministry of Labour found 238 employment standards violations in an “inspection blitz” of 304 employers in the cleaning, recreational and security industries. Almost every employer who was found to be in violation of these standards voluntarily rectified their respective issues. This is an important reminder of both…
Under the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), there have been a number of noise regulations for specific industries, but there had not been comprehensive noise regulations. A new regulation, Regulation 381/15: Noise was approved last month which will extend the noise protection requirements to all workplaces covered by OHSA. Previously,…
When does an employee have to provide a Doctor’s note to excuse a workplace absence? After the absence, during or before? A recent labour arbitration case provides some guidance:
According to a provision in the collective agreement in this case, an employee could be fired if he or she was absent for more than …
What responsibilities does a federal employer have to appoint a competent person to investigate a complaint of work place violence under the Canada Labour Code? The Federal Court of Appeal recently released Canada (Attorney General) v. Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), a decision which elaborates on this duty.
In PSAC,…
When working with independent contractors or the self-employed, companies should be aware that the Human Rights Code protections may still apply. A recent decision of the Human Rights Tribunal reiterates the fact that discrimination and harassment can be found “with respect to employment” even in the absence of a traditional employer-employee relationship.
The decision dealt…
