John Mastoras

Subscribe to all posts by John Mastoras

Quelques précisions sur les conséquences de la pandémie pour les employeurs au Canada : dispositions clés en matière de licenciement collectif

Photo of John MastorasPhoto of Natasha HyppolitePhoto of Ruoxi WangPhoto of Margaret McConnellPhoto of Stéphane EricksonBy John Mastoras, Natasha Hyppolite, Ruoxi Wang, Margaret McConnell and Stéphane Erickson on Posted in Canada, Coronavirus
Alors que bon nombre d’employés regagnent progressivement leurs lieux de travail physiques ou leurs chantiers, il est encourageant de constater que les gouvernements ont amorcé la levée des restrictions imposées aux employeurs. En effet, près d’un million de personnes au Canada ont trouvé un emploi entre mai et juin. Cela dit, partout au pays, les … Continue reading

More on employer pandemic consequences in Canada: key “group” termination considerations

Photo of John MastorasPhoto of Ruoxi WangPhoto of Natasha HyppolitePhoto of Margaret McConnellPhoto of Stéphane EricksonBy John Mastoras, Ruoxi Wang, Natasha Hyppolite, Margaret McConnell and Stéphane Erickson on Posted in Canada, Coronavirus
As many employees gradually return to the physical workplace or jobsite, governments are encouragingly lifting restrictions on employers. Indeed, nearly one million people in Canada found jobs between May and June. Nonetheless, employers across the country are continually reassessing how to best position themselves for what remains an uncertain future. In some cases, the need … Continue reading

Pandemic Q&As: Walking off the job, limitation periods, symptomatic employees and human rights considerations

Photo of Rika SawatskyPhoto of John MastorasBy Rika Sawatsky and John Mastoras on Posted in Canada, Coronavirus
In this blog post, we provide answers to the following four questions posed by Ontario employers: Can my employees walk off the job for fear of contracting COVID-19? Do I still need to meet my filing deadlines? One of my employees reported having COVID-19 after reporting to work for several days—what do I do? Is … Continue reading

Foire aux questions sur la pandémie : Quitter le travail, délais de prescription, employés symptomatiques et questions de droits de la personne

Photo of Rika SawatskyPhoto of John MastorasBy Rika Sawatsky and John Mastoras on Posted in Canada, Coronavirus
Dans cet article de blogue, nous répondons aux quatre questions suivantes que se posent les employeurs ontariens : Mes employés peuvent-ils quitter leur travail par crainte de contracter la COVID-19? Dois-je toujours respecter mes échéances de dépôt? L’un de mes employés a déclaré être atteint de la COVID-19 après s’être présenté au travail pendant plusieurs jours … Continue reading

Will Artificial Intelligence Need Human Rights Training ?

Photo of John MastorasBy John Mastoras on Posted in Canada, Discrimination and harassment
The Financial Post interviews Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP’s patent and trademark lawyer Maya Medeiros on Artificial Intelligence’s discriminatory biases. Despite all of the advances in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), experts reveal that these technologies are not immune from some of the less-than-admirable tendencies which afflict humans. As recently reported by the Financial … Continue reading

Ontario Bill 148 reform and public holidays: a reminder

Photo of John MastorasBy John Mastoras on Posted in Canada
Since Ontario Family Day is coming on February 19, please take another look at our posts explaining how Bill 148 amended the public holiday provisions in the Ontario Employment Standards Act. As you may recall, there is a new formula for calculating public holiday pay, plus additional employer obligations when an employee works on a … Continue reading

Ontario Bill 148 Amendments and Public Holidays: What Else Has Changed?

Photo of John MastorasBy John Mastoras on Posted in Canada
Under the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA”) Ontario has nine public holidays: New Year’s Day, Family Day, Good Friday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Labour Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day (December 26).   Nothing in Bill 148 has changed that. Likewise, an employee who would otherwise be eligible to take the public holiday … Continue reading

“Equal pay for equal work” provisions in a collective agreement may prevail over Bill 148 ESA amendments

Photo of John MastorasBy John Mastoras on Posted in Canada
As we explained in yesterday’s post, the Bill 148 amendments to the ESA minimum standards will generally apply to unionized workplaces as of the effective date of the particular amendment. However, there are two circumstances in which a collective agreement provision in effect on April 1, 2018 will temporarily prevail over certain Bill 148 amendments … Continue reading

Proposed amendments to the Ontario Human Rights Code include new prohibited grounds of discrimination

Photo of John MastorasBy John Mastoras on Posted in Canada, Discrimination and harassment, North America
On October 4, 2017 Bill 164, The Human Rights Code Amendment Act, 2017 was introduced into the Ontario Legislative Assembly and passed First Reading the same day. If enacted, it would expand the prohibited grounds of discrimination in the Ontario Human Rights Code (the “Code”) to include immigration status; genetic characteristics; police records; and social … Continue reading

Ontario Bill 148, as amended, cuts back on proposals authorizing the Board to review the structure of bargaining units

Photo of John MastorasBy John Mastoras on Posted in Canada
  Ontario is one of a few Canadian jurisdictions that does not give its labour board the general authority to review, consolidate and otherwise amend bargaining units.  In the Changing Workplaces Review Final Report, the special advisors recommended giving the Ontario Labour Relations Board (“Board”) the power to modify bargaining unit structures, if the Board … Continue reading

Proposed amendments to Ontario Bill 148 address security and confidentiality of employee lists disclosed during union campaigns 

Photo of John MastorasBy John Mastoras on Posted in Canada
The Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017 (Bill 148), introduced on June 1, 2017, proposed adding a new section 6.1 to provisions in the Ontario Labour Relations Act, 1995 (“LRA”) that address union campaigns to establish bargaining rights.  Headed “Establishment of Bargaining Rights by Certification”, the new section (which does not apply to the construction … Continue reading

Amendments to the Ontario Bill 148 include new entitlement to Domestic or Sexual Violence Leave

Photo of John MastorasBy John Mastoras on Posted in Canada
The version of Ontario Bill 148 introduced by Premier Wynne and Labour Minister Flynn in June included significant changes to the personal emergency leave (“PEL”) entitlement under the current Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA”).  It eliminated the 50+ employee eligibility threshold, entitling all employees to 2 paid and 8 unpaid PEL days each calendar year.  … Continue reading

Update on Ontario Bill 148: Amendments to “equal pay for equal work” provisions provide some guidance for employers 

Photo of John MastorasBy John Mastoras on Posted in Canada
The Employment Standards Act, 2000 contemplates equal pay between the sexes. As we reported in June, Ontario Bill 148 proposes adding “new equal pay for equal work” provisions that mandate paying casual, part-time, temporary, and seasonal employees be paid the at the same rate as regular full-time employees who perform the same job for the … Continue reading

“Scheduling” provisions amended as the Ontario Bill 148 advances to Second Reading

Photo of John MastorasBy John Mastoras on Posted in Canada
  Scheduling of work under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA”) is one of several sections in Bill 148 affected by recent amendments. Currently, the ESA does not regulate an employer’s right to schedule work, aside from providing that an employee who attends a scheduled shift must receive at least three hours’ pay, even if … Continue reading

Status Update on Bill 148: The Overhaul of Ontario’s Labour and Employment Laws Continues

Photo of John MastorasBy John Mastoras on Posted in Canada
The Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017 (Bill 148) is the Ontario government’s blueprint for overhauling the province’s labour and employment laws.  Incorporating union-friendly changes to the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (LRA) and enhanced employee entitlements under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA), Bill 148 represents a wide swing to the left.  It passed First … Continue reading

Non-Solicitation Provisions: Go Narrow or Risk Unenforceability

Photo of John MastorasBy John Mastoras on Posted in Canada
  Employers need to protect their customer base.  Employees need to retain control and autonomy over their lives.  The potential conflict between basic tenets of the employer-employee relationship are readily apparent in Donaldson Travel Inc v Murphy,  2016 ONCA 649 [Donaldson Travel].   In that recent decision, Ontario Court of Appeal emphasizes the difference between non-solicit … Continue reading

Employers may be justified in requesting an independent medical examination as part of the procedural aspect of the duty to accommodate

Photo of John MastorasBy John Mastoras on Posted in Canada, Discrimination and harassment
  Jurisprudence on independent medical examinations (IME) in the context of the employer’s duty to accommodate is sparse.  The Ontario Superior Court of Justice recently provided much-needed guidance in Bottiglia v Ottawa Catholic School Board.  In Bottiglia, the Court held that in certain circumstances, an employer may be justified in requesting an IME as part … Continue reading
LexBlog