Topic: North America

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It Takes Two to Tango: Employee-duties in the Accommodation Process

Taryn MackieBy Taryn Mackie on Posted in Canada
In 2012, Statistics Canada reported that 11% of the population aged 25 to 64 (or 2.1 million people) reported having limitations caused by a physical or mental disability, with conditions ranging from hearing loss, to visual impairment, to mobility challenges, to pain, to mental health conditions.  As our population ages, disability-related conditions are only projected … Continue reading

New York City employers take note: New anti-sexual harassment laws enacted

David Gallai (US)Rachel Kurth (US)By David Gallai (US) and Rachel Kurth (US) on Posted in United States
On May 9, 2018, New York City enacted a number of laws addressing sexual harassment in the workplace.  The laws are summarized below.  New York City employers who do not yet have anti-harassment and anti-retaliation policies in place should promptly begin the process for adopting them.  New York City employers should also begin to make … Continue reading

Bill 6 looks to broaden leave entitlements in British Columbia

Marino SveinsonBy Marino Sveinson on Posted in Canada
On April 9, 2018, BC’s Minister of Labour introduced Bill 6, the Employment Standards Amendment Act, to the BC Legislature.  Bill 6 includes proposed amendments to the Employment Standards Act (“ESA”) to bring certain types of leave into line with the Federal government’s recent changes to the Employment Insurance Act so that employees are entitled to job protection under the … Continue reading

Hello, Bonjour: Parliament Set to Rethink Official Language Requirements in the Provision of Federal Services

Alexa BiscaroStéphane EricksonBy Alexa Biscaro and Stéphane Erickson on Posted in Canada
In anticipation of the 50th anniversary of Canada’s Official Languages Act (the “OLA” or the “Act”), the Federal Government recently announced a historic $2.7 billion in funding to support Canada’s official language minority groups and promote official bilingualism from coast to coast. Specifically regarding the provision of services, the 2018 Federal Budget Plan informs that … Continue reading

Bonjour, Hello : Repenser les exigences en matière de langues officielles incombant à certains prestataires de services du ressort fédéral

Alexa BiscaroStéphane EricksonBy Alexa Biscaro and Stéphane Erickson on Posted in Canada
À l’aube du cinquantième anniversaire de la Loi sur les langues officielles (la “LLO” ou la “Loi”), le gouvernement fédéral a annoncé un investissement sans précédent de 2,7 milliards de dollars dédié à l’épanouissement des communautés de langue officielle en situation minoritaire et à la promotion du bilinguisme officiel et ce, dans l’ensemble du pays. … Continue reading

Coming Soon: Heightened Accountability and Transparency in Federal Employment Equity

Stéphane EricksonBy Stéphane Erickson on Posted in Canada, Discrimination and harassment, General
In Canada, most federally regulated employers in the private and public spheres are subject to the Employment Equity Act, or in French, la Loi sur l’équité en matière d’emploi (the “Act”). First enacted in 1986, the Act’s objective is to ensure that federally regulated employers proactively engage in equitable practices that reduce barriers and counter … Continue reading

New York City expansion of sick time law to cover “safe time” goes into effect on May 5, 2018; action required for New York City employers

Rachel Kurth (US)David Gallai (US)By Rachel Kurth (US) and David Gallai (US) on Posted in North America, United States
New York City has recently adopted amendments to the New York City sick time law.  These amendments, which go into effect on May 5, 2018, will require action by New York City employers. Background on New York City’s sick time law Since April 1, 2014, all New York City employers have been required to provide … Continue reading

New York State’s new sexual harassment prevention laws will require action by all New York employers

David Gallai (US)Rachel Kurth (US)By David Gallai (US) and Rachel Kurth (US) on Posted in Discrimination and harassment, United States
On April 12, 2018, New York State  Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law new measures aimed at preventing sexual harassment. We summarized these provisions in detail in our legal update, New York employers should get ready to comply with New York State’s new sexual harassment prevention laws, published on April 11th, in anticipation of the bill being signed … Continue reading

Le projet de loi sur la réforme de la LNT: quelles sont les conséquences pour les agences de placement?

Philippe BélisleBy Philippe Bélisle on Posted in Québec
Le projet de loi 176 intitulé « Loi modifiant la Loi sur les normes du travail et d’autres dispositions législatives afin principalement de faciliter la conciliation famille-travail » a été déposé par le gouvernement libéral à l’Assemblée nationale à la fin du mois de mars. Plusieurs de ses dispositions auront un impact significatif sur les agences de placement … Continue reading

The proposed bill to amend Québec’s labour standards: what are the effects on placement agencies?

Philippe BélisleBy Philippe Bélisle on Posted in Québec
The Act to amend the Act respecting labour standards and other legislative provisions (the bill) was tabled by the liberal government at the National Assembly at the end of March. Several provisions of this bill will have an impact on the businesses of personnel placement agencies. Here is our take on these issues. In a … Continue reading

Will Artificial Intelligence Need Human Rights Training ?

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

The #MeToo Movement: When Employees Take Their Complaints to Social Media

Matt Heller (US)By Matt Heller (US) on Posted in North America, United States
As we are all aware, the news has been populated with stories concerning allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct, particularly in the entertainment and media industries as well as government institutions. These stories have contributed to the “#MeToo” movement, which originated on Twitter and other social media websites in late 2017 and has since become … Continue reading

A (Not So) New Test for Family Status Discrimination in British Columbia

Cory SullyBy Cory Sully on Posted in Canada, Discrimination and harassment
It is often a challenge for employers to determine whether they have a duty to accommodate an employee’s “family status” under human rights legislation.  Adjudicators across Canada have taken different approaches to assess whether the duty to accommodate family status has been triggered.  The recent B.C. Human Rights Tribunal decision in Adair v. Forensic Psychiatric … Continue reading

Norton Rose Fulbright’s online guide to global employment law is now available

Sally WoodwardJoanna MacKenzieBy Sally Woodward and Joanna MacKenzie on Posted in Asia Pacific, Contracts, Data privacy and GDPR, Europe, Latin America, Middle East, North America, South Africa, Uncategorized, United States, Whistleblowing
More and more organisations are growing their global footprint and need to move their people around the world. In this global environment, it is essential to know, understand and comply with employment and labour laws in place across all of the jurisdictions in which organisations engage people. This will help to protect business from unnecessary … Continue reading

The never-ending search for fairness in a termination clause

Ryan FreemanBy Ryan Freeman on Posted in Canada
Over the course of this past year there have been several important decisions dealing with the enforceability of termination clauses in employment agreements, and how a court is to interpret a clause to determine the employer’s obligations to a departing employee.  The importance of these decisions can be seen by contrasting the financial consequences that … Continue reading

Ontario Bill 148 reform and public holidays: a reminder

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

Legislative changes under Ontario Bill 177

Andrew NichollBy Andrew Nicholl on Posted in Canada
The effect of the Stronger, Fairer Ontario Act (Budget Measures), 2017 (“Bill 177”), which received royal assent on December 14, 2017, is far reaching as it introduces changes to a number of statutes. The Occupational Health and Safety Act (“OHSA”), the Broader Public Sector Executive Compensation Act (“BPSECA”), the Pension Benefits Act (“PBA”) and the … Continue reading

Harassment and violence in the workplace : changes to be expected for federally regulated employers

Patrick GaliziaPhilippe BélisleBy Patrick Galizia and Philippe Bélisle on Posted in Canada, Discrimination and harassment
After a few politicians at the federal and provincial levels recently stepped down because of sexual misconduct allegations, lawmakers debated Bill C-65 in the House of Commons this week. Tabled in November 2017, Bill C-65 aims to amend “the Canada Labour Code (CLC) to strengthen the existing framework for preventing harassment and violence, including sexual harassment … Continue reading

Sexual harassment settlements (and attorneys’ fees) may no longer be tax deductible for employers

David Gallai (US)Matt Heller (US)By David Gallai (US) and Matt Heller (US) on Posted in Discrimination and harassment, United States
As a result of the new tax reform legislation, employers may no longer deduct on their tax returns any “settlement or payment related to sexual harassment or sexual abuse if such settlement or payment is subject to a nondisclosure agreement” (emphasis added) or any “attorney’s fees related to such a settlement or payment.” This change … Continue reading

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

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
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