Labour & Employment

With the advancement of technology, employers looking to cut overhead costs, and family and lifestyle accommodations growing, working from home is becoming more and more common. However, there are some considerations that must be explored before such practices are approved. Policies If emplo…

The Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act (“OHSA”) provides workers with a number of rights, including the right to refuse work that is “likely to endanger” the worker.[1] When a work refusal occurs there are a number of procedures outlined in the legislation that must be followed and, …

It has been six years since Bill 168 amended Ontario’s Occupational Health & Safety Act to require employers to take steps to prevent and to deal with bullying and harassment in the workplace. Since that time, we have come to realize that there were gaps – some would say flaws – in the …

In February 2015, the provincial government appointed two Special Advisors to lead and coordinate public consultations on how the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the “ESA”) and the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (the “LRA”) could be amended to better protect workers in the changing economy. The …

If not done properly, conducting a workplace investigation can be costly. This lesson was learned by the Royal Bank of Canada in Lau v. Royal Bank of Canada[1]. Mr. Lau was an account manager at one of RBC’s Vancouver branches. A customer of Mr. Lau’s filed a complaint about the manner in wh…

Traditionally, Canadian courts and arbitrators have upheld discipline against employees who have disobeyed company policies by using or possessing marijuana[1] on company premises. There has generally been no need for the employee to have engaged in dangerous conduct, so long as the employee…

It’s summer and the livin’ may be easy if you’re on vacation. But if you’re at work, you’d better be working safely! The Ministry of Labour is running a blitz from May 16th until July 15th, focusing attention on falls from height. They’ve warned us that they “will be taking a no tolerance in…

I recently came across the Ontario decision of Garreton v. Complete Innovations Inc.[1] from earlier this year. While an interesting read for a number of employment reasons, it is a good reminder to employers that “double jeopardy” also applies to employee discipline. The relevant facts in t…

Most employers want simple, friendly hiring documents that are easy to understand and don’t look like they were drafted by lawyers. Trust me – I get it! To achieve this goal, employers sometimes want to remove important legal clauses from their offer letters or employment agreements. Most co…