Alberta Court of Appeal Upholds Termination of Employee for Cocaine Use That Resulted in Workplace Accident
As most employers know, the Ontario Human Rights Code (the “Code”) prohibits discrimination on the basis of, among other things, “disability”. While the Code’s definition of disability does not specifically include drug or alcohol addiction, the Ontario Court of Appeal confirmed over 16 year…
View the post titled Alberta Court of Appeal Upholds Termination of Employee for Cocaine Use That Resulted in Workplace AccidentCase Law Update: It’s Still Hard to Fire Employees For Cause
A number of our blog entries have discussed the challenges employers face in ending an employment relationship for cause, without having to provide notice beforehand (or pay in lieu of notice). Generally, employees must engage in serious misconduct before being subjected to what the Courts h…
View the post titled Case Law Update: It’s Still Hard to Fire Employees For CauseSupervisors Increasingly Face Jail Time in Health and Safety Prosecutions
While companies are often aware of the serious costs that may arise from charges under Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act (the OHSA), recent decisions suggest that the courts are increasingly willing to levy heavy penalties against supervisors as well, including sentencing them to …
View the post titled Supervisors Increasingly Face Jail Time in Health and Safety ProsecutionsProposed Changes to the OHSA: The more things change, the more they stay the same?
Laws intended to change social behaviour are sometimes referred to as “social engineering” legislation. The obvious example is the Human Rights Code, which prohibits discrimination on protected grounds and requires employers to accommodate many of the personal challenges employees face. Som…
View the post titled Proposed Changes to the OHSA: The more things change, the more they stay the same?Workplace Safety and Insurance Board Consulting Regarding New System for Calculating Employer Premiums
Most employers in Ontario are subject to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act (the “WSIA”), with the majority of those employers falling under Schedule 1 of the legislation. For Schedule 1 employers, contact with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (the “WSIB”) generally occurs only a…
View the post titled Workplace Safety and Insurance Board Consulting Regarding New System for Calculating Employer PremiumsNo Jeans or Shorts in the Workplace? No Way.
When an employer attempted to institute a formal dress code requiring its staff to wear business casual attire and prohibiting jeans and shorts in the workplace, the union filed a policy grievance. The employer, the British Columbia Assessment Authority, conducts real property assessments an…
View the post titled No Jeans or Shorts in the Workplace? No Way.Unionized Employee Dismissed from Hydro One for Off-Duty Conduct Reinstated to His Former Position
Last summer a significant amount of media attention was focused on employees being terminated for actions that occurred outside of working hours. One of the most notorious cases involved a unionized Hydro One employee who was dismissed for making vulgar and sexist comments to a television ne…
View the post titled Unionized Employee Dismissed from Hydro One for Off-Duty Conduct Reinstated to His Former PositionDo employers have to allow their employees to work from home to breastfeed? Flatt v. Treasury Board (Department of Industry)
A female employee with the Industry Canada’s Spectrum Management Operations Branch filed a grievance alleging that she was discriminated against on the basis of sex and family status when her employer failed to accommodate her request to work five days a week from home so she could continue …
View the post titled Do employers have to allow their employees to work from home to breastfeed? Flatt v. Treasury Board (Department of Industry)Ontario Labour Relations Board Finds that Employee Fired for Sleeping on the Job is Still Entitled to Termination Pay
Many employers are aware that they can terminate an individual’s employment without notice where there is “cause” (generally acts that fundamentally undermine the employment relationship such as theft, violence in the workplace, etc.). However, employers may not be aware that Ontario’s emplo…
View the post titled Ontario Labour Relations Board Finds that Employee Fired for Sleeping on the Job is Still Entitled to Termination PayTime Off to Vote for Federal Election – October 19, 2015
The Federal election is fast approaching. There are a number of ways for employees to vote, including: In person on Election Day – October 19, 2015 from 9:30 am to 9:30 pm in Ontario. In person on the advance voting days – October 9, 10, 11 and 12, 2015 from noon to 8 pm. In person...
View the post titled Time Off to Vote for Federal Election – October 19, 2015Receive Blog Posts
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