Category: Northern Exposure

Employment law articles for U.S. companies with employees in Canada. Written by the attorneys at Fasken Martineau law firm.

New occupational health and safety awareness training to be required in Ontario

By Patrick Gannon Occupational health and safety legislation in all provinces across Canada places the ultimate responsibility for occupational health and safety on employers. Among other things, Canadian employers have to provide certain information, instruction, and training to workers. Last month, Ontario took occupational health and safety training to a new level, announcing that Ontario […]

Mandatory flu vaccination/masking policy upheld

By Charles G. Harrison A recent labor arbitration in British Columbia upheld the employers’ policy requiring annual flu vaccinations or masking for their healthcare staff. Coming as it does during flu season, this is a timely decision.

Bullying and harassment in the workplace: lessons from the Miami Dolphins

By Kyla Stott-Jess The professional sports world has been buzzing with the sudden departure of offensive tackle Jonathan Martin from the Miami Dolphins. His midseason exit from the team comes amid allegations that he was the victim of harassment and bullying. The scandal has given the public a glimpse behind closed locker-room doors, into the […]

Individual privacy rights trumped by union’s freedom of expression

By Lorene Novakowski and Brandon Wiebe On November 15, 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that a union’s right to collect, use, and disclose personal information for legitimate labor relations purposes outweighs an individual’s right to privacy. In so doing, it declared Alberta’s Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) unconstitutional but suspended the declaration for […]

Objective medical proof not necessary for accommodation duties to arise

By Marc Rodrigue Under human rights legislation across the country, Canadian employers have a general duty to accommodate employees who are unable to perform their work for a period of time because of illness or disability to the point of undue hardship. This may require an employer to grant an employee a leave of absence […]

High court rules on noncompete, nonsolicitation clauses in business sale

By Isabelle East-Richard A recent Supreme Court of Canada decision arising out of Québec will have broad ramifications across Canada. In Payette v. Guay Inc. (2013 SCC 45 (September 12, 2013)), the Supreme Court of Canada settled the debate over whether the employment contract provisions of the Civil Code of Québec also apply to noncompete […]

Lessons from the U.S. government shutdown

By Julia Kennedy It should be a relief to many employers (and employees) that their company has just one board of directors, with no second house to blockade budgets, freeze operating funds, or send large portions of the workforce home. Since an estimated 800,000 U.S. government employees were “furloughed” or required to work without pay […]

Employers’ collection of GPS data found to not breach privacy rights

By Lorene Novakowski In two recent cases out of British Columbia, employers were found to be entitled to collect GPS information from service vehicles and from mobile phones issued to employees. Employees had complained that the collection of the GPS information was contrary to the BC Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA). The complaints were considered […]

Phoning it in: Termination appropriate for employee who called in ‘sick’

By Hannah Roskey Determining the legitimacy of an employee’s illness is a tricky situation for employers across Canada. The Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench recently took a firm stance on the abuse of sick leave and found in favor of the employer in Telus Communications Inc. v. Telecommunications Workers’ Union. Telus was correct in firing […]