Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Employment law articles for U.S. companies with employees in Canada. Written by the attorneys at Fasken Martineau law firm.
by Ralph N. Nero and Keri L. Bennett Many of our recent articles have focused on decisions involving employees’ breaches or threatened breaches of restrictive covenants. Including restrictive covenants, such as nonsolicitation and noncompetition covenants, into employment contracts is important for employers to protect their business interests. In order to be enforceable, however, such covenants […]
by Lorene Novakowski In a recent Alberta arbitration award, the arbitrator awarded damages to employees for a breach of their privacy rights, in the amount of $1,250 each. The grievance arose after the province of Alberta conducted background credit checks without consent on 26 government employees. The employees worked in an area–maintenance enforcement–that gave them discretion in […]
by Jennifer Shepherd Can a Canadian employer justify an employee’s dismissal for acts committed after he or she has been fired? The answer is: sometimes. In Gillespie v. 1200333 Alberta Ltd., an Alberta court overturned a lower court ruling that permitted an employer to retroactively justify an employee’s termination because the employee removed confidential documents […]
by Louise Béchamp As a Québec employer recently learned, an alleged breach in the relationship of trust between employer and employee must be supported by objective evidence and facts if it is to form cause for termination of employment. In Senécal vs. CEGEP du Vieux Montréal, 2012 QCCS 1995, the employer was ordered to pay […]
by Alix Herber Human rights legislation protects a wide range of individuals in Canada. It prohibits harassment and discrimination in employment on obvious grounds such as age, ethnic origin, gender, and disability. It also prohibits harassment and discrimination in many provinces on less obvious grounds, such as record of offenses and sexual orientation. And that […]
By Brian P. Smeenk Class actions in Canada for unpaid overtime or other employment claims have met with mixed results in the past. Now the rules of the class action game – at least in the employment context – may be a little clearer. On June 26 the Ontario Court of Appeal issued its decisions […]
By Isabelle Dongier Winds of change keep blowing on Canadian immigration lands. The federal government has recently taken several steps to rationalize and centralize its operations. Here are the latest changes, announced in May and June, of interest to companies employing foreign workers in Canada: Restructuring of the visa office network: This includes the closure […]
By Jaclyn McNamara and Marisa Victor Your employees have access to all kinds of sensitive company information. But what can you do if they leave and use that information to unfairly compete against your company? An Ontario court, in Corona Packaging Inc. v Singh, recently confirmed that you might be able to prevent that competition […]
By Lindsey Taylor The issue of employees with environmental sensitivities often arises for Canadian employers. Most commonly, employees complain about sensitivities to strong scents such as perfume. Human rights laws in many provinces accept that environmental sensitivities may be disabilities, to which the duty to accommodate to the point of undue hardship may apply. This […]
By Kyla Stott-Jess and Devin Crisanti Post-employment restrictions can be tricky to enforce. But if drafted properly, they can be valuable. As one Alberta employer recently discovered in ADM Measurements Ltd. v. Bullet Electric LTD, relying on implied fiduciary duties to do the job of contractual restrictions can be a pricey gamble. Background The employer, […]