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 Keri Bennett Employers everywhere often wonder when an employee’s “innocent” or no-fault absences reach a level that warrants termination. Can these employees ever be fired? Yes, is the answer from one New Brunswick labor arbitrator in Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 1252 and Vitalité Health Network. Facts A nurse at a hospital in […]
by Marie-Julie Lanctôt For a variety of reasons, more and more employees want to create companies to provide their services as contractors, rather than employees. Such services will often be identical to those that were provided when the individual was an employee. Subject to a tax, employment insurance or Canada Pension Plan audit, that may […]
By Hadiya Roderique Even in the “Northern Exposure” zones of Canada, employees commonly have access to the Internet at work. Many use the Internet for personal reasons during work time. Many employers are concerned about the loss of productivity resulting from excessive personal use of the Internet. A number of employers have attempted to characterize […]
By Rosalind H. Cooper Occupational health and safety legislation in most Canadian provinces prohibits reprisal by an employer against an employee who makes allegations of unsafe work. Workers routinely try to rely on such reprisal provisions to attack any actions of their employers. A recent Ontario Labour Relations Board decision, Petro v. The Beer Store, […]
By Sean McGurran and Marisa Victor The recent decision in Drake v. Blach in the Ontario Superior Court provides a good example of how not to go about firing an employee. It provides a good lesson on how employment law in Canada will come to the rescue of a wronged employee. Background The case involves […]
By Kevin O’Neill On April 5, 2012, the Supreme Court of Canada said it would hear IBM’s appeal from the British Columbia Court of Appeal’s 2011 decision in Waterman v. IBM Canada Ltd. This important case will likely allow the Supreme Court to re-examine damages principles arising in a wrongful dismissal action. The case raises […]
By Gulu Punia and Jennifer Shepherd Deciding to retain a contractor rather than an employee can be the right decision depending on the needs of a business. But there are risks. If a court determines that the relationship is in fact an employment relationship, the employer can be liable. Such was the case in M.A.P. […]
By Frederic Parisien Workplace harassment, at the onset, involves two players — the harasser and the harassee. A third party is added once a complaint is filed — the employer. And a fourth player, the union, is added if that complaint is a grievance. To what extent does the alleged harasser continue to be a […]
By Marisa Victor and Yael Wexler Noncompetition clauses in employment contracts are difficult to enforce in Canada. Courts tend to regard them as unreasonable restraints on trade. Any ambiguity usually will be fatal. Nor will the courts generally use a “blue pencil” to remove ambiguous words. This was made clear in the recent appellate decision […]
By Ralph N. Nero and Fida Hindi Canadian employees are entitled to all sorts of leaves – maternity leaves, parental leaves, sick leaves, emergency leaves, leave for the disappearance of a minor child, and the list goes on. Now Ontario may be joining Quebec by creating yet another new category of leave of absence for […]