Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
By Bill Duvall As the prognosis for Canada’s economy remains uncertain, the Canadian court system continues to churn out employment cases arising from distressed employers. On this front, two recent cases are of interest. In the first, an Ontario court concludes that employees may not be entitled to statutory severance pay when they are provided […]
By Ralph Nero and Ida Martin As we reported last week, decision makers across Canada are struggling with the meaning of discrimination on the basis of family status. Last week we looked at a Human Rights Tribunal decision out of British Columbia. This week we look at a recent Ontario arbitration decision, Re Power Stream […]
As we have reported before (January 6, 2009, December 2, 2008, and August 26, 2008), Wal-Mart has repeatedly been dealt blows by Canadian courts and other decision-makers. Most recently, an arbitrator in Quebec has weighed in – and it’s more bad news for Wal-Mart in Canada. Wal-Mart’s store in Jonquiere, Quebec, was certified by the […]
For the last five years, two Wal-Mart big-box stores in Quebec have been the subject of certification applications filed by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW). The first store to be unionized was located in the town of Jonquière. Wal-Mart decided to close down that operation in 2005 immediately after the union applied […]
An arbitrator has ruled that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) practice of giving comp time to employees who worked extra hours didn’t meet the requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The ruling stems from a 2006 grievance protesting the EEOC’s reclassification of certain investigators and mediators as exempt from overtime under […]
By Dominique Launay There can be little doubt that dealing with employees suffering from the disease of addiction “whether to drugs, alcohol, or even gambling” is a challenge for employers. That challenge becomes greater when the employee raises the addiction as an excuse for engaging in misconduct. In a recent case, the question arose whether […]
by Brian P. Smeenk Wal-Mart, which has until now apparently been union-free, has had a union contract imposed on it in Quebec. The contract covers an auto center, Tire & Lube Express, which is part of a store in Gatineau, near the Ontario border. The small group of about eight employees apparently received union certification […]
by Daniel Pugen McCarthy Tetrault Biometric hand scanners vs. religious beliefs: What does the law say? In Canada, employers must accommodate their employees’ religious beliefs to the point of “undue hardship” for the employer. But what if you don’t consider an employee’s religious beliefs “mainstream”? That doesn’t matter, according to a recent decision by an […]
McCarthy Tetrault Canadian discrimination laws, like those in the United States, generally require employers to make accommodations for employees with disabilities. By law, employers must accommodate to the point of “undue hardship,” but undue hardship is difficult to define and is assessed on a case-by-case basis. What happens when employee rights come up against your […]