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By Keri Bennett When a long-service costume designer was dismissed following a workplace harassment investigation, a British Colombia arbitrator found the company’s no-hire ban for all future productions to be excessive, since there was a lack of progressive discipline. Despite finding that the fired employee had engaged in longstanding and widespread harassment of junior employees, […]
By Rosalind H. Cooper Most occupational health and safety statutes across Canada contain provisions that prohibit employer reprisals for workplace health and safety matters. While the outcome of complaints made by workers regarding employer reprisals is always fact specific, employers had been taking comfort from several recent decisions. Those decisions suggested that complaints regarding employer […]
By Katherine Pollock A recent decision of the British Columbia Court of Appeal, Stanley v. Advertising Directory Solutions, considered the rights of an employee of a U.S. company who was working for a Canadian subsidiary when terminated. The court found she was entitled to notice or pay in lieu of notice upon termination according to […]
By Thora A. Sigurdson Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) has been under fire of late. Temporary foreign workers sued Denny’s. Latin American tunnel diggers brought a human rights complaint against SELI. A British Columbia union complained that miners from China were taking jobs in northern B.C. And the Royal Bank’s decision to contract out […]
By Kyla Stott-Jess Employers in Canada can’t discriminate against employees based on mental disabilities. But the broad interpretation that courts and arbitration boards frequently apply to human rights laws often makes it difficult to know where the boundaries of “mental disability” lie. In a recent arbitration decision in Ontario, Windsor (City) and WPFFA (Elliot), the […]
By Alix Herber and Keri Bennett Human Rights Tribunals across Canada are constantly expanding the interpretation of prohibited grounds. Ontario has recently joined Manitoba and the Northwest Territories and gone one step further by recognizing gender identity as a prohibited ground.
By Michel Bellemare Every job has its own peculiarities. What might be a minor shortcoming in one type of employment could be catastrophic in another. This is especially true when the breach touches on the very heart of the duties assigned to an employee. This, at least, is what an employee learned in a recent […]
By Eowynne Noble The CEOs at top tech companies have received attention over their policies allowing employees to work from home. While some companies insist that working from home motivates people to work responsibly, quickly, and with high quality, others prefer their employees to work in the office. The reality is that each company is […]
By Gilda Villaran Immigration Canada announced a new policy on December 15, 2012, that allows for bridging work permits. Foreign nationals who are currently working in Canada and have applied for permanent residence (under certain programs) can now apply for such a permit. This will allow them to stay and work until their permanent residence […]
By Julia Kennedy Canadian employers are being required to take on further costs, this time in relation to potential employees. How? Through the federal government’s 2013 budget, released March 21.