Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
by John Craig and Matthew Larsen Do unions have an independent legal right, separate and apart from their collective agreement rights, to be involved in every unionized employee’s accommodation request? This question was answered earlier this year by the British Columbia Court of Appeal, which ruled that unions have no such right. Recently, in Telecommunications […]
by Theodore Fong The risks to employers in sexual harassment cases can be big. Potential liability can arise from any decision. Employers may then find themselves having to make tough decisions on tight timelines. The key to ensuring an appropriate response is to be prepared. Preparation will permit an employer to take a proactive approach, […]
by Mikael Maher In a recent arbitration case, Tshiuetin Rail Transportation Inc. v. Steelworkers, Local 7065-75, the arbitrator, Bruno Leclerc, and the Superior Court of Quebec challenged a well-established principle in labor relations, which is that an employer retains managerial rights in the absence of limiting provisions in the collective agreement. In this case, the […]
by Jackie VanDerMeulen Organizations’ use of independent contractors (often also referred to as consultants) as opposed to actual employees has grown significantly over the years. This trend comes as no surprise in a changing economy where particular skill sets are required at specific times and where flexibility is a key driver of success. In some […]
by David T. McDonald About 15 years ago, the Supreme Court of Canada changed the law on secondary picketing in Canada. That decision, RWDSU Local 558 v. Pepsi-Cola Canada Beverages (West) Ltd., 2002 SCC 8, ruled that secondary picketing was generally lawful unless accompanied by wrongful conduct such as violence or blockading. This meant that […]
by Norm Keith On September 5, 2017, Justice Nelson of the Ontario Court of Justice stayed all charges against the accused in the deadly stage collapse at the Radiohead concert in Downsview Park on June 16, 2012. These charges under the Occupational Health & Safety Act (OHSA) are the latest in a series of serious regulatory […]
by Hannah Roskey For Canadian employers, navigating the distinction between resignation and termination can be tricky. If an employee resigns, there is no entitlement to severance. If an employee is terminated without cause, the employer is on the hook for termination pay (and possibly severance pay in Ontario and the federal jurisdiction). The recent Alberta […]
by Arlin Sahinyan In Canada, hiring foreign workers comes with certain administrative hurdles for employers. Most employers need to obtain a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) from government authorities, which aims to show that there is a need for foreign workers (as opposed to hiring Canadians for the job). Before recruiting any candidate, employers must […]
by Alexandra Meunier In Canadian labor relations, parties commonly enter into termination agreements in order to settle grievances and avoid any future litigation. Such agreements may contain confidentiality clauses. However, what happens when a party does not strictly respect the content of a confidentiality clause? This is the question that was submitted to the arbitrator […]
by Julie Robinson Employees in Canada are usually entitled to receive reasonable notice of termination or pay in lieu of notice unless fired for cause. But if the employees receive pension or sick leave payments during the notice period, are they entitled to both their regular salary in lieu of notice and such pension or […]