Tag: Employee Privacy

Employee privacy in the accommodation process

By Keri Bennett We all know employees across Canada have an obligation to participate in the accommodation process. That extends to providing proper medical documentation. If an employee fails to provide such documentation, surely he or she could be disciplined. Not necessarily. Notwithstanding the employee’s obligation to participate in the accommodation process, an Ontario arbitrator […]

Employee Can’t Invade Privacy of Another Employee

By Ian Campbell and Justine Connelly The evolution of privacy rights in the Canadian workplace continues. In recent months we have updated you on court and labor arbitration decisions that have commented on employee privacy rights. An individual employee tried to take her rights one step further when she sued another employee for invasion of […]

Can Workplace Surveillance Tapes Be Used as Evidence in Canada?

By Lorene A. Novakowski Another recent Canadian case dealing with collection of personal information about employees, this time through surveillance, emphasizes the importance of good employment policy language for Canadian employers. In Toronto Catholic School Board v. Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 1280, [2011] O.L.A.A. No. 180, the question was whether surveillance tape evidence […]

What to Do When Contagious Illnesses Come to Work

by Susan Fahey Desmond You’ve probably had enough of hearing about the swine flu (now called the H1N1 virus). It’s front-page news across the world. We are now in a full pandemic as defined by the World Health Organization, but the first thing to understand is not to panic. Your company may already have been […]

Employer’s Guide to Writing Employee Handbooks

by Peter M. Panken An employee handbook tells workers what they’re getting, instills a team spirit, and lets people know what the rules are. It should emphasize the employer’s fair treatment and how it provides significant benefits like vacations, holidays, health insurance, and retirement benefits. It lets the workers know they can grieve to get […]