For the past couple of years, our lives and legal system have been pre-occupied by the COVID-19 Pandemic and the many issues it has presented. However, there are many other decisions that have been released during this last year which may have an impact on employers. Below we have summarized what we believe are the […]
The British Columbia Supreme Court recently answered the controversial question of whether an employer’s enforcement of a mandatory vaccination policy can be considered constructive dismissal. In Parmar v. Tribe Management Inc., 2022 BCSC 1675, the Court held that the Plaintiff employee was not constructively dismissed when they were placed on an unpaid leave of absence […]
Nearly five years following the start of the #MeToo movement, courts, administrative tribunals, and arbitrators are cracking down on sexual harassment in the workplace. See also: Employers May Terminate for a Single Incident of Harassment and Employment & Labour – Top 10 Cases of 2021. In Yaschuk v Emerson Electric Canada Limited, 2022 AHRC 62, […]
On April 26, 2022, members of Cox & Palmer’s Regional Employment & Labour group presented a webinar titled “Hot Topics in Human Resources: Spring 2022” which included the subtopic of Gender Identity and Gender Expression. With Pride Month on the horizon, we wanted to continue the conversation and provide employers with further insight on how […]
Sexual harassment is one of the most serious forms of workplace misconduct. While acts of sexual harassment can occur on a spectrum of severity, a single incident of sexual harassment can warrant termination. This is especially the case if the employee lacks remorse and responsibility. In Render v ThyssenKrupp Elevator (Canada) Limited, 2022 ONCA 310, […]
In recent years, there has been an increase in the prevalence of employees secretly recording conversations in the workplace. While it is not unlawful for a conversation to be recorded when only one person is aware that the recording is being taken, the undisclosed recording of conversations can raise privacy concerns. The recent decision of […]
The recent arbitration decision of Toronto District School Board and CUPE, Local 4400 (Re: PR734 Vaccine Procedure) (the “Decision”) considers the reasonableness of the Toronto District School Board’s (the “TDSB”) COVID-19 vaccination policy while taking into consideration the Omicron variant. It also addresses the question of whether section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights […]
It is no secret that over the past year the COVID-19 pandemic has been the subject of much discussion in the realm of employment and labour law. In 2021, we saw courts and administrative tribunals alike grapple with the question of how the pandemic has impacted, or not impacted, our established employment and labour standards. […]
Mandatory vaccination policies have been implemented by many employers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. While these policies have been widely accepted by the majority of employees, there are some employees who strongly object to such policies. Some mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies have been the subject of grievances. Earlier this month, the first two grievance […]
The deadline to post notice of pay equity plan is Monday November 1, 2021. You don’t need your Pay Equity Plan in place, but you must post notice of your plan to create the Pay Equity Plan. You will find a guide and template notices to help create at www.payequitychrc.ca/en/templates. The Pay Equity Act (the […]