Labor & Employment Law
Thoughts from a Management Lawyer 
Commentary and discussion of current and topical Canadian labour and employment law issues by a management-side labour and employment lawyer.
Post Frequency: 1.5/day Last Entry: November 20, 2009 at 22:28:52 Recent Entries: 231
Go to Thoughts from a Management Lawyer, find other Labor & Employment Law blogs, or browse all law blogs.
Search
Posts
Black Sheep and Disruptive Innovation
Posted on November 20, 2009I've been giving some thought of late to the so called organizational "black sheep" - you know, the contrarians, "malcontents" and those that don't tow the company line (in fact, they might not even be aware that there is a company line or care that one exists if they are...
Is there a better way to cut costs?
Posted on November 08, 2009That's what McKinsey & Company ask in a short Conversation Starter article. The article starts: According to a recent McKinsey Quarterly survey, 79 percent of all companies have cut costs in response to the global economic crisis?but only 53 percent of executives think that doing so has helped their companies...
Final Post on Distracted Driving in Ontario
Posted on October 24, 2009You're going to have to pay a little more attention behind the wheel if your driving in or through Ontario. Bill 118 (an Countering Distracted Driving and Promoting Green Transportation Act, 2009) comes into force on Monday, October 26, 2009. The government has said that there will be a 3...
Keep on Trucking but Not Smoking in your Truck
Posted on October 09, 2009The big news (also here) is the awarding of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize to President Obama and that a trucker was fined $305 under the Smoke-Free Ontario Act for smoking in the workplace (his truck). The Act provides that "no person shall smoke tobacco or hold lighted tobacco in...
Multitasking Behind the Wheel in Ontario
Posted on October 03, 2009On April 23 the Ontario legislature passed a bill (Bill 118) prohibiting anyone from holding or using a hand-held wireless communication device or other prescribed device that is capable of receiving or transmitting telephone communications, electronic data, mail or text messages...
Jordan Furlong Joins Edge International
Posted on October 03, 2009My friend Jordan Furlong has joined Edge International! This is exciting news and I couldn't be happier for him. Have a read of Jordan's blog, Law21 and you'll get a taste of his thinking on "the unfolding nature of the legal profession". I've known Jordan for a long time (since...
EI Changes on the Horizon
Posted on September 08, 2009The Globe and Mail reports that Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative government is poised to introduce employment insurance reforms. There are more details in the National Post. The Liberals have threatened to force a fall election, and this move is surely designed to take some of the wind out of...
A Couple of Blog Anniversaries
Posted on September 07, 2009Mike Maslanka writes a great blog called Work Matters that is celebrating its 1 year anniversary while Daniel Schwartz's Connecticut Employment Law Blog celebrates its 2nd anniversary. Congratulations to Mike and Daniel on their dedication and commitment and here's to another year of posting!
What a Difference a Year Makes
Posted on September 07, 2009While there is some debate about the origin of the Labour Day holiday, it would seem that Canada is where it all began though it really doesn't much matter. Here's a short article from the Canadian Encyclopedia and another from Wikepedia. To many, the meaning of the holiday is lost...
The Most Recent Word on Random Alcohol Testing
Posted on September 05, 2009I was about to write about the most recent case of Petro-Canada Lubricants Centre (Mississauga) and Oakville Terminal dealing with random alcohol testing and saw that Dan Michaluk has a great summary of the case at his blog. You'll see that Arbitrator Kaplan references a leading case of Arbitrator Picher...
August Labour Force Survey - Are Good Times Ahead?
Posted on September 04, 2009The August Labour Force Survey is out and it's good news for a change: Employment among private sector employees increased by 49,000 in August, the first increase in this group since September 2008. Employment among both public sector employees and the self-employed edged down in August...
Social Media and Background Checks up at Slaw
Posted on September 03, 2009I'm pleased to announce that I've been invited to be a contributor over at Slaw.ca and that my first post, Social Media and Background Checks is up at Slaw.
Be Brief but Never Short
Posted on September 02, 2009Dan Michaluk offers a post about the art of brevity in legal writing. This goes hand in glove with my post A reminder about what we (lawyers) do. Good legal writing is persuasive - bad or sloppy legal writing has the opposite effect. Some feel the need to go on...
Labour relations is all about your point of view
Posted on September 01, 2009The Fraser Institute has released its 2009 edition of Labour Relations Laws in Canada and the United States - An Empirical Comparison and it is sure to generate some healthy debate. Here's the blurb about the study and the perspective: "This study is the third installment of a long-term project...
Driving to distraction in Saskatchewan
Posted on September 01, 2009Saskatchewan is the most recent province to indicate that they would introduce legislation that would ban texting and non-hands free cell phone use while driving. Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec and Nova Scotia already have varying bans in place and with Ontario's restrictions coming into effect in October.
A Reminder about What We (Lawyers) Do
Posted on August 30, 2009Patrick Lamb has been blogging for a long time and I've been following his writing for years. While I've never met him or, for that matter, spoken to him (though I'd like to), I've found his insights to be so on the money. He's a true rebel. Don't believe me?...
Using Strike Replacements
Posted on August 28, 2009Strikes and lockouts are never fun events. No one "wants" these things. Companies are in business to make a profit and employees want to work to provide for themselves and their families. I wouldn't go so far as to say that a strike or lockout means that the union and...
Online Anonymity Going, Going .... Almost Gone
Posted on August 25, 2009Interesting piece in the Globe following a recent decision out of New York where a Canadian fashion model filed a claim against a blogger. The article points out that before "she could launch a defamation suit, she had to know who the blogger was. The court ordered Google, which manages...
Up and Running At Slaw.ca
Posted on August 24, 2009I wanted to thank Professor Fodden at the excellent Slaw.ca for contacting me a few months ago and inviting our firm to be the "Guest Firm Bloggers" this week. Today there will be a couple of employment law posts from myself and Kate Zavitz (see Kate's post Facebook: Employee's Lives...
Ontario Human Rights Commission Annual Report
Posted on August 21, 2009The Ontario Human Rights Commission released it's 2008-2009 Annual Report, the first since the Ontario Human Rights system was re-vamped. The Commissions' new, more proactive and educational role, is laid out in the Report. As is acknowledged by the Chief Commissioner, the Commission has attracted controversy...
Thoughts on Employer Reactions to the Elimination of Mandatory Retirement
Posted on August 17, 2009This is old news, but I got to thinking about it as I was clearing out my home office and came across an article in the Fall 2008 issue of Industrial Relations by Andrew Templar and Marjorie Armstrong-Stassen from the Odette School of Business at the University of Windsor...
City of Toronto Strike Ends
Posted on August 01, 2009The City of Toronto Council approved collective agreements with striking unions thus bringing to an end the 39 day strike. Of course they were going to approve the deal but the margin was 21-17, tighter than most people anticipated. But the residents of Toronto are not happy with either side...
VIA Heads to Arbitration
Posted on July 26, 2009Yesterday I posted about the spill off consequences flowing from the VIA and City of Toronto strikes. Today we hear that VIA and the Teamsters are going to final and binding arbitration to resolve their outstanding issues. Given the rhetoric, this was a surprise...
The Impact of Strikes
Posted on July 25, 2009Day 35 of the Toronto city workers strike, and no end in sight (in fact, one of the unions representing the workers has indicated that they will walk away from the bargaining table if they haven't reached a deal by midnight Sunday). The Windsor municipal strike ended recently after 101...
Overtime Class Action to be Appealed
Posted on July 21, 2009It would seem that the Ontario Court's recent ruling that refused to certify a class in the highly publicized CIBC overtime class proceedings will be appealed. That according to the excellent Financial Legal Post. Of course, no one is falling off their chair in surprise at this news given what's...
National Post Series on Labour-Management Relations and More
Posted on July 13, 2009The National Post is running a series of articles on labour-management relations during the economic crisis. I was interviewed for the article Getting Real that has now been published. Speaking of the economy, last Thursday I spoke last week at a Canadian Institute conference called "Workforce Restructuring: Practical Guidelines and...
Be Careful When Drafting Termination Letters
Posted on July 04, 2009That's the lesson from a recent Ontario Superior Court case. The plaintiff was hired by the defendant on November 28, 2005 for the position of full-time receptionist and was promoted to the position of Executive Assistant in 2008 at an annual salary of $36,000...
Who's keeping Toronto going?
Posted on July 03, 2009That's what the Globe and Mail asks as the City's municipal workers strike closes in on 2 weeks. It's an interesting article focusing on the impact of the strike not on the public, the strikers or the city, but on the people and their families that are trying to maintain...
"Never let a crisis go to waste."
Posted on June 30, 2009What a wonderful quote that is. I wish I could take credit for coming up with it but I can't. In fact, I lifted it from a Harvard Business School Working Knowledge article Building Businesses in Turbulent Times and specifically in answer to this question: Q: Is a recession really...
Labour News Dominating the Headlines (Again)
Posted on June 28, 2009With a recession it's not surprising that labour issues are dominating the news. As employers, largely in the public sector, try to negotiate away employee gains during collective bargaining many unionized employees are resisting and taking their fight to the picket line...
Investigating Human Rights Complaints
Posted on June 27, 2009The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal in a recent case adopted six factors for assessing the sufficiency of a respondent?s efforts to address allegations of discrimination and harassment: (i) the response must be prompt; (ii) there must be corporate awareness that the conduct complained of is prohibited; (iii) the matter must...
PR Battle in Recessionary Times
Posted on June 22, 2009The National Post has an article What?s the deal with union benefits? that reviews some of the pressures facing unions to hang onto what they've achieved through years of collective bargaining. In other news, The Windsor Star writes how OFL leader feels 'anger I have never seen' discussing a recent...
Summary Judgments in Employment Disputes
Posted on June 20, 2009Summary judgment motions can be a highly expeditious and cost effective way of dealing with a variety of employment disputes. I'd like to discuss this procedure here having regard to a couple of recent decisions. The Alberta Court of Appeal in Poliquin v...
Court Declines to Certify a Class Action in the CIBC Overtime Case
Posted on June 18, 2009In a much anticipate decision, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice today declined to certify a class under the Class Proceedings Act, 1992 due to lack of commonality of an issue that would significantly advance the case. A link to the case will follow shortly...
More Discussion of Dealing With the Layoff Survivors
Posted on June 16, 2009The Lawyers Weekly has an article Employment and labour lawyers can help clients deal with ?layoff survivors' where a subject that has been written about a number of times on this blog. The article contains some good suggestions on managing the layoff to minimize the trauma on those left behind.
Inducement and its impact on Reasonable Notice - Part II
Posted on June 13, 2009At Part I of this series I discussed, at a high level, some of the general damages principles associated with wrongful dismissal cases. The period of reasonable notice sets the time frame within which damages are assessed. Today, I'd like to discuss some hiring issues and their effects on the...
Damages in Wrongful Dismissal Cases - Part I
Posted on June 12, 2009I will be writing a series of posts on damages issues that arise in wrongful dismissal cases. Today's post discusses some some general principles. General Principles In the absence of a legally enforceable contractual provision to the contrary an employee can be terminated for just cause or in the absence...
WHO Raises Threat Level for H1N1 (aka Swine Flu)
Posted on June 11, 2009The World Health Organization has raised to Phase 6 the highest level. WHO has also published a Pandemic influenza preparedness and response and recommended actions. According to the Washington Post, this is the first flu pandemic declared by WHO since 1968...
Refusal to Comply With Policy as Just Cause
Posted on June 09, 2009This issue was considered by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Gordon v. Tubs Ultimate Bath Store. This was a constructive dismissal case where the plaintiff, a delivery driver, claimed that he had been constructively dismissed because he was being forced to take on a second job of packer...
Forgetting about the Survivors in a Reorganization is Costly
Posted on June 09, 2009MSNBC has an article about what to do with the empty cubicles resulting from all of the terminations. I found it an unusual read, but, to me, it emphasized that the survivors of corporate restructuring have their own ghosts to deal with. They are, on the one hand, expected to...
The Importance of the Standard of Judicial Review
Posted on June 08, 2009Yesterday I wrote about a hot-declaration or hot-cargo case out of British Columbia. I mentioned how the outcome of a judicial review application is often decided by the standard of review that the reviewing court adopts in looking into the decision of the arbitrator or labour relations board, for example...
May Was Another Brutal Month for Job Losses
Posted on June 08, 2009The May, 2009 Labour Force Survey is out. Employment decreased by 42,000 in May, led by further manufacturing losses in Ontario (60,000, the unemployment rate in Ontario is 9.4%). The unemployment rate rose from 8% to 8.4%, the highest rate in 11 years.
"Hot Cargo" Arrangements in British Columbia
Posted on June 07, 2009The British Columbia Court of Appeal recently considered the validity of "hot declaration" clauses in a collective agreement in Victoria Times Colonist, a Division of Canwest Mediaworks Publications Inc. This was an appeal of this lower court decision...
Cell Phone Discussion and "Zero Tolerance"
Posted on June 02, 2009The excellent Workers Comp Insider writes about Cell Phones: Unsafe at Any Speed? It's a pretty direct post that asks and then answers this question "When, if ever, will managers of major and minor corporations bring the hammer down on blatantly risky behaviors behind the wheel?" Have a read of...
Organ Donor Leave in Ontario
Posted on May 29, 2009The Legislature has passed Bill 154 (Employment Standards Amendment Act (Organ Donor Leave), 2009). The Bill will provide unpaid job-protected leave for employees who donate certain organs to another individual. There is a short News Release discussing the Bill...
Bonus Calculation on Termination in a Recession
Posted on May 28, 2009An issue that has arisen of late if how you calculate "bonus" on termination in a recession. Assuming that a bonus is non-discretionary or has become non-discretionary in one way or another, Courts will often include some component of bonus through the period of reasonable notice...
CAW Reaches Tentative Deal with GM
Posted on May 23, 2009After what was a long complicated and intense negotiation, the CAW and GM have reached a tentative agreement. Ratification meetings will be held on May 24 and 25. This follows the tentative agreement entered into between the United Auto Workers Union and GM late last week.
What is the Scope of a Grievance?
Posted on May 17, 2009The Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal considered this in Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees v. Canada. In this case the arbitrator decided that a grievance that stated that it related to ?suspension? of an employee, could, nonetheless, be interpreted to include the termination of the...
Social Networking Sites and the Courts
Posted on May 16, 2009An interesting post over at Workplace Privacy Counsel about the ethical obligation of counsel where a witness maintains a social networking site such as Facebook where they have limited access to "friends". According to the post: An attorney who is not on the user?s ?friends list,? in theory, could effectively...
Forced to Into Self-Employment?
Posted on May 15, 2009I have previously written about the April 2009 Labour Force Survey. According to the CLC, "many Canadian workers were forced to turn to self-employment in April 2009 as a means of surviving the economic crisis". They have done so because they "can't find jobs or get Employment Insurance"...
Expectation of Privacy and the Work Computer
Posted on May 13, 2009Does an employee have a reasonable expectation of privacy in data stored on the work computer? I recently touched on this in a presentation at the Osgoode Professional Development seminar Employment Law 2009 Proactively Managing Legal Risk in Challenging Times Employment Law where I spoke about Effectively Managing the Use...
A "Cone of Silence" in the Office
Posted on May 11, 2009Do you remember Maxwell Smart of Get Smart fame? The cone of silence? There were no secret conversations. Times have changed and the New Scientist reports that now the 'Cone of silence' keeps conversations secret. According to the article: "In increasingly common open-plan offices, the violation of employees' privacy can...
Going It Alone in Recessionary Times?
Posted on May 10, 2009The April Labour Market Survey noted that "Employment grew by 36,000 in April, the result of an increase in self-employment" and I just saw in the Globe an article about how many terminated or laid-off employees have turned their backs on the corporate world in favour of taking their destinies...
Bill 139 Receives Royal Assent
Posted on May 09, 2009I have mentioned a number of time the Ontario Liberal governments commitment to protecting temporary agency workers and more recently here. Bill 139 has now received Royal Assent. I saw that this is not an issue that is unique to this country. It is currently under review in the U...
Unemployment Rate at 8%
Posted on May 08, 2009The April 2009 Labour Force Survey is out and it's like watching a train wreck - you know it's coming but you can't turn away. According to the Survey: Employment grew by 36,000 in April, the result of an increase in self-employment. Despite this increase, overall employment has fallen by...
Don't Forget About Issue Estoppel
Posted on May 08, 2009Today employees sometimes seek redress of their employment claims in many different forums at the same time - the courts, before administrative agencies such as under human rights legislation, and at arbitration. This has generated much discussion about the risks of fighting employment claims on many fronts...
Hiring in the Midst of a Recession
Posted on May 07, 2009Some weeks ago, I had a post about In the Midst of the Gloom and Doom.... A Good News Story. Workplace Prof Blog writes about recessionary hiring and a New York Times article Bright Spot in Downturn: New Hiring Is Robust: But not everyone knows the brighter side to the...
Upcoming Presentations
Posted on May 06, 2009The speaking schedule has been pretty busy of late. I spoke on May 4 with my partner Denise Bambrough at the Association of Certified Forensic Investigator's (?ACFI?) 11th Annual Fraud Conference on Your Right to Investigate. I will be speaking with my colleague Kate Zavitz on June 16 in London...
Temporary Help Workers Get Protection in Ontario
Posted on May 05, 2009The McGuinty government has passed the Employment Standards Amendment Act (Temporary Help Agencies), 2009 (note: this is the second reading version) that will come into effect in 6 months. The purpose of the Act is to: Making sure that they are not unfairly prevented from accessing permanent jobs when employers...
Liberals will "push hard" for a lower EI threshold
Posted on May 04, 2009Michael Ignatieff, the newly confirmed leader of the federal Liberal party, announced at a news conference that his party would, in the short term, "push hard for a temporary loosening of rules to provide EI benefits for anyone who has worked at least 360 hours in the previous year...
Employers aren't embracing social networks
Posted on May 03, 2009That's according to a recent survey (an online poll conducted in February 2009 with 709 respondents) conducted by Sophos. Among other findings, the survey revealed that "63 per cent of system administrators worry that employees share too much personal information via their social networking profiles, putting their corporate infrastructure -...
Another Day Another Blog Anniversary
Posted on May 02, 2009I just realized as I was writing that last entry that this blog had its 6th blog anniversary on May 1. It's hard to believe how quickly time passes when you're doing something that you enjoy. I still remember writing the first post and panicking as I hit the post...
CAW Members Ratify Chrysler Deal
Posted on April 27, 2009CAW members have, by a vote of 87%, agreed to ratify a restructuring agreement with Chrysler that will see them, among other things, pay into their own pensions. The United Auto Workers in the US reached a tentative deal with Chrysler on Sunday which is expected to be put to...
April 28 is National Day of Mourning
Posted on April 26, 2009In 1984 the Canadian Labour Congress established April 28 as the Day of Mourning for workers killed or injured on the job. In 1990, Parliament passed the Workers Mourning Day Act to formally recognize April 28 as a "day of mourning" across Canada. There is a brochure and list of...
Chrysler Reaches Deal With the CAW
Posted on April 25, 2009Chrysler and the CAW have broken with pattern bargaining and have struck a tentative deal "for deep worker concessions" to help the auto maker. The Globe reports (as do many others others) that: The Canadian Auto Workers union has surrendered years of hard-won gains to keep the operations of Chrysler...
Driving to Distraction? Not in Ontario
Posted on April 24, 2009On April 23 the Ontario legislature passed a bill (Bill 118) prohibiting anyone from "holding or using a hand-held wireless communication device or other prescribed device that is capable of receiving or transmitting telephone communications, electronic data, mail or text messages...
More on Governmental Pension Guarantees
Posted on April 18, 2009A few days ago I posted about the CAW's concerns about the Ontario government's announcement that they would not allow the Pension Benefits Guarantee Fund to operate at a deficit. Fast forward, and now the Montreal Gazette has an article Are our pensions safe? Union asks Ottawa for guarantee not...
Work is not good for continuing education
Posted on April 16, 2009A study to be released shortly by the Canadian Millennium Scholarship Foundation and discussed in Work increases risk of dropping out warns that: ..... balancing higher education and work is a tricky business, with every extra hour students spend on the job each week reducing the likelihood that they will...
Are you going to the pink slip party?
Posted on April 14, 2009What's a pink slip party you ask? The Globe has an article and there will be some live blogging from the event and an online discussion on Wednesday. Also, check out pinkslipparty.ca and pinkslipparty.com and find out more. There's even video from the CBC...
Airport Employee Security Checks
Posted on April 14, 2009Subject to human rights legislation and obtaining suitable consents, conducting pre-hire criminal background checks is common in Canada. However, according to a Globe and Mail article effective immediately, "baggage handlers, caterers and other airport workers will not merely undergo standard criminal background checks through CPIC, the Canadian Police Information Centre,...
Blawg Review #207 is Out
Posted on April 13, 2009My friend Jordan Furlong has posted the most recent installment of Blawg Review on his excellent Law21 blog. If your not familiar with Blawg Review, please check it out. Jordan reminds us that Blawg Review made its debut some 4 years ago, which seems like an eternity ago.
Adjournment of Arbitration when Criminal Case is Pending
Posted on April 12, 2009Where an employee is terminated or disciplined as a result of certain alleged conduct and criminal charges are pending and arise out of the same alleged conduct, the Union and the grievor will often be faced with a situation where they will be at arbitration on the discipline before the...
Is there a legal obligation to protect pensions?
Posted on April 10, 2009Yes, according to the Canadian Auto Workers union and they aren't at all impressed by the Ontario government's announcement that they would not allow the Pension Benefits Guarantee Fund to operate at a deficit. The Fund provides pensioners with up to $1,000 a month in the event a pension plan...
First Collective Agreement at Wal-Mart in St-Hyacinthe
Posted on April 09, 2009The New York Times, among others, reports that an arbitrator has arrived at a collective agreement that will apply to certain employees at a Wal-Mart store in St.-Hyacinthe. Opinions are mixed (see the Financial Post piece and the UFCW's Media Release).
Fortune's Top 100 Employers List
Posted on March 17, 2009Fortune Magazine has released it's 2009 List of the 100 Best Companies to Work For and some of them are hiring! Among the many interesting comments that caught my eye was: The tough economy took a toll on many corporations and these are no exception. Many told us about layoffs,...
Facebook and Employment Law
Posted on March 14, 2009I'm a little late to the party, but I heard the news this morning of a recent Ontario case in which it was held that the plaintiff who was in a car accident and sued falleging that "his enjoyment of life has been lessened and the accident caused limitations to...
Re-Qualification for Disability Benefits
Posted on March 13, 2009The Ontario Divisional Court recently held in the case of The Ottawa Hospital v. OPSEU Local 464 that a collective agreement provision: "... discriminates against a worker with a partial disability, at least to the following extent: a worker who has returned to work part-time after using the short term...
Ok, Back to Reality
Posted on March 13, 2009After a brief "good news story" we're back to reality. The February 2009 Labour Force Survey is out and it's, again, not pretty. January was awful and the February numbers show an increase in the unemployment rate rises to 7.7% on 82,000 job loses. The Globe also has an article...
In the Midst of the Gloom and Doom.... A Good News Story
Posted on March 12, 2009With all the talk of bailouts, concessions, layoffs and cuts it's not surprising that people are in turmoil and questioning their own security. However, in the midst of all that, comes a story that Waterloo's own Research in Motion ("RIM") is bucking the trend and hiring...
Obesity and Work
Posted on February 23, 2009The February 2009 issue of Perspectives on Labour and Income has an interesting article on Obesity on the Job. The prevalence of obesity in the Canadian workforce has increased over the last decade, from 12.5% in the mid-1990s to 15.7% in 2005. The article notes that:More specifically, the implication is...
Provincial or federal - that is the question
Posted on February 22, 2009The Supreme Court of Canada has reserved on whether a freight forwarder was provincially or federally regulated for purposes of labour relations. While we wait for the Court to pronounce on this important constitutional issue, have a read of the Court of Appeal judgment.
Family Day Hockey Fun
Posted on February 21, 2009I rarely post personal stuff on this blog, but thought I'd make an exception (albeit a little delayed). Family Day was especially fun for us this year as my youngest son played on a Select team that was put together to play in a tournament on Family Day...
Violence in Healthcare Online Survey
Posted on February 15, 2009The Occupational Health & Safety Agency for Healthcare in British Columbia has an online Violence in Healthcare Survey that will assist the Provincial Violence Steering Committee.
Vicarious Liability in Franchise Operations
Posted on February 12, 2009An interesting non-employment case recently came to my attention that has some important employment law implications. The central issue in dispute was whether a franchisor was vicariously liable for the actions of one of its franchisees. The action was commenced in Small Claims Court where the Judge concluded that the...
2009 a "Good" Year for Labour Relations?
Posted on February 07, 2009The Globe and Mail, citing a Conference Board of Canada report tells us that 2009 "will likely be a peaceful year for labour relations as unions and employers adjust their expectations in light of the deteriorating economy". Union membership in Canada is slightly less than 30% and, as job losses...
Massive Job Losses in January
Posted on February 06, 2009Although it was anticipated that there would be significant job losses in January, no one predicted that 129,000 people would lose their jobs in that month alone. This was the worst month in 3 decades pushing the unemployment rate to 7.2%. The job losses were 3 times more than predicted...
President Obama Announces Executive Pay Rules
Posted on February 05, 2009As part of the bailout package President Obama announced new rules that would:... set a $500,000 cap on cash compensation for the most senior executives, curtail severance pay when top executives left a company, restrict cashing in on stock incentives until government assistance was repaid and prod corporate boards to...
There never was a good war, or a bad peace
Posted on February 03, 2009I wish I could take credit for those words but they those of Benjamin Franklin in a letter to Sir Joseph Banks from 1783. I wonder how true those words are when applied to the recent York University and Ottawa transit strikes. The one ended with back to work legislation...
Economic Downturn + Layoffs = More Lawsuits
Posted on February 01, 2009The New York Times reports that employment litigation will likely increase in the current downturn: People take legal action out of desperation as it becomes more difficult to find new employment, said Lawrence Z. Lorber, an employment lawyer at Proskauer Rose in Washington...
Busy Day in Canada on the "Back to Work Legislation" Front
Posted on January 29, 2009The Ottawa transit strike is in its 50th day and the Federal Minister of Labour has now indicated that she is prepared to legislate an end to the conflict. The debate begins today and the passage of the legislation will require opposition support. Meanwhile, back in Ontario, the Liberal's back-to-work...
"Blue Pencil" and Restrictive Covenants
Posted on January 23, 2009The Supreme Court of Canada has released its much anticipated Shafron v. KRG Insurance Brokers (Western) Inc. (a Digest of the case can be found here). The case dealt with restrictive covenants and the circumstances in which a court may "fix" an ambiguous covenant (in this case, the geographic scope)...
Social Networking and Work - Expectations Are High
Posted on January 22, 2009Thanks to Xpert HR for their post Social networking at work: a right, not a privilege?. The report they reference (Graduates Don't Just Want to Use Social Networking in the Work Place They Expect It) will be an eye-opener for many employers but simply confirms what seems fairly self-evident if...
Government Sends in Mediator to Assist in York Strike
Posted on January 22, 2009The Globe and National Post report that Premier McGuinty has sent in a mediator "to bang some heads" in the York University strike following the rejection of the University's proposed collective agreement. The Premier has not, at this point, given in to opposition presure to pass legislation that would end...
Now What? York University TAs and Contract Faculty Reject Offer
Posted on January 21, 2009The Globe and Mail article begins: "Striking teaching assistants and contract faculty at York University have voted to reject a three-year deal, leaving in limbo the fate of 50,000 students who have been out of class for more than two months." The Union recommended that its members reject the deal...
Wal-Mart at the Supreme Court of Canada
Posted on January 21, 2009The Supreme Court of Canada hears arguments today on the legality of Wal-Mart's decision to shut down a Quebec store (Plourde and Desbiens). Stay tuned.
Privacy Rights in Ontario?
Posted on January 13, 2009There is an interesting and ongoing debate about whether employees, in Ontario, have a "right to privacy" at common law. In a recent decision, the arbitrator considered whether an employer was entitled to institute a biometric clock and, ultimately dismissed the grievance...
Secember 2008 Labour Force Survey is Out
Posted on January 10, 2009The December 2008 Labour Force Survey is pretty "gloomy" and shows that "employment declined for the second consecutive month in December (-34,000), the result of a large drop in full-time work. With the decline in employment came a 0.3 percentage point increase in the unemployment rate, which hit 6...
New Information in the Maternal Profiling Debate
Posted on January 09, 2009The Delaware Employment Law Blog has a post reviewing some of the recent developments in the area of "maternal profiling". This was discussed on this blog a couple of times (here and here).
Religious, Philanthropic Exemption under the Ontario Human Rights Code
Posted on January 08, 2009An important human rights case is winding its way through the Ontario courts. The case relates to an appeal to the Divisional Court of the Tribunal's decision in Heintz v. Christian Horizons where the Tribunal considered, among other things, whether section 24(1) of the Ontario Human Rights Code applied to...
2008 Clawbie Awards Announced
Posted on January 01, 2009I was honoured to have had this blog recognized as a finalist in the 2008 Canadian Law Blog Awards (the "Clawbies") Best Practitioner Support Blog category won by Canadian Trademark Blog. Other finalists in this category were All About Information (by Dan Michaluk) and Human Rights in the Workplace (by...
Dealing Directly with Employees During Bargaining and Final Offer Votes
Posted on December 28, 2008There are many cases that discuss the difficulties and issues associated with an employer communicating directly with unionized employees during collective bargaining. The rules have as their cornerstone the fact that, upon certification, the union becomes the exclusive bargaining agent of employees...
Happy Holidays!
Posted on December 25, 2008I wish you all a happy, restful and safe holiday!I look forward to another year of blogging (just not for the next couple of weeks) and thank you for your readership. This year promises to be very interesting.
Manadatory Retirement Cases are Still Relevant (Sometimes)
Posted on December 24, 2008Two recent decisions dealing with mandatory retirement policies reveal that the issue is still relevant despite amendments to human rights legislation in most (if not all) provinces to remove the "cap" of 65 years from the definition of "age".The first case is Esprey v...
Reasonable Notice and Bad Faith the Court of Appeal Wades In
Posted on December 21, 2008The Ontario Court of Appeal in McNevan v. AmeriCredit Corp. overturned a trial judgment that, among other things, awarded an employee a 6 month notice period plus a "Wallace" extension of 6 months. This is an important case as it follows the approach taken by the Supreme Court of Canada...
Safety Blitz Through November in Ontario
Posted on October 29, 2008If you operate an industrial establishment in Ontario, then take note of the Minister of Labour's announcement that inspectors will be conducting "blitzes" on your business through the month of November to "help eliminate specific electrical hazards that could lead to injuries or fatalities"...
Consultation on Covert Video Surveillance
Posted on October 20, 2008Thanks to David Fraser for his post on OPCC begins consultation on covert surveillance guidance advising that the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada is seeking input on some draft guidelines that are posted on its website dealing with covert video surveillance...
The Vanishing Trial
Posted on October 13, 2008The Lawyers Weekly has an article on Vanishing Trials: Out of court settlements on the rise. According to the article:Figures out of the U.S. indicate that 98.2 percent of civil matters are settled before trial, she noted, and in Ontario the rate is almost as high, approximately 95 to 96...
Do Arbitrators have exclusive jurisdiction to hear human rights complaints?
Posted on September 25, 2008That would have been the issue considered by the Supreme Court of Canada had they not denied leave to appeal in Halifax Regional Municipality v. Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission.The issue was succinctly summarized by the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal: is a unionized city employee under a Collective Agreement...
Employment Contracts
Posted on September 22, 2008Tonight at my employment law class at Woodsworth College, University of Toronto, I'll be speaking on the topic of employment contracts. I saw, thanks to John Phillips at The Employment Law Post a post at Execupundit called We Shook Hands on It and the following resonated with me as I...
Cellular Phones and Driving the Medical Community Wades In
Posted on September 17, 2008The Canadian Press reports that Ontario doctors warn driving and cellphone use a dangerous mix. The Ontario Medical Association has published a substantive paper entitled Cellular Phone Use and Driving: A Dangerous Combination in support of their recommendations...
New Labour and Employment Blog
Posted on September 16, 2008Welcome to Employment and Labour Law Student Society Blog. The about page explains a bit about the blog and who is behind it. I think this is a great initiative and will look forward following the blog with interest over the course of this academic year.
The Price of Social Networking
Posted on September 15, 2008Do employers check social networking sites before hiring? PC World reports what we all suspected .... Employers Admit Checking Facebook Before Hiring. Your kidding? Really? According to a Globe and Mail article entitled Faceless no more: Social networking comes with a price: "Canadians are embracing social media sites at a...
Proper Procedure for Dealing with Remedial Issues
Posted on September 13, 2008The Ontario Divisional Court recently sent a strong message to the Human Rights Tribunal (and other administrative tribunals) when it allowed the employer's appeal of the Tribunal's decision in this case. In passing, the Court was surprised about the lack of "record" of the evidence before the Tribunal (specifically, the...
CAW gets a new leader and parting words from Buzz Hargrove
Posted on September 07, 2008The Financial Post reports on the hand-off of the leadership of the CAW from Buzz Hargrove to Ken Lewenza.
OBA Seeks Input on Wrongful Dismissals
Posted on September 04, 2008The Ontario Bar Association has struck a Task Force on Wrongful Dismissal Litigation in response to concerns raised by Ontario?s Chief Justice Warren Winkler (one of Canada's leading labour and employment lawyers before going to the bench) about whether the current litigation system is ensuring access to justice in these...
A New Labour (actually Labor) and Employment Blog
Posted on August 31, 2008Those who follow this blog have read a number of posts mentioning Michael Maslanska who is the managing partner of the Dallas office of Ford & Harrison, a leading US labor and employment law boutique with offices across the country. Well, Mike has recently started a blog called Work Matters...
Confidentiality of Arbitration Awards in the U.S.
Posted on August 29, 2008My friend Michael Fox at Jottings by and Employers Lawyer discusses how arbitration "awards get published (and don't) and where to find them". This is, of course, a U.S. focused article. He points to Publication and Confidentiality of Labor and Employment Arbitration Awards Looking for an Arbitration Award? Here's the...
Enforceability of Non-Competition Provisions
Posted on August 19, 2008Two insurance salesman entered into employment agreements that contained a restrictive covenant stipulating that for two years after the termination of employment, they were not to ?conduct business with any clients or customers of [their employer] that were handled or serviced by you at the date of your termination?...
"I want it all" - a comment on the world of privacy
Posted on August 18, 2008Robert Fulford over at the National Post has written an article called the private lives of exhibitionists in which he lays out his take on the privacy culture in which we live. He leads off with: "We live in the most privacy-obsessed era in history. Yet our belief in the...
Beware the missed lunch period
Posted on August 17, 2008Canadian employers would be wise to have a read of Lunch Time Can Be Work Time: Employers Beware! at Wage & Hour - Development & Highlights. The post provides a warning to employers on the importance of exercising vigilance in ensuring that employees actually take their meal breaks and not...
Arbitrator imposes labour agreement on Gatineau, Quebec Wal-Mart unit
Posted on August 16, 2008The Financial Post reports that an arbitrator has decided on the collective agreement that will apply to the employees in Walmart's Tire and Lube Express unit at its Gatineau location. According to the article this is the "retailer's only location in North America with a collective agreement in place...
Wal-Mart Cases Will be Heard by the SCC
Posted on August 10, 2008As I catch up on the labour and employment events that took place while I was away, I saw that the Supreme Court of Canada granted leave to appeal in two important decisions Plourde c. Compagnie Wal-Mart du Canada inc. and Johanne Desbiens, et autres c...
Supreme Court revisits undue hardship
Posted on July 22, 2008My partner Rob Weir and I just published a Legal Alert on the Supreme Court of Canada's decision in Hydro Quebec. The Court has been very busy of late on the labour and employment law front.
Congratulations to Mike Fox at Jottings by an Employer's Lawyer
Posted on July 17, 2008This is very big news in the world of labour and employment law blogs. Michael Fox has maintained his blog (Jottings by and Employer's Lawyer) for 6 years! For those who stop by here and do not have a blog of their own, I have to tell you that to...
Is there a hidden side to maternity leave (in the UK and elsewhere)?
Posted on July 15, 2008The Times Online has an article that discusses some of the hidden issues associated with maternity leave under UK legislation. The article, Paid maternity leave does us no favours either, say fathers, starts off with the following: A benefit that enriches family life or a burden that sabotages women?s careers?...
Is the Criminalization of Cyberbullying the Answer?
Posted on July 15, 2008I don't honestly know what the answer is to this serious problem, or whether there even is one, but, like most people, I'm disgusted and concerned by cyber-bullying (and bullying in any form) whether in or outside of schools. I've written about this previously...
HR (Finally) Gets a Seat at the Table? Apparently, Not
Posted on July 08, 2008Another in a long line of articles on the disconnect between HR and the business comes to us from Management Issues: While, CFOs and CTOs are forging new working relationships and creating business cases for processes, programmes and technologies that track financial outcomes, HR as a whole is, by and...
CAW Election Heats Up
Posted on July 07, 2008The Globe and Mail has an article about the CAW election that will result by reason of Buzz Hargrove's decision to retire as CAW president. Apparently, this is the "first contested presidential election since the union was established by splitting off from the United Auto Workers in 1985...
The Psychology of Change
Posted on July 07, 2008The Connecticut Employment Law Blog has a nice post discussing "Fairness" May Dictate Workers Views and Outlooks (And Maybe Whether They Sue) and an article in the Washington Post. On of the authors of the study, Michael Leiter, an organizational psychologist at Acadia University in Nova Scotia said: "The people...
Unpacking Keays v. Honda - Part III
Posted on July 02, 2008This post deals with those aspects of the Keays case that deal with so-called Wallace damages. Thought I have dealt with Wallace damages numerous times on this blog and elsewhere, following the Keays case those comments should be taken with a grain of salt...
Follow Your Favourite Labour and Employment Blogs - It's Easy
Posted on July 01, 2008How do you follow your favourite labour and employment blogs? Many people use RSS readers of one sort or another. But following your favourite law blogs just got a whole lot easier now that LexMonitor has come on the scene. The editors say that they "want to make content from...
Unpacking Keays v. Honda - Part II
Posted on June 30, 2008The unprecedented award on account of punitive damages is what the Keays case is most known for. That's what I'll now discuss. It will be recalled that the trial judge determined that Mr. Keays was entitled to $500,000 in punitive damages following his conclusion that the employer had failed in...
Unpacking Keays v. Honda Canada - Part I
Posted on June 28, 2008At a practical level, what does the Supreme Court of Canada's decision in Keays v. Honda Canada mean? Well, it's early days, but I will write a few posts on this and consider the following areas that come out of the case and my own thinking on the issues: What...
Setting the Stage for the Keays v. Honda Case
Posted on June 27, 2008As I mentioned the Supreme Court of Canada will release its decision in Keays v. Honda this morning. There's an article in today's Ottawa Citizen that lays out some of the issues. Clearly, the most watched is what the Court will do with the immence punitive damages award ($100,000 at...
Too Busy to Take Vacation? Survey Says... $6.3 billion to employers
Posted on June 26, 2008The Financial Post's article Too Busy to Take a Vacation describes our "relentless trend" to leave unused vacation time on the table with the effect of "putting $6.3 billion back into the hands of employers, or 41 million discarded vacation days nationwide, according to a study by Ipsos-Reid and Expedia...
Stay Tuned - Keays v. Honda decision to be released on Friday
Posted on June 25, 2008The Supreme Court of Canada will release its decision in Keays v. Honda Canada on June 27. The FP Legal Post reports Bad omen for employers: Bastarache authors Honda v. Keays.
Where Have all the One Day Cases Gone? Part II
Posted on June 25, 2008My earlier post on this topic has generated some discussion (which is great) and I have received a number of email, including from some arbitrators who have also given this subject considerable thought. Norm Jesin, an experienced arbitrator and vice-chair at the Ontario Labour Relations emailed me and gave me...
Where Have all the One Day Cases Gone?
Posted on June 21, 2008The other day I was asked by a client (I will paraphrase the question) "where have all the one day cases gone?" In other words, why can't (most) arbitration cases be completed in one day? It's a great question. When I was just starting my undergraduate degree in Industrial Relations...
Law21 - A Really Great Blog
Posted on June 19, 2008Posting has been very light of late, but I have been following other people's blogs with my usual interest. Jordan Furlong, who I have known for a long time, is the Editor of the Canadian Bar Association's National Magazine and writes the superb Law21 blog...
Mergers and Acquisitions - Advice for the "Acquired"
Posted on June 12, 2008Marshall Goldsmith has written an excellent book called What Got You Here Won't Get You There which I commend to you and writes a blog called Ask the Coach. He has a great post dealing with the often emotional reactions and struggles of the "acquired" (as in "you're company has...
Employment Agencies in Ontario Take Note
Posted on June 11, 2008If you operate an employment agency in Ontario you will want to take note of the government's Consultation Paper on Work Through Temporary Agencies. According to the Consultation Paper: The Ministry of Labour has become aware that certain practices of some temporary agencies may be negatively impacting Ontario workers employed...
Hiring Issues and Human Rights in Quebec
Posted on June 09, 2008A majority of the Quebec Court of Appeal agreed (the decision is in French, as you will see) with a lower court when it upheld the decision of a labour arbitrator ordering a school board to reinstate a teacher who had been terminated when his criminal record came to light...
Dismissal of $10 Million Lawsuit Upheld on Appeal
Posted on June 07, 2008The Ontario Court of Appeal recently upheld the dismissal by a jury of a $10 million action brought by a former employee against her employer and the police officer who was involved. The claim alleged malicious prosecution, wrongful dismissal, intentional infliction of mental distress and defamation...
Heat Stress Resources
Posted on June 06, 2008It was 31 degress celsius (close to 90 degress fahrenheit) today in Toronto so the Ontario Ministry of Labour's release of a number of resources about heat stress is timely: Heat Stress - A Seasonal Hazard Heat Stress - Health and Safety Guideline Heat Stress Backgrounder
Termination Gone Bad
Posted on June 05, 2008We all know that terminating an employee is emotional and unpredictable. We hear the horror stories, but those happen to other people, right? My friend Rob Hyndman referred me to this video. What can I say? Trying to pull something positive out of this, I guess it reinforces the need...
Emotional Impact of Being Laid Off
Posted on May 30, 2008The New York Times has an article aptly entitled Wall Street Exodus: Fear, Panic and Anger that discusses the psychological and emotional impact of being terminated. It's an interesting article written in the context of downsizings in the financial sector (Wall Street in this case)...
Not a Labour Post - Unless By Labour We Mean Hard Work
Posted on May 25, 2008Anyone who knows me will know that I am a space flight and astronomy nut. I just spent the past hour and a half riveted to NASA TV with my oldest son as the Phoenix Mars Lander made its way towards Mars and to a successful landing pretty much right...
Production of Documents at the Human Rights Tribunal
Posted on May 22, 2008Without delving too deeply into this, after reading the recent decision of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario in Henry v. Faurecia Automotive Seating Canada Ltd. (May 13, 2008, HRTO) I began considering the issue of requests for production of documents by responding parties to human rights complaints...
Dealing with Performance Problems
Posted on May 19, 2008The weather on this long weekend has been awful and I've spent more time at the computer than I expected or wanted to. So, when I saw a post in my newsreader from Morning Manager a Globe and Mail blog that I really enjoy called Management: Dealing with problem employees...
Bullying and Cyber-Bullying - Not Just in Schools
Posted on May 16, 2008Bullying, in any form and anywhere, is, frankly, cowardly and disgusting. Almost daily we hear about the effects of being "bullied" and with the Internet we now have cyber-bullying under the guise of anonymity. We may believe that bullying and cyber-bullying are somehow confined to a school setting because that's...
Hyperconnectivity and the Workplace
Posted on May 15, 2008In case you missed it, we live in a hyperconnected world. The workplace is certainly not insulated from this according to this Globe and Mail article that discusses a white paper called The Hyperconnected: Here They Come!: Although the greatest numbers are found in the ?increasingly connected? group at 36...
Restructuring Survivors - the Oft Forgotten Group
Posted on May 14, 2008Here's a topic that I've done quite a bit of research and thinking on (I have a file folder full of material for a paper that I have yet to write - I have many such folders). I saw a post over at Management-Issues entitled Don't Forget the Redundancy Survivors...
Maternal Profiling on Mother's Day
Posted on May 11, 2008On this mothers day, I saw a post over at Delaware Employment Law Blog that made me do a double-take. It deals with maternal profiling, a topic that I wrote about a few months ago. The part of the post that made me flinch was where it was observed that...
Court Throws a Wrench into the Mix
Posted on May 09, 2008Every so often a case comes out that is difficult to get your head around. The recent Court of Appeal case in Wronko v. Western Inventory Services Limited is such a case (to me at least). It might be because the Court chose to use terms that have, heretofore, not...
Victoria Day is a Public Holiday
Posted on May 08, 2008The Ontario Ministry of Labour reminds us that Victoria Day is one of 9 public holidays recognized under the Employment Standards Act, 2000. As always, check your jurisdiction on this.
Mitigation in Employment Law
Posted on May 07, 2008We know that a terminated employee has an obligation to mitigate his or her damages by making reasonable efforts to find other work. But what about an employee who is dismissed, without cause, and subsequently offered his or her old position for a temporary (or even permanent) period? Must the...
Blog Anniversary - Where has the time gone?
Posted on May 06, 2008While I was away this blog celebrated its 5th year anniversary. Who would have thought it? I have no idea where the time has gone, but I do recall agonizing over my first post all those years ago and wondering "ok, so if I hit the "post" button, what does...
Back from Vacation and Refreshed!
Posted on May 06, 2008At the risk of boring everyone who visits this blog, here's a vacation post. We returned to Toronto on the weekend from a tremendous vacation in San Francisco, Sonoma and Carmel. We squeezed everything we could out of this vacation. Here's the view from our room in Carmel-by-the sea...
Blawg Review #157
Posted on April 25, 2008It's a pleasure to be hosting this edition of Blawg Review in recognition of this important date on the Canadian calendar, the National Day of Mourning which commemorates those workers whose lives have been lost or who have been injured in the workplace...
Hosting Next Blawg Review
Posted on April 22, 2008I will be hosting the next Blawg Review - as I rush frantically to go out on vacation. The powers that be tell me that if you have any posts that you'd like considered, please go over to these guidelines for an explanation of the process and how to do...
Workers are Prepared to Hand Over their Passwords for Candy
Posted on April 20, 2008There's a stunning little article in Scientific American aptly titled Trick and treat: Workers divulge computer passwords for the promise of candy. According to the article, 21 percent of subway riders at "London's Liverpool Street Station were prepared to reveal their computer passwords in return for a chocolate bar...
Testing - Sorry, Using "Instruments" - in Hiring
Posted on April 05, 2008The New York Times has an article called Dilbert the Inquisitor that reviews the increasing tendency among employers to use "instruments" (aka testing) in the hiring process. There's also an article in the Globe and Mail (Fit the person to the job) The use of these tests could raise human...
Court of Appeal Clarifies Wallace Damages
Posted on April 01, 2008The Ontario Court of Appeal in Mulvihill v. City of Ottawa significantly scaled back and clarified those circumstances in which so called Wallace damages for bad faith discharge will be awarded. This is a welcome decision for employers and, though I am not optimistic, will hopefully curb the tied of...
Dealing with Difficult Employees
Posted on March 29, 2008I read a post this morning at Chief Happiness Officer on Dealing with Unpopular Employees. I'm not sure I would of used "unpopular", because work is not about popularity, but I think the point is that if you've got an employee who is causing problems or acting in a way...
More Resources on Breastfeeding and Work
Posted on March 25, 2008I have previously posted that NY Passes a Law Permitting Breastfeeding at Work. Andrew Scott-Howman writes today on his excellent blog that Breastfeeding at work: it?s all good and refers to the introduction by the New Zealand government of legislation aimed at "vulnerable workers and breastfeeding mothers"...
The Big Brother Debate Continues
Posted on March 24, 2008The Globe and Mail has an article called Smile, Big Brother is Watching. This debate will rage on an on with no winners. While people on each side will entrench at the extremes, maybe it's a question of spending more time at the implementation and communication stage...
Quebec Company Sentenced in Health and Safety Case
Posted on March 18, 2008In what has been variously described as a first and a precedent, a judge has ordered a Quebec company to pay $110,000 in fines for a criminal negligence case involving the death of a worker. The National Post article reports that this was in line with a joint recommendation submitted...
Another Excellent Blog Has Arrived
Posted on March 13, 2008I'm somewhat late to the party, but have been following my friend Jordan Furlong's fantastic blog, Law21, Dispatches from a legal profession on the brink, from its inception. Jordan is the Editor-in-Chief of National magazine at the Canadian Bar Association and a prolific and thought provoking writer...
Guidelines on Developing Human Rights Policies and Procedures
Posted on March 13, 2008The Ontario Human Rights Commission today released Guidelines on Developing Human Rights Policies and Procedures (previously called Developing Procedures to Resolve Human Rights Complaints within Your Organization). The Guidelines are designed to provide "practical guidance to organizations in developing effective and fair policies, procedures and practices to prevent human rights...
Ergonomic Issues Continue to Get Attention
Posted on March 01, 2008The Ontario Ministry of Labour has published some information on preventing ergonomic injuries including a couple of backgrounders (Muskoskeletal Disorder (MSD) Prevention Toolbox and Workplace Ergonomics-Related Injuries). According to the press release: These types of injuries are a significant workplace health and safety issue...
Workplace Bullying Website Launched by CUPE
Posted on February 29, 2008Just saw that CUPE announced the launch of a Stop Workplace Bullying Website by CUPE BC. Read this wonderful CBC story about how two high school students took matters into their own hands and "rallied around a younger student after he was bullied for wearing a pink polo shirt...
Updated Ontario Employment Standards Information
Posted on February 28, 2008The Ontario Ministry of Labour has released some new employment standards information and a new poster on the Employment Standards Act, 2000. This includes information about: Minimum wage Reservist leave Declared emergency leave Family Day family medical leave Here's information on the new poster requirements.
Pay Equity Case In the News
Posted on February 22, 2008The Federal Court of Canada has overturned a decision of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal in which the Tribunal awarded significant damages in a 1983 (yes you read that correctly) complaint of "wage discrimination" (the Federal Court's words). The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), the union representing the female...
Ontario Human Rights Tribunal Rules
Posted on February 16, 2008The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal has released its Rules of Practice that are effective from January 31, 2008 until January 1, 2009 when the Commission will no longer have the statutory authority to refer complaints to the Tribunal. Draft Rules have been published to deal with applications filed directly with...
Supreme Court of Canada to Hear Keays v. Honda Canada Inc.
Posted on February 15, 2008February 20, 2008 is the date that the Supreme Court of Canada has set aside to hear the appeal in Keays v. Honda Canada Inc.. 2008 promises to be another exciting year in the world of labour and employment law and this much anticipated appeal will get the ball rolling.
Open Access Requirement at Harvard
Posted on February 13, 2008This issue first came to my attention at Richard Florida and the Creative Class Exchange and a New York Times article. Today Michael Geist reports that Harvard Faculty Adopts Open Access Requirement. Professor Florida notes "like it or not, I am confident this is where the future of scholarship is...
Valentines Day and the Office Romance
Posted on February 12, 2008I'm definitely not taking this opportunity to post about the "office romance". I am suggesting that you read the interesting take over at Workplace Management on what they describe as a "blown-out-of-proportion workplace issue". They go on to rhetorically ask the following: "What is it about this commercial candy-and-card holiday...
Computers and Workplace Injuries
Posted on February 12, 2008OHS Canada reports that Computers are changing the makeup of Manitoba workplace injuries. According to Manitoba's Workers Compensation Board President the 8 percent increase in "sprains and strains of muscles and joints" over a six year period is "due to so many people using computers in the workplace".
Another Pension Case Headed for the Supreme Court
Posted on February 10, 2008The Supreme Court of Canada has granted leave to appeal in the Elaine Nolan, George Phillips, Elisabeth Ruccia, Paul Carter, R.A. Varney and Bill Fitz, being members of the DCA Employees Pension Committee representing certain of the members and former members of the Pension Plan for the Employees of Kerry...
Hockey Day in Canada
Posted on February 09, 2008Saturday, February 9 was Hockey Day in Canada and what a wonderful day it was. Click on some of the videos to get a flavour of the day. It began for me at about 5:30 am, as it did, I'm sure, for many parents, getting my son up and dressed...
Do Retention Bonuses Really Work?
Posted on February 07, 2008This is the subject of a timely post over at Pennsylvania Employment Law Blog. Retention bonuses are often the "weapon" of choice In corporate acquisitions where their purpose is to ensure that those identified key people, usually, though not always, senior management, are around through some prescribed "period of transition"...
Human Rights and Hockey in the News
Posted on January 31, 2008Though not a labour or employment case, it's tough this time of year, to pass up a human rights and hockey story. I draw your attention to The Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association Inc. v. Pasternak et al where the Court upheld an adjudicator's decision that, in the circumstances, two...
Customer Preference and Human Rights
Posted on January 28, 2008Customer preferences issues are sometimes raised in human rights cases and this is what took place in the recent case. The complainant alleged discrimination on the basis of disability (including perceived disability), association and marital status. Specifically, she claimed that she was discharged because her boyfriend was HIV positive...
Workplace Bullying and Harassment
Posted on January 25, 2008My colleague Naomi Calla and I presented a BLG labour and employment group Breakfast seminar this week on Bullying and Harassment in the Workplace. My article on Workplace Bullying and Harassment appears in the Canadian Bar Association's National Magazine Addendum that came out today...
More on Prohibiting Union Related Email Messages in the U.S.
Posted on January 21, 2008A few weeks ago I posted about how the National Labor Relations Board in a recent decision restricted the use of email to send union-related messages from company computers. There's a post (NLRB: employers can prohibit union-related email) at over at HR Cafe that frames the more recent discussion...
Another Blog Find - All About Information
Posted on January 20, 2008I discovered some time ago a blog by Dan Michaluk called All About Information that you should definitely check out. Dan is at a labour boutique here in the city and his posts, about privacy, not surprisingly, often touch on employment and labour issues...
Guns and the Workplace in Georgia
Posted on January 20, 2008Some years ago I wrote about Guns at Work and today I saw a post over at Xpert HR noting that the legislators in Georgia have, according to the referenced article, "passed a narrow bill Thursday that allows some Georgians to carry their guns to work, but gives property owners...
Employee Privacy and Background Checks
Posted on January 13, 2008Human Resources 101 reports that the Alberta Privacy Commissioner Rules on Reference Check. The complaint in In order P2006-006 and P2006-007 was as follows: The Complainant complained to the Commissioner that a former employer had disclosed her personal information to a prospective employer in contravention of the Personal Information Protection...
Photo of Boss Asleep at Desk Went Too Far
Posted on January 12, 2008The Globe and Mail reports that the Photo of boss asleep at desk went too far according to a decision from the Public Service Staff Relations Board.
Accommodating Mental Disabilities
Posted on January 05, 2008Accommodating disabilities is one of the most difficult issues facing human resources practitioners. Within that broader category is the subset of accommodating mental disabilities. This is a minefield and anyone who says that it's not is kidding themselves...
Maternal Profiling - a Buzzword with a Serious Meaning
Posted on January 04, 2008The New York Times article All We Are Saying listed a number of buzzwords that came into the lexicon in 2007. Among these was maternal profiling which the Times defined as: Employment discrimination against a woman who has, or will have, children. The term has been popularized by members of...
Congratulations to Professor Paul Secunda
Posted on January 03, 2008Congratulations to Professor Paul Secunda one of the driving forces behind Workplace Prof Blog and someone that is familiar to those who read this blog. Adjunct Prof Blog and Workplace Prof Blog have announced that Paul "has just accepted a teaching offer from Marquette University Law School" where he will...
Happy Blog Anniversary to David Fraser's Canadian Privacy Law Blog
Posted on January 03, 2008I've been following his David Fraser's excellent Canadian Privacy Law Blog since day 1 which was 4 years ago yesterday. I had the great pleasure of meeting David during one of his visits to Toronto and getting to know him over the years. As you'll discover from even a quick...
Happy New Year to All!
Posted on January 01, 2008Happy New Year to all those who stop by this blog! Our New Year's celebration took us to Bronte Creek Provincial Park where we did a ton of skating, went on the Coyote Howl hike and counted down the New Year at a very civilized 8:15 pm with hundreds of...
Casual Pot Use Ruling Up in Smoke
Posted on December 28, 2007I had posted about how an Alberta judge had found in Alberta (Human Rights and Citizenship Commission) v. Kellogg that "casual pot use" was a disability within the meaning of the Human Rights, Citizenship and Multiculturalism Act. Specifically, the chambers judge held that the employee had been the victim of...
National Labor Relations Board Restricts Union Use of E-mail
Posted on December 28, 2007The New York Times reports that the National Labor Relations Board has "ruled that employers have the right to prohibit workers from using the company?s e-mail system to send out union-related messages, a decision that could hamper communications between labor unions and their membership...
The Death of the Holiday Party?
Posted on December 10, 2007Is the company holiday party a thing of the past? There's been allot written about employer liability associated with holding a holiday party for employees. It makes you wonder whether it's really worth it. Sure, there are lots of positives, but there are also many risks...
Data Leaks and Criminal Offences - CEOs Beware
Posted on December 09, 2007A little off topic, but I saw an article at the Times Online (Call for CEOs to carry can for data leaks) and was intrigued. The gist of the article is that: MPs are considering changes to data protection laws that would make chief executives directly responsible for keeping the...
Is Workplace Pornography a Health and Safety Issue?
Posted on December 08, 2007Yes, according to a post on Andrew Scott-Howman's excellent Life at Work Blog (see Workplace porn: a health and safety issue?) in which Andrew discusses a recent New Zealand case: On the basis of the authority?s determination, there is little doubt that Williams was exposed to material that was inappropriate...
International Day of Disabled Persons
Posted on December 03, 2007December 3 is International Day of Disabled Persons. This year?s theme is based on the right of persons with disabilities to work on an equal basis with others and the International Labour Organization will be releasing a report by Dr. Arthur O'Reilly entitled The Right to Decent Work of Persons...
Is Death by Overwork Compensable?
Posted on November 30, 2007A court in Japan has ordered the government to pay compensation to a widow whose husband died from overwork (the Globe and Mail has a short article). According to a Reuters article: Overworking is a serious issue in Japan, where an average worker uses less than 50 percent of paid...
Passing of Former Chief Justice Antonio Lamer
Posted on November 25, 2007The Globe and Mail reports on the passing of Former Chief Justice Antonio Lamer at the age of 74. The Chief Justice was one of the youngest judges ever to sit on the Supreme Court when he was appointed at age 47 by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in 1969.
Suing Union Members for Crossing the Picket Line
Posted on November 24, 2007The Ontario Court of Justice was called upon in the test case of Birch v. Union of Taxation Employees, Local 70030 to consider whether the court should enforce the fines levied by the trade union against its members for breaching its constitution by crossing a picket line to work during...
Uniform Policies and Human Rights
Posted on November 22, 2007The Muslim woman who was suspended without pay from her job at Pearson Airport in Toronto for wearing a skirt longer than the one supplied has been returned to work in a temporary position pending review of the employer's uniform policy. The Toronto Star provides some background: In February, Muse...
First Group of Magna Workers Join CAW Under Framework of Fairness
Posted on November 16, 2007I'm a bit late to the party, but the CAW reports that "the more than 250 workers at Windsor Modules, a division of Magna, have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a first collective agreement negotiated by the Canadian Auto Workers union and to join the union under the Framework of...
CAW Framework for Fairness Agreement
Posted on November 14, 2007Michael Urminsky has a post over at his Canadian Labour Law blog providing some updated information on the CAW Magna Template Agreement Part 2.
Concurrent Jurisdiction in Human Rights Matters
Posted on November 08, 2007The Supreme Court of Canada dismissed a leave application with costs in the Calgary Health Region v. Alberta (Human Rights and Citizenship Commission) a case in which the Alberta Court of Appeal considered whether a labour arbitration board had exclusive jurisdiction to hear and determine allegations of discrimination and human...
Take Your Kids to Work and Health and Safety
Posted on November 07, 2007Today is "Take Your Kids to Work Day" and the Grade 9 students will be taking over many workplaces across the country. It's one thing to be touring around an office, its quite another to be tagging along in a more dangerous work environment. The Ontario Government has put out...
Assessing the Amount of General Damages
Posted on November 06, 2007For a variety of reasons, the subject of "general damages" will come up in the course of settlement discussion. The plaintiff, complainant or grievor will want to have the settlement or some of it allocated towards general damages to take advantage of certain tax relief associated with classifying the payment...
Detailed Termination Letters or Bare Bones?
Posted on November 05, 2007I was recently asked whether I believed in providing employees with detailed for cause termination letters. People will differ on this and, frankly, my approach has changed somewhat over the years. There was a time when I ascribed to a "bare bones" sort of letter...
It's a Small World After All...
Posted on November 03, 2007Yes, posting is light and I've been getting email asking if I was ok. The answer is "yes" just really, really busy. So, posting will be very light for the next month or so as I try to come up for air. Last week I received an email from New...
Thinking Outside the Box
Posted on October 21, 2007There's a new website (to me at least) called Thinking Outside the Box which dubs itself as being: ... for anyone who wants to support employment for persons with disabilities. It is for employers, job seekers, employees, and union representatives looking for information about making workplaces more accessible and inclusive...
Framework for Fairness Agreement
Posted on October 20, 2007There's been allot of discussion about the Framework for Fairness Agreement between the Canadian Auto Workers and Magna International Inc., a major automotive parts supplier and Canada's largest automotive employer. According to a CAW News Release: The agreement, called the Framework of Fairness, will allow Magna employees to participate in...
More on Overtime Claims
Posted on October 02, 2007George Lenard has a post Employers Beware: Costly Overtime Suits Big Trend and also refers to the Business Week article Wage Wars I mentioned in yesterday's post. A couple of notable quotes from the Business Week article: Because wage and hour laws have been so widely violated, undetonated legal mines...
Wage and Hour Claims - The Next Thing
Posted on October 01, 2007In case there was any doubt, Canadian employers should expect that they will be hearing allot more about hours of work an overtime claims. This type of claim has been booming in the U.S. as the Wall Street Journal Blog reports at The New New Thing: ?Wage and Hour? Litigation...
Labour Unrest in Alberta
Posted on September 23, 2007Despite having the lowest rate of unionization of any of the Canadian provinces, Alberta has been making labour news as the Globe reports with Hundreds march in Edmonton to protest labour laws. This, and the court challenges reported in this article to have been filed (or to be filed) are...
NY Passes a Law Permitting Breastfeeding at Work
Posted on September 13, 2007Thanks to Diane Pfadenhauer for her post New York Enacts New Law Protecting Rights of Nursing Mothers in the Workplace which was more recently picked up at Finally - NY Mothers Win Right to Breastfeed at Work. According to the New York Employment Law Blog, there are 39 states that...
Do you hate your job?
Posted on September 12, 2007If yes, you're not alone. Diane Pfadenhauer points out that a recent Gallup survey finds that 77% of Americans Hate Their Jobs. This was picked up by Jay Shepherd at Ept managers lead to gruntled employees where he discusses another poll: On the other hand, 90% of managers think they're...
Employment Booming for Older Workers
Posted on September 11, 2007Older workers, particularly women, experienced strong employment growth in August, bringing total gains for the 55 and over age group to 4.6% since the start of the year so says the September 7, 2007 issue of The Daily: "In August, almost all of the employment growth for adult men and...
The Debate Over Human Rights Reform Continues
Posted on September 11, 2007The Law Times has an article about Concerns continue over new human rights system launching next summer. There are many open questions raised by Bill 107. One of the most talked about is the impact of the "direct access" system that will take effect on June 30, 2008...
A New Human Rights Blog Discovery
Posted on September 10, 2007I just discovered a new blog called Human Rights in the Workplace by Donna Seale that I would commend you to. Donna is located in Manitoba and founded a consulting company providing "preventive legal advice, training and investigation services in the area of human rights law to public and private...
Expanded Student Health and Safety Program in Ontario
Posted on September 10, 2007Refreshed and energized after a short trip to beautiful Quebec City. photo credit © Nicolas Raymond The Ontario McGinty government has expanded the student health and safety program with a view to "building a culture of safety awareness and prevention in young people before they get to the workplace"...
A Recent Case and a Digression on Lawyering
Posted on July 28, 2007The Ontario Court of Appeal in Kitzman v. Babcock & Wilcox Canada Ltd. reversed a trial judgment as related to Wallace v. United Grain Growers Ltd. damages. In doing so, the Court of Appeal relied upon: The employee first claimed Wallace damages in his opening at trial and this claim...
Survey on Blog Firings
Posted on July 23, 2007Thanks to Rob Hyndman for pointing me to a recent Wired post reporting on a recent Proofpoint survey which concludes that "nearly ten percent of companies have fired an employee for violating corporate blogging or message board policies, and 19 percent have disciplined an employee for the same infractions"...
McGuinty Government Making Summer Jobs Safe For Young Workers
Posted on June 21, 2007The Ontario Liberal Government today announced that it is Making Summer Jobs Safe For Young Workers. According to the Press Release: "Statistics show that workplace injuries to new and young workers are four times more likely to occur during their first month of employment than at any other time," said...
The Refreshing Taste of Eating Crow
Posted on June 21, 2007Thanks to James Stribopoulos, Assistant Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School and Editor-in-Chief of The Court for his email advising of the post by Professor Judy Fudge called Eating Crow: The Emergence of a Charter Right for Workers and Unions to Engage in Collective Activities in which Professor Fudge discusses...
Labour force projections for Canada, 2006-2031
Posted on June 19, 2007Aging Workforce News tells us that Statistics Canada has released Labour Force Projections for Canada, 2006-2031. It's a very interesting read. Among other points: A low birth rate and aging of the population, which will accelerate in the years ahead, present many challenges for Canada...
The Role of HR in Innovation
Posted on June 18, 2007There's a superb post called The role of HR in innovation by Jeffrey Phillips at Innovate on Purpose blog that anyone in HR or business should check out. Thanks to the good folks over at Innovation Weblog for the pointer. HR is the "gatekeeper" to the organization as they, in...
Related Law Articles
Best Law Movies
Greatest Legal Movies selected by ABA Journal
Lawyer Jokes
Law Humor
Bextra Injury Risks
Bextra Increases Risk of Fatal Heart Attack
Bausch Lomb Renu Moistureloc Linked to Eye Infection Fusarium Keratiti
Contact Lens Solution Product Recall
Paxil Lawsuit
Paxil Claims, Lawsuits, and Injuries
Ladder Accident Injury Claims
Were you or a loved one injured in a ladder accident?
Related Law Questions
I was fired on June 3, 2002 in Massachusetts because I reported discriminatory behavior by the employer towards a particular nationality. In July I filed a discrimination/retaliation complaint against the employer with t
It seem sin your case that the fact you filed the complaint prior to being dissa...
Can driving accident be cause for termination?
If your state is an at-will state, the company can fire you for any reason or fo...
Must I refinance my house aftering taking full ownership after a divorce via a quit claim?
When financing there are at least two documents...the mortgage and the note. The...
What rights does a father have when a woman waits 13 years to tell a man he is a father & he missed out on the growing up of that child?
Actually, he has as much right as she to request a paternity test, plus he can f...
I signed myself out of a hospital because I thought the care was negligent. I am a nurse and know a great deal about medical care. I was in the hospital a year ago for less then 12 hours and they sent me a bill for over
If you can prove tha the care was negligen you need to get a lawyer and try to n...
#1 Online Legal Resource
On 08-28 at 21:13PM
Ten months later, Fed must reveal names of emergency lending recipients #FOIA
On 08-25 at 19:02PM
Squeaky Fromme, would-be Ford assassin and Manson devotee, released from prison
On 08-14 at 15:19PM
Likely unintended consequence of cash-for-clunkers stimulus is dampening of 2010 spending
On 08-14 at 14:34PM
Palm seeks to halt Palm Pre Android theme on copyright and trademark ground
On 08-12 at 17:30PM
Congressional investigation demonstrates Karl Rove lied about his active role in US attorney's firing
On 08-12 at 16:20PM
Family of New York City swine flu victim to sue city for failure to secure school #nyc #swineflu
On 08-12 at 12:59PM
Real Network's DVD copying software deemed to break DMCA's anti-circumvention provisions
On 08-12 at 12:57PM
Prepaid funeral operators indicted for $100 Million fraud
On 08-12 at 12:53PM
NY Jets join Cincinnati, Dallas, Green Bay, Houston & Seattle #NFL teams offering branded state lottery games
On 08-12 at 12:43PM
Are you the author of this blog? Adding USLaw.com to your Blogroll increases relevance. You qualify to display a USLaw Network badge.
Suggest changes to this blog's description or nominate another for inclusion. Register for updates.
I was fired on June 3, 2002 in Massachusetts because I reported discriminatory behavior by the employer towards a particular nationality. In July I filed a discrimination/retaliation complaint against the employer with t
It seem sin your case that the fact you filed the complaint prior to being dissa...
Can driving accident be cause for termination?
If your state is an at-will state, the company can fire you for any reason or fo...
Must I refinance my house aftering taking full ownership after a divorce via a quit claim?
When financing there are at least two documents...the mortgage and the note. The...
What rights does a father have when a woman waits 13 years to tell a man he is a father & he missed out on the growing up of that child?
Actually, he has as much right as she to request a paternity test, plus he can f...
I signed myself out of a hospital because I thought the care was negligent. I am a nurse and know a great deal about medical care. I was in the hospital a year ago for less then 12 hours and they sent me a bill for over
If you can prove tha the care was negligen you need to get a lawyer and try to n...
 |
|
Contact Us | About Us | Celebrity Law Blog |
Our Partners | Disclaimer
| Law Blog Directory
| Law Jobs
| Law Tweets
| GoDaddy Hosting
All original material © 1999-2009 by USLaw.com. |