Thoughts from a Management Lawyer: Labor & Employment Law

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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: 1.2/day

Last Entry: March 31, 2011 at 20:36:49

Hargrove Steps in as Interim Obudsman of NHLPA

Posted on February 28, 2009

"Say on Pay" Gains Some Ground in Canada

Posted on February 27, 2009

Posted on February 23, 2009
The 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...

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Provincial or federal - that is the question

Posted on February 22, 2009
The 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, 2009
I 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, 2009
The 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, 2009
An 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, 2009
The 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, 2009
Although 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, 2009
As 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, 2009
I 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, 2009
The 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, 2009
The 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, 2009
The 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, 2009
Thanks 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, 2009
The 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, 2009
The 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, 2009
The 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, 2009
There 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, 2009
The 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, 2009
The 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, 2009
An 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, 2009
I 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, 2008
There 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, 2008
I 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, 2008
Two 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, 2008
The 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, 2008
If 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, 2008
Thanks 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...

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