Labour & Employment

The Ontario Ministry of Labour has now issued a Code of Practice containing direction with respect to its expectations for the implementation of Bill 132, which amends the workplace harassment provisions of the Occupational Health & Safety Act (“OHSA”). However, a few remaining “grey ar…

As someone currently channelling Helen Mirren as a role model, the thought of age discrimination strikes a little too close to home. Kudos to the inimitable Dick Van Dyke for his plain speaking about this particular elephant in the room.

Unfortunately for employers, there is a fair bit new with notice periods and not in a welcome direction. While 24 months has typically been viewed as the upper end of reasonable notice periods, there have been a number of decisions recently which have challenged that assumption. In Markoulak…

With the advancement of technology, employers looking to cut overhead costs, and family and lifestyle accommodations growing, working from home is becoming more and more common. However, there are some considerations that must be explored before such practices are approved. Policies If emplo…

The Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act (“OHSA”) provides workers with a number of rights, including the right to refuse work that is “likely to endanger” the worker.[1] When a work refusal occurs there are a number of procedures outlined in the legislation that must be followed and, …

It has been six years since Bill 168 amended Ontario’s Occupational Health & Safety Act to require employers to take steps to prevent and to deal with bullying and harassment in the workplace. Since that time, we have come to realize that there were gaps – some would say flaws – in the …

In February 2015, the provincial government appointed two Special Advisors to lead and coordinate public consultations on how the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the “ESA”) and the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (the “LRA”) could be amended to better protect workers in the changing economy. The …

If not done properly, conducting a workplace investigation can be costly. This lesson was learned by the Royal Bank of Canada in Lau v. Royal Bank of Canada[1]. Mr. Lau was an account manager at one of RBC’s Vancouver branches. A customer of Mr. Lau’s filed a complaint about the manner in wh…

Traditionally, Canadian courts and arbitrators have upheld discipline against employees who have disobeyed company policies by using or possessing marijuana[1] on company premises. There has generally been no need for the employee to have engaged in dangerous conduct, so long as the employee…