Double Jeopardy Also Applies to Employee Discipline
I recently came across the Ontario decision of Garreton v. Complete Innovations Inc.[1] from earlier this year. While an interesting read for a number of employment reasons, it is a good reminder to employers that “double jeopardy” also applies to employee discipline. The relevant facts in t…
View the post titled Double Jeopardy Also Applies to Employee DisciplineRecent Case Highlights Importance of Severability Clauses in Employment Agreements
Most employers want simple, friendly hiring documents that are easy to understand and don’t look like they were drafted by lawyers. Trust me – I get it! To achieve this goal, employers sometimes want to remove important legal clauses from their offer letters or employment agreements. Most co…
View the post titled Recent Case Highlights Importance of Severability Clauses in Employment AgreementsA reminder: Employees Have Obligations, Too
You probably know that employers are required to accommodate a disability to the point of undue hardship. If you’ve ever been involved in a situation requiring accommodation, you probably also know that “undue hardship” is a very high standard. So it’s good to hear about arbitrators who also…
View the post titled A reminder: Employees Have Obligations, TooThe Duty To Accommodate Does Not Require an Employer to Turn Customers Away
A Store Manager for a leather company injured her wrist. Ultimately, the store terminated her position, prompting a human rights application to the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal. As part of this application, the employee argued that the accommodation process required: Prior to the full heari…
View the post titled The Duty To Accommodate Does Not Require an Employer to Turn Customers AwayAlberta Court of Appeal Upholds Termination of Employee for Cocaine Use That Resulted in Workplace Accident
As most employers know, the Ontario Human Rights Code (the “Code”) prohibits discrimination on the basis of, among other things, “disability”. While the Code’s definition of disability does not specifically include drug or alcohol addiction, the Ontario Court of Appeal confirmed over 16 year…
View the post titled Alberta Court of Appeal Upholds Termination of Employee for Cocaine Use That Resulted in Workplace AccidentCase Law Update: It’s Still Hard to Fire Employees For Cause
A number of our blog entries have discussed the challenges employers face in ending an employment relationship for cause, without having to provide notice beforehand (or pay in lieu of notice). Generally, employees must engage in serious misconduct before being subjected to what the Courts h…
View the post titled Case Law Update: It’s Still Hard to Fire Employees For CauseSupervisors Increasingly Face Jail Time in Health and Safety Prosecutions
While companies are often aware of the serious costs that may arise from charges under Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act (the OHSA), recent decisions suggest that the courts are increasingly willing to levy heavy penalties against supervisors as well, including sentencing them to …
View the post titled Supervisors Increasingly Face Jail Time in Health and Safety ProsecutionsProposed Changes to the OHSA: The more things change, the more they stay the same?
Laws intended to change social behaviour are sometimes referred to as “social engineering” legislation. The obvious example is the Human Rights Code, which prohibits discrimination on protected grounds and requires employers to accommodate many of the personal challenges employees face. Som…
View the post titled Proposed Changes to the OHSA: The more things change, the more they stay the same?Workplace Safety and Insurance Board Consulting Regarding New System for Calculating Employer Premiums
Most employers in Ontario are subject to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act (the “WSIA”), with the majority of those employers falling under Schedule 1 of the legislation. For Schedule 1 employers, contact with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (the “WSIB”) generally occurs only a…
View the post titled Workplace Safety and Insurance Board Consulting Regarding New System for Calculating Employer PremiumsNo Jeans or Shorts in the Workplace? No Way.
When an employer attempted to institute a formal dress code requiring its staff to wear business casual attire and prohibiting jeans and shorts in the workplace, the union filed a policy grievance. The employer, the British Columbia Assessment Authority, conducts real property assessments an…
View the post titled No Jeans or Shorts in the Workplace? No Way.Receive Blog Posts
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