The Wuhan Novel Coronavirus (or 2019-vCoV) is a public health emergency in Canada with confirmed cases in Ontario. This has led many employers to ask how they should manage their employees’ concerns, while still trying to operate “business as usual”. On the one hand, employers are obligated to provide a healthy and safe work environment,
What does it mean to be in a union?
We often get contacted by employees who are members of unions and employers looking to better understand the pros/cons when faced with unionization. What does it mean to be in a union?
Collective Agreement vs. a Contract
One big difference between unionized and non-unionized employees is that the employment relationship with the employer is governed
Terminations without Tears?!
Getting fired is hard. Firing someone is just as hard, even if you are unhappy with that employee’s performance. Ending an employment relationship happens for many reasons, from poor performance to fit to business restructuring. Employees leave for similar reasons – they don’t think the company is living up to its promises, they’re experiencing feelings
Will Saving Provisions No Longer Save Us?
Saving provisions are widely used in employment agreements to ensure that even if a decision-maker finds that some aspect of some clause is not enforceable due to the fact that it could possibly, maybe, one day, maybe, sorta violate the Employment Standards Act (ESA), the saving provision will communicate to that judge that this was
So, You’re a Respondent in a Workplace Complaint
You’ve been asked to meet with HR or People Ops. You may – or may not – be aware of what the meeting is about, but you’re a little rattled. You’re told the company will be conducting an investigation, meaning a matter is being taken seriously. You wonder whether you should go it alone, or
New Contracts for Current Employees
While we like to help businesses set up their employment relationships from day one, more often than not we come in to help a little later. In many typical workplaces, some employees have written contracts or offer letters, of varying levels of quality, and some don’t have any sort of written contract at all.
Why
Employer Pays for Failing to Investigate Harassment
Readers of our blog will know that employers have a legal obligation to take workplace harassment seriously. These obligations are set out in Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) and require that employers with more than five employees have a policy and procedure dealing with workplace violence and harassment. Employers are required to take
Fired by a robot!
Amazon has been in the news recently for its practice of tracking warehouse workers’ box packing speed and firing them if they do not “make rate.” According to internal Amazon documents, related to a termination at a Baltimore Maryland warehouse location, Amazon’s automated tracking system automatically generates a series of warnings. After 6
Sexual Harassment in the Fundraising Donor Space – Part Two
Firstly, Happy May Day and Happy International Workers’ Day!
This week we will be continuing our series on Sexual Harassment in the Fundraising Donor Space and exploring situations where needed donations or funding come with strings attached.
If you haven’t read our Part One from last week, you may want to check it out
Alternative Dispute Resolution in Employment Law – Part 1
The practice of law has changed. The days of the gun-slinging Harvey Specter-esque litigator, sipping single malt scotch whiskey and ready to obliterate his opponent at a moment’s notice, has given way to a new breed of tech-savvy, collaborative and cost-conscious lawyers who are more concerned with serving their clients’ personal and business needs