As of January 1, 2017, several new requirements have taken effect under the disability law regime in Ontario.  The Integrated Accessibility Standards (IAS) made under the Accessibility of Ontarians with a Disability Act (AODA) sets out a comprehensive framework for business in Ontario to ensure the accessibility for employees and customers.

Since 2012, employers have

Photo Credit - Anne de Haas
Photo Credit – Anne de Haas

Discrimination on the grounds of “family status” continues to be a hot topic for Canadian employers. Are employers required to accommodate an employee’s eldercare obligations? Are these sorts of obligations different than an employee’s childcare obligations?  Where is the line between personal preference to help

As of the date of this posting, there are only 38 more sleeps until December 25 (according to my kids’ countdown app).  This means only 5 more weekends (6 if you count December 24 as a perfectly noble shopping day) and likely several parties before the end of the year.  Cue the annual articles on

fire hydrantA blog post just in time for some downtime over the holiday – when can personal tweets become grounds for termination?  Some of you may remember when in August of 2013 Canadian news outlets were a-buzz with the termination of two Toronto Firefighters for sexist comments made on Twitter. For a media report on the details of the tweets and reactions, click here.

While the tweets were made off-duty, and not in reference to anything work related, management got involved partly because the Firefighters in question identified themselves as such on their Twitter profiles. The conduct was deemed to be in violation of employer policies, including their Social Media Policy, damaging to the reputation of Toronto Fire and ultimately worthy of termination.

Both individuals grieved their terminations, asking for their jobs back. These two cases are a good example of when tweets can amount to grounds for termination and when reinstatement may be ordered.
Continue Reading Tweeting Your Way to Termination