By now everyone should know that sexual harassment is not permissible in the workplace, but even amidst the flurry of allegations we have seen in the #metoo era, exactly what constitutes sexual harassment might still be a little fuzzy. With love in the air today, workers across the land might be wondering, can I ask … Continue Reading
Merry Christmas! Wait. What? Can we still say that in public? Why yes, we can, but not at the cost of excluding all other religions in the workplace. For those that do not celebrate Christian holidays (and/or secular commercial holidays derived from Christian traditions), focusing only on Christian traditions can feel like exclusion. It’s hard … Continue Reading
The Liberal government has introduced changes to the federal parental leave benefits program. Details of the changes were announced early November and are set to come into force on December 3, 2017. This change is separate from the various Bill 148 changes coming down the pipe. What’s New? These are not additional monetary benefits, but … Continue Reading
Bonus entitlement is always a juicy topic. In September the Ontario Superior Court of Justice released a decision that shed some light on the issue of how entitlement to a bonus will be treated where an employer has no formal bonus policy, but a consistent past practice. In Fulmer v. Nordstrong Equipment Limited, a wrongful … Continue Reading
Last night I attended a @GirlGeeksTO discussion about sexual harassment at work. The room held 100 diverse women in tech, largely at the earlier stages of their career and keen to continue to develop their professional relationships and skills to advance in their fields. The #metoo movement has dramatically highlighted on all of our social … Continue Reading
I blogged about pot in the workplace early this past August – see my post here. The legalization of marijuana made the news again, as Ontario announced its plans with respect to how the legal sale of marijuana will be practically rolled out. Basically, the LCBO will run 150 retail outlets selling marijuana, and it … Continue Reading
Trans rights have been in the news a lot lately. During his eventful tenure, President Trump has eroded existing protections for transgendered individuals in the United States. This winter he removed protections for transgendered students in public schools that allowed them to use the bathroom of their gender expression, and not their physical sex. At … Continue Reading
This spring the largest penalty to date was issued under Ontario’s Personal Health Information Protection Act (“PHIPA”). A social work student was convicted of accessing personal health information without authorization, and ordered pay a $20,000 fine and a $5,000 victim fine surcharge after pleading guilty to “willfully accessing the personal health information of five individuals.” … Continue Reading
Marijuana has been legal for medical use since 1999. As you undoubtedly know, the Trudeau government has tabled legislation that would expand legal use to the recreational sphere. Employers need to be prepared for how the potential legalization of recreational marijuana will impact the workplace. Background on the Bill Here’s a little background on the … Continue Reading
I regularly speak on the issues of employment and human rights law, but it turns out that lawyers really do end up with a warped view of the world. Yesterday I spoke on a panel of HR and people-management thought leaders: David D’Souza, Anna Petosa and Shaun Scott, moderated by Chris Taylor of Actionable. I … Continue Reading
The Ontario government has been reviewing employment laws and labour standards in Ontario, the first such major review since the mid-1990s. A package of reforms is expected to be released next week. “Changing Workplaces” has been a two-year review, headed by outside experts Michael Mitchell and John Murray. The Ministry of Labour’s website contains the … Continue Reading
We all know that social media, electronic communications and the online world has changed how we interact socially. Who has the patience to leave a voice message for a friend about a restaurant meeting place, let alone listen to one? That’s what instant messaging (IM) is for. Short, efficient and no small talk. Enterprise IM … Continue Reading
This post is a quick primer on the subject of hours of work and rest periods for provincially regulated employees in Ontario. The Ontario Employment Standards Act (“ESA”) has several rules regarding hours of work for employees, including permitted length of shift, time off between shifts and time off during a work week. See my past … Continue Reading
This post is a quick primer on hours of work and eating periods. The Ontario Employment Standards Act (“ESA”) requires that employees be given a meal break of at least 30 minutes within each five consecutive work hours. The ESA builds some flexibility into this, as the employer and the employee can agree to split the … Continue Reading
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 … Continue Reading
January is a month of resolutions, fresh starts, and goals. It’s also a good time to run away from 2016 and the upsets and surprises the year rolled out. Here are 3 lessons that 2016 taught us as we all dig in to a new year in the workplace: #1 – Surprise High Profile Departures … Continue Reading
Last week I wrote about the statutory framework of the family status accommodation requirements in Ontario. The case that has moved this area of law along is Misetich v Value Village Stores (2016 HRTO 1229, “Misetich”), a case the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) released this fall. This case intersects with disability accommodation … Continue Reading
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 out one’s parents and a medical or legal obligation that … Continue Reading
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 … Continue Reading
The minimum wage that every Ontario employer must pay their employees has gone up from $11.25 to $11.40 per hour, effective October 1, 2016. The Ontario Employment Standards Act sets out further details for specific categories of employees, such as students, liquor servers, hunting and fishing guides, and homeworkers. For those workplaces that employ students, … Continue Reading
Toronto is a great place to be a tech employer. It’s a cool city with exciting innovation and talent. If you’re a US company considering getting in on the action in Toronto, there are few things you should know about the True North. Canada strives to have workplaces that are tolerant and inclusive and employees … Continue Reading
Because of the recent controversy surrounding unpaid interns, we have been getting many calls from concerned employers about their obligation when working with interns and employers’ rights when interns do not work out. Pay As a general rule, unpaid internships are not permitted in Ontario. There are a few exceptions, the most common of which … Continue Reading
A 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 … Continue Reading
We all have an office party horror story. The partner who got too sloppy and friendly with the summer student, the awkward aversion of eye contact the next day, or the overly honest comments from the disgruntled employee. While holiday parties can be an important employee morale booster, for the employer they can present a minefield of potential liability … Continue Reading
