A blog post discussing the differences between US and Canadian employment laws and workplace culture, including topics such as Canadian employment law 101, the importance of contracts, and the impact of public healthcare on employer negotiations.

Are you a US employer with operations in Canada? Welcome and bienvenue to this blog series written just for you. Our Canadian virtual employment law firm advises many US employers who have employees and contractors in Canada. I love this conversation. We’re neighbours who share so many similar cultural values, pop culture references and the world’s longest unsecured border.  And yet there are fundamental differences in our countries’ respective workplace laws and workplace culture. It often catches our US employers by surprise and triggers very expensive moments in the employment relationship.

Continue Reading Canadian Employment Law for US Employers: Part 1 – Backgrounder
Discover your obligations as an Ontario employer under the Pay Equity Act, including understanding equal pay for equal work, applicable exemptions, and the consequences of non-compliance.

We’ve all heard about pay equity but what does that actually mean in a workplace? And as an Ontario employer, what are your obligations around reaching and maintaining pay equity? One this is for sure, outside of a huge financial risk, you also do not want to be known as an employer who is not paying their employees equally. Here’s everything you need to know about your obligations under the Pay Equity Act. 

Continue Reading Equal Pay for Equal Work – Everything You Need to Know About Pay Equity in Your Workplace
SpringLaw's new Marketing Manager Mandeep Suri

We are so excited to introduce the newest member of the SpringLaw family, Mandeep Suri. Mandeep is our new Marketing Manager, overseeing the firm’s marketing and communications. As SpringLaw continues to grow and evolve, Mandeep will be critical to promoting our innovative integrated legal solutions.

Mandeep is a creative thinker and has spent her professional career developing and executing global marketing campaigns using a variety of media that bring a company’s story, values, vision, and mandate to life.  She thrives in fast-paced, client-focused environments, where she fosters positive cross-functional relationships, collaboration and effective communication to deliver results.

She already lives the SpringLaw firm values of being innovative and collaborative, having no ego but lots of great EQ and being a creative problem-solver

When not at work, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two kids, reading self-help books, gardening and listening to inspiring podcasts.

Welcome Mandeep!  We are thrilled to have you as part of our team and are excited for you to use your skills and expertise to share the SpringLaw story and purpose!

Witnessed Release is Your Best Defense Against Future Legal Woes

So you’ve finally settled a dispute with a former employee who had alleged a wrongful dismissal or discrimination. You’ve drawn up the papers to confirm the fact that the matter is settled. Now, all you need are signatures on the dotted lines. Whose signatures exactly?

Parties

When settling a dispute with a former employee, the parties involved should sign the release –  you know, those documents filled with legalese stating that that the employee/releasor releases the employer/releasee from all claims arising out of the employment relationship, termination thereof, et al. – to make the settlement legally binding. These signatories typically include the former employee and sometimes a representative from the employer, such as a human resources manager or CEO.

Continue Reading Cover Your Assets: Why Having a Witnessed Release is Your Best Defense Against Future Legal Woes
Practical Tips and Tricks for Managing a Unionized Workforce

While strikes involving high-profile unions like the recently resolved Federal Worker strike are often hot topics in the news, we rarely hear much about the day-to-day relationships between the employer and the union or how those relationships are effectively managed. In this blog, we take a step back from the high-intensity environment of a strike and provide some practical tips and tricks on effectively managing the unionized workforce and the ongoing relationship with a union.

Unionized Workplaces

The number one question I get asked by family, friends and even complete strangers when I tell them I practice labour and employment law is: “What is the difference between labour and employment law?”. Given the passion with which this question is often delivered, this seems to be a burning question on most people’s minds. Ultimately, while labour and employment lawyers all focus on workplace issues and disputes, labour lawyers handle conflicts that arise in workplaces which have a union or unions representing their workers that are bound by the terms of a collective agreement.

Labour law is often focused on helping the parties manage their relationship and find practical solutions to what are often complex problems.

Continue Reading Practical Tips and Tricks for Managing a Unionized Workforce
An Important Legal Update on Naloxone Kits in the Workplace

Last year, Bill 88 or the Working for Workers Act, 2022 introduced a mandate under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (“OHSA”) that all Ontario’s provincially regulated employers needed to provide naloxone kits on site if there was a risk of a worker having an opioid overdose. At the time, employers were not given a specific timeline as to when they needed to comply with this legislation. Now, in an ongoing attempt to tackle the opioid crisis, firmer timelines have been implemented. 

By June 1, 2023, employers need to determine whether or not they must provide naloxone kits in the workplace, and if so, they must meet certain minimum requirements.  

Continue Reading An Important Legal Update on Naloxone Kits in the Workplace
No At-Will Employment in Canada

Are you an employer with operations in both Canada & the US? This post is for you.

Contracts vs At-Will Employment

For our US readers, Canada does not have at-will employment. In Canada, employment relationships are governed by employment contracts, either written or implied, and various employment laws and regulations. Employers are generally required to provide reasonable notice or pay in lieu of notice when terminating an employee without cause.

For our Canadian readers, at-will employment is a term used in the United States to describe the employment relationship between an employer and an employee, where either party can terminate the employment at any time, with or without cause, and with or without notice. This means that an employer can fire an employee for any reason or no reason at all, as long as it is not for an illegal reason (such as discrimination). Similarly, an employee can quit their job at any time without providing a reason or notice.

Continue Reading No At-Will Employment in Canada

Join SpringLaw’s Lisa Stam and guest speaker Anna Malazhavaya, a tax lawyer and founder of Advotax Law, as they walk you through the intersection of employment and tax law for your mobile workforce.

Date: Wednesday, May 17, 2023
Time: 10:30-11:00 am EST
Register today: Click here!

Continue Reading Free webinar: Managing Tax & Employment Law Risks with your Mobile Workforce
Employee Productivity Issues: How to Manage Time Theft

When the vast majority of the Canadian workforce suddenly transitioned to working from home in 2020, managers were concerned about employee productivity. Most employees believed remote work increased productivity, while managers believed the opposite. The debate continues. Candidly, I am on the “increased productivity” side of the debate: working remotely allows me to focus without interruption and bring my full energy to my work by avoiding a soul-sucking commute. However, managers’ concerns about productivity are not always misplaced. Employees who do not put in the hours required by their contract are engaging in time theft, which is typically cause for discipline and, in particularly egregious circumstances, termination for cause. 

Continue Reading How to Manage Employee Productivity Issues and Time Theft
Collective Bargaining Remote Work

As a fully virtual firm since 2017, we are big remote working fans. We recognize that, as a result of the pandemic, most work environments have come to accept and adopt remote working With the recent public sector strike, remote work is once again a hot topic. This time however, the conversation has taken a new and interesting direction as the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) seeks to enshrine the right to remote work in new collective agreements for the hundreds of thousands of workers it represents. 

PSAC announced early Monday morning that it had reached a tentative deal with the Federal Government on behalf of the more than 120,000 Treasury Board workers it represents. At the time of writing this blog, the strike continues for the 35,000 Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) workers who are also represented by PSAC. 

Continue Reading What’s Remote Work Got to Do With It? A New Era of Collective Bargaining