We have a short and sweet summer in Canada. Getting outdoors is a sacred rite for all, given how short our summer is. So how should employers balance that instinct with the fact that the business must go on?
Here are some best practices for the mixed bag of common summertime workplace law issues.
Continue Reading Employment Law around the Campfire: Best Practices for Summer Workplace Law Issues
Ontario’s employment landscape has shifted significantly with the introduction of the new licensing regime for temporary help agencies (THAs) and recruiters. This change, effective from July 1, 2024, mandates that all THAs and recruiters operating in Ontario must hold a valid license. Employers need to understand these changes, their implications, and the risks of non-compliance to ensure their operations remain legally compliant.
Continue Reading Understanding Ontario’s New Temporary Help Agency and Recruiter Licensing Regime: What Employers Need to KnowIn workplace safety, adherence to the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) is paramount. Welcome to the third blog in our OHSA series. Discover how previous regulatory convictions impact sentencing for new OHSA violations. Read our previous blogs here and here.
Convictions for violations of Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) frequently result in significant fines for both corporate entities and individuals. Furthermore, individual defendants may face incarceration if the breaches in question involve significant aggravating factors.
Continue Reading How do prior regulatory convictions affect sentencing outcomes for new OHSA violations?For most employers we consult with, preparing and distributing employee handbooks seems like just one obvious step in setting up or maintaining a healthy workplace.
While employee handbooks can be a great tool to help organize the do’s and don’ts of the workplace along with important (and sometimes legally required) employer policies, you may not be aware of some of the potential problems lurking in your handbook.
Continue Reading The Perks and Pitfalls of Employee Handbooks
Our clients ask us this all the time. They’ve usually already thought about it for weeks/months/years, but never know if and when to do it. I’ve yet to meet an employer who loves terminating employees – it’s hard, painful, disruptive and most feel bad about it overall.
Continue Reading Aggravating and Mitigating Sentencing Factors in OHSA Convictions
Our clients ask us this all the time. They’ve usually already thought about it for weeks/months/years, but never know if and when to do it. I’ve yet to meet an employer who loves terminating employees – it’s hard, painful, disruptive and most feel bad about it overall.
Continue Reading When is it Time to Fire an EmployeeDefenses to OHSA Charges
Introduction to Due Diligence
Have you ever wondered what happens if your workplace faces charges under the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA)or other similar legislation?
What steps should you take, and what defences are available to you? Navigating these charges can be complex, but understanding the due diligence defence is crucial.
Continue Reading OHSA Series: Due Diligence PrimerGen AI is here. This may feel very abstract and irrelevant to many of our employees but may be a significant source of stress and worry for others.
This is more than another department change that employees need to evolve with. In the same way that computers have transformed how we all do our jobs in less than a generation, AI is quickly taking us to that next level of processing information using everything computers have already brought us.
Continue Reading Rolling out Gen AI in the WorkplaceSome employee resignations are clear-cut; the employer is provided with a letter of resignation, with an effective date, a signature etc.
However, what about when an employee shouts “I quit!” and storms out of the office, expresses a general dissatisfaction about their job, or that they have received another job offer?
Continue Reading Employee Resignations: When is a resignation valid?Most employers know they have a legal duty to accommodate an employee with a disability. But what exactly is the scope of that duty and what does the accommodation include?
This post will set out the basics.
Continue Reading Employment Law 101: Accommodating a Disability