Working for Workers Act received Royal Assent, making it now law
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In March, we blogged about Bill 88 or the Working for Workers Act (part 2) (the Act). You can read that post here. On April 11, 2022, the Act received Royal Assent, making it now law. Most significant to employers, who are not Uber etc., are the changes to the Employment Standards Act, 2000  (ESA) and the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA). The Act has attracted the most attention for the creation of the Digital Platform Workers’ Rights Act, 2022, which will have big implications for digital platform workers and “employers” like Uber and Skip the Dishes, however, the Act impacts non-digital platform employers too. 

Here’s the rundown of what’s new in the ESA and the OHSA. Continue Reading Working for Workers Act 2 Passes in the Ontario Legislature: What Employers Who Aren’t Uber Need to Know to Comply

Can Employees Record Work Meetings?
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With the rise of remote working in the past couple of years, virtual work meetings, whether over video or phone call, have become a common occurence. With that comes the issue of recording work calls. In this post, we address the possible risks involved when an employee records work meetings, either surreptitiously or with consent. 

Can an employee legally record a work call?

It is technically legal in Canada for an employee to record a conversation they are a part of, and the employee does not attract criminal liability if they do so surreptitiously, as long as they were a part of the call. However, Courts across Canada have found that surreptitious recording can justify termination for cause.  Continue Reading Can Employees Record Work Meetings?

SpringLaw hiring two lawyers - we’re busy and need more hands on deck!We are looking for 2 innovative, tech-savvy lawyers with 3+ years of employment law experience, each with a slightly different focus:

  • A litigation-focused lawyer who loves getting on their virtual, digital and sometimes IRL feet, with an interest in criminal law as it intersects with workplace law.
  • A solicitor-focused lawyer who loves contracts, drafting, and advising employers in their day-to-day workplace law issues.
  • We want new ideas and experience to keep optimizing our unique client service experience, and embracing automation, technology and efficiencies so we can focus on personal and high-value interactions with our clients.
  • We’re looking for aligned souls to join us for the long run.

Continue Reading Come join SpringLaw’s feisty, smart, all-woman, tech-forward team!

SpringLaw Turns 5 Years Old Today!  

In law firm years, that means we are past the start-up phase and into the expansion and enhancement of client experience stage. We continue to build out our behind-the-scenes automation and tech-driven services to bring efficiency to files, so that we can focus on 1:1 communications with our clients.  

5 Years of Virtual Counsel & Efficient Client-Centred Services 

Little did we know 5 years ago how much being entirely virtual, paperless and focusing on cloud-based, online collaborative communications would come in handy during a global pandemic. Over the last 2 years, it’s been fantastic to see so many law firms, clients, adjudicative bodies and our justice system generally dig in and figure out how to communicate virtually.  Continue Reading SpringLaw is Turning 5 & Giving Back

26-Month Notice Period Upheld by Ontario Court of Appeal
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In the world of workplace law we often say that, absent exceptional circumstances, the greatest notice period that any wrongfully dismissed employee could be awarded by an adjudicator is 24 months. But what are those exceptional circumstances? Years ago, we blogged about Dawe v. The Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada, a case in which the Ontario Court of Appeal overturned the trial judge’s award of 30 months of reasonable notice for a terminated employee, reducing the final notice period to 24 months. Recently, the Ontario Court of Appeal released a decision, Currie v. Nylene Canada Inc. (“Currie”), affirming the trial judge’s assessment of damages in the amount of 26 months of reasonable notice for the wrongfully dismissed employee, Ms. Currie (“Ms. Currie”). Below we will look at the factors the Court considered in rendering this judgment. Continue Reading Ontario Court of Appeal Upholds 26-Month Notice Period

Assault at the OscarsIf you missed the Oscars last night, you missed viewing a crime in real-time. The live and at-home viewing audience witnessed an assault. If you haven’t seen it, you can view the clip here.  Chris Rock told a joke about Jada Pinkett, and her husband, Will Smith, then walked onto the stage, hit Chris Rock across the face, and went on to retort with profanity on live television. What’s more shocking than the act itself, is that the Oscars live broadcast continued without acknowledgement of the incident and later gave Will Smith an award.

Let’s talk about the law of assault (at least the Canadian definition). Section 265 of the Criminal Code of Canada says a person commits assault when: without the consent of another person, they apply force intentionally to that other person, directly or indirectly. Simply put, it is an assault, if one is making, or attempting to make, contact with another person without their consent. This is sometimes referred to as a common assault or simple assault because it is not aggravated (serious injuries) or with a weapon.  Continue Reading No Award for Violence

Government changes to the covid-19 safety measures & workplace policiesAcross Canada, government mandates regarding masking and vaccination are lifting. In Ontario, vaccine passports are no longer required as of March 1 and masking mandates were lifted as of March 21. Employers who previously rolled out vaccination policies may be wondering what these wider government changes mean for their workplace policies. 

Is A Vaccination Policy Necessary?

The shift in governmental approach towards COVID-19 safety protocols will likely mean that employers looking to justify invasions of employee privacy – i.e. disclosing vaccination status –  based on reasonable health and safety concerns will be less able to do so. This is because the consensus, as evidenced by the change in government mandates, is that maybe this need is not based on a legitimate health and safety concern. This may vary depending on the workplace, but we note that even the employee vaccination mandate for long-term care homes –  which was legally required – has been lifted.  Continue Reading What Does the End of Provincial Covid-19 Safety Measures Mean for Workplace Policies?

SpringLaw hiring two lawyers - we’re busy and need more hands on deck!We’re busy and need 2 more lawyers on deck.  Apply by Friday, April 15, 2022.

SpringLaw is looking for 2 innovative, tech-savvy lawyers with 3+ years of employment law experience, each with a slightly different focus:

  • Litigation-focused lawyer who loves getting on her virtual, digital and sometimes IRL feet, with an interest in criminal law as it intersects with workplace law
  • Solicitor-focused lawyer who loves contracts, drafting, and advising employers in their day-to-day workplace law issues.

Continue Reading SpringLaw is hiring!

pregnancy or parental leave top-up
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As companies struggle to retain their talent in the midst of so many economic and health changes, many are finding new ways to attract and keep employees. A growing number of companies, for instance, are providing their employees with or extending existing pregnancy or parental leave top-up payments to assist families with caregiving responsibilities (present and/or future). 

Pregnancy vs. Parental Leave Basics

First of all, it’s important to distinguish between two commonly confused leaves: pregnancy and parental leave. In Ontario, pregnancy leave is taken by the birthing parent and typically starts before the birth of the child. Parental leave, on the other hand, can be taken by either or both new parents after the birth of the child or when a child comes into the employee’s custody, care and control. Parental leave can also be used by parents who are adopting a child. The birthing parent will typically take a combination of pregnancy and parental leave. These leaves are protected leaves under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA”). The ESA sets out the requirements for the leaves, for example, how long an employee must be employed with the employer before they can take the leave, and the employee’s entitlements both during the leave and upon return from the leave.  Continue Reading Parental Leave, EI and Top-Up Basics

 

Digital Platform Workers’ Rights Act: Bill 88 proposes new changes to ESA
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Bill 88 has been receiving a lot of media attention for the aspects related to digital platform workers and the proposed creation of the Digital Platform Workers’ Rights Act, 2022. While this will impact many workers, it will not have an impact on most employers. Employers do need to pay attention to other aspects of the Bill, which propose new changes to the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000. Chief among these is a new requirement for employers with 25 employees or more to have a written policy with respect to electronic monitoring of employees.

Electronic Monitoring of Employees

If passed, Bill 88 will require that employers who employ 25 employees or more, on January 1 of any given year, have a written policy with respect to the electronic monitoring of employees. The wording of the Bill suggests that even employers who do not electronically monitor employees will be required to have a written policy, provided they employ 25 employees or more on January 1 of any given year.  Continue Reading Bill 88: More Changes to the Employment Standards Act