McDonald’s is in the news this week after their Board told their CEO, Steve Easterbrook, to “move on” after learning that he had been engaging in a romantic relationship with an employee. While the relationship was “consensual,” McDonald’s policy forbids managers from having romantic relationships with subordinates – whether they directly supervise them or otherwise. Easterbrook acknowledged that what he had done was against the “values of the company.” 

A similar story broke last week when Congresswoman Katie Hill resigned amid allegations of inappropriate sexual relationships with staffers in her office and on her campaign team. 

So what’s wrong with finding love at the office? In both of these cases, the (main) issue was the imbalance of power. In our post #metoo era the issues inherent in relationships with power imbalances are being taken seriously and acted on. 

Both Hill and Easterbrook were at the top of their respective food chains. They engaged in romantic relationships with those below them on those food chains and with those over whom they held power in the workplace. Whether they were in relationships with those whom they directly supervised or not, there is no question that both Hill and Easterbrook would have had the power to impact their lovers’ trajectory at work – for good or ill – should they have chosen to do so.  

What’s a Power Imbalance?

While both of these news examples are courtesy of our friends to the south, this is an issue that comes up frequently in workplaces all over the world. In Ontario, the Human Rights Code directly addresses the situation of sexual advances made by those in positions of power – check out section 7(3) – enshrining the right to be free from unwanted advances in our law.  The Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act contains similar language. 

The trouble with engaging in a romantic relationship with someone over whom you hold power is that their consent to such a relationship cannot be truly said to be voluntary. Maybe your secretary is dating you not because she actually digs you, but because she’s afraid (probably fairly) that you’ll fire her or start treating her badly if she rejects you. 

Liability for Employers

Employers who look the other way when the professor starts dating their research assistant or the boss starts dating the janitor risk claims of sexual harassment. Employers have a legal duty to provide a safe workplace and to prevent and address sexual harassment. Passively condoning office relationships where power imbalances exist could be a violation of that duty. 

Takeaways

Preventative policies on this topic are essential. Employers need to be able to rely on clearly established standards of conduct in order to take next steps with employees who may be in violation. Where a romantic relationship exists between a superior and a subordinate, employers should take immediate steps to ensure that conflicts of interest are prevented as much a possible and get legal advice about how to manage the situation. Often situations will be serious enough to require responses like the one taken by McDonald’s. 

If you’d like to discuss how to deal with the romance in your office get in touch! 

You can take it back. The Ontario Court of Appeal has ruled that employees can take back their intention to retire. We have spoken about whether an employee can take back their intention to retire in a previous blog post regarding the Ontario Superior Court decision in English v. Manulife Financial Corporation. This decision was recently overturned by the Ontario Court of Appeal.

2018 Superior Court Decision

English, the 66-year-old employee in this case, provided Manulife, her employer, with a resignation letter after she became aware of their intention to change the computer system. The employer accepted her offer but informed her that she could rescind or reconsider her resignation. On October 11, 2016, less than three weeks after English’s resignation, Manulife announced that it would “suspend the conversion indefinitely.” A couple of weeks later, English informed her employer that she intended to rescind her resignation upon news that the conversion was no longer scheduled. Manulife chose to accept her resignation anyway and ended her employment on December 12, 2016.  English subsequently sued for wrongful dismissal.

The Superior Court found in favour of Manulife on the grounds that English’s notice of retirement was clear and unequivocal and while Manulife could have chosen to rescind her resignation, they were not obligated to do so. The court referred to the basic principles of contract law which state that a contract that has been offered and accepted will be enforced by the courts unless the terms of the contract are ambiguous. 

2019 Court of Appeal Decision

The Court of Appeal disagreed with the motion judge’s finding, deciding instead that English’s retirement letter was not clear and unequivocal; therefore, she was entitled to withdraw it. The court reasoned that at the time English informed Manulife of her intention to resign she also told them she was unsure whether she wanted to resign. Her employer responded by saying that she could change her mind at a later date. Manulife is bound to the assurance it made to English that she could change her mind. For this reason, English’s termination was ruled a wrongful dismissal.

Takeaways

When an employee presents a letter of resignation, you should inquire into the circumstances surrounding their decision, particularly in instances where the resignation is a surprise or otherwise unusual. The lesson to be learned from this is that an employee’s resignation may not be enough to establish that there is a clear and unequivocal intention to resign.  Also, be mindful of the assurances you provide to employees at the time of dismissal as they may be able to rely on these statements later.

Get in touch if you have any questions about employee resignations!

Canada is touted as a multicultural country and the home of many religious groups, but it is still the case that the two statutory religious holidays in Ontario – Christmas and Good Friday – belong to one faith tradition. If you are a mid to large-sized employer it is very likely that some of your staff will celebrate different holidays and make leave requests at different times of the year. As workplaces become more diverse, employers should be mindful of the Ontario Human Rights Code (the Code) and its prohibition of discrimination on the basis of religion or creed, a protected ground under the Code. Employers should also be aware of the Code obligations regarding religious accommodations. With Diwali coming up, it seems like a great time to review these responsibilities!

The Code and Religious Holidays

Under the Code, employers have an obligation to provide religious accommodations to their employees up to the point of undue hardship. In order to address any potential adverse impact to the employee from the time they take off to celebrate religious holidays, the employer can offer options like special/compassionate paid leave, overtime or compressed work week arrangements. An employer must establish undue hardship in order to circumvent their obligations under the Code. In most cases, meeting the standard for undue hardship would be difficult and an accommodation of the employee’s request would be expected.

What is a Religious Activity?

Many religious traditions have more than one holiday or practice and it can be hard to distinguish which creed-based activities require accommodations in the form of time off from work. Accommodating religious beliefs does not necessarily require employers to offer paid time off for every creed-based activity. Not all religious activity demands time off. For instance, attending the mosque for Eid or the synagogue on Rosh Hashanah is not the same as attending a social event hosted by a religious group. While an employee may or may not ask for paid time off to attend the latter, it is important to keep these distinctions in mind when employees make these requests. 

Time Off Isn’t for Everyone

A final thought to keep in mind is that two employees who belong to the same faith tradition may approach holiday celebrations differently– and that’s okay! Some people don’t feel comfortable taking the day off and others just don’t want to. Employees are going to display different attitudes about their traditional holidays, and it is important that everyone’s perspective is respected. More than anything, employers should endeavour to create an environment where everyone feels comfortable being their entire selves at work and can request time off without fear that they will be viewed as less invested in the business.

Everyone deserves to spend time with their loved ones and enjoy their traditions. Make sure your workplace makes this a priority! 

If you would like to discuss how best to manage the diversity of religious traditions celebrated by your employees, get in touch!

Did you make it out to the polls this Thanksgiving weekend for the advanced voting days? Not to worry if you didn’t because there is still time – the Canadian Federal Election is on Monday, October 21, 2019! Voting hours will vary depending on your time-zone but all polls will be open for a 12-hour stretch.

Employee Rights on Election Day

Voting is often described as a person’s “civic duty” so it is no surprise that the legislature considered the importance of having provisions in the Canada Elections Act (the “Act”) that speak to the employee’s right to cast their vote during the workday. 

Section 132(1) of the Act states that an employer must provide their employees with “…three consecutive hours for the purpose of casting his or her vote.” While casting one’s ballot usually only takes a few minutes, employees who do not live near their office may need more time. Employers can decide when to permit their employees to take this designated voting time. Employers cannot deduct an employee’s pay or otherwise penalize an employee for taking time off to vote.    

Final Thoughts

Take a look at the FAQ page of the Elections Canada website for more information about Election Day and different voting options! Having the opportunity to vote is an important part of our democracy, so pay attention to the members of your community who may have a difficult time accessing the polls. Ask your neighbours if they need a ride or would like some support getting to the polls.

And for all you first-time voters (congrats!),  just a note that taking a selfie with your ballot is a violation of the Act! Wait until you get outside and take a photo next to the Elections Canada arrow – the lighting is better there anyway.

The Ministry of Labour (MOL or the Ministry) has been busy implementing its Healthy and Safe Ontario Workplaces Strategy. Introduced by the previous Wynne government, the initiative has focused on small Ontario industrial businesses. A small business is one with fewer than 50 workers. 

Occupational Health and Safety Act Inspections

In late August, the Ministry published a report on the results of the inspection initiative. During the period April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2019, the Ministry of Labour visited 3,942 small business workplaces and issued 13,907 orders and requirements under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA). They also issued 184 stop-work orders. 

MOL inspectors will look into how employers are complying with OHSA including:

  • A health and safety policy and a program to implement the policy
  • Workplace violence and harassment policies and programs
  • Health and safety representative or joint health and safety committee
  • Complying with posting requirements (for example, OHSA, Health and Safety at Work poster)

Inspectors will also check up on what steps employers are taking to protect workers by taking suitable action to identify and control hazards.

Under OHSA, while employers must comply with specific regulations and requirements, they also have a duty to meet the often higher standards of taking all reasonable precautions to protect their workers. 

Employment Standards Act Violations

The MOL also has the power to enforce the Employment Standards Act (ESA) and can even conduct inspections covertly. From April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2019, 22,434 ESA claims were investigated, an increase of 7,500 over the previous fiscal year. The top five violations found during the 2018/2019 investigations were:

  • Payment of Wages
  • Vacation Pay/Vacation Time
  • Termination Pay
  • Public Holiday Pay
  • Overtime Pay

Take Aways

Compliance with the law can seem onerous, especially for small employers who often take more of a casual approach with their workers. However, not complying with the law can cost a small business big bucks in terms of fines or various other orders that require spending money. In some instances, violations of OHSA can even lead to jail time. The minimum standards set by OHSA and the ESA exist to ensure fair and safe working conditions. Employers, disregard them at your peril!

If you are a small business owner who has questions regarding the Healthy and Safe Ontario Workplaces Strategy or OSHA get in touch!

Another large fashion retailer has fallen out of style with consumers, closing its doors for good across Canada. Last Sunday, Bradley Sell, the Chief Financial Officer of the Canadian subsidiary Forever XXI ULC (“Forever 21 Canada”), announced that all 44 of its Canadian stores would be closing. Sell cited economic viability as the primary reason for the Canadian closures. Approximately 2,000 employees will lose their jobs as a result. The Ontario Superior Court has granted the company protection from its creditors under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA).

ESA Requirement Upon Mass-Termination

While filing for bankruptcy can offer an employer an opportunity to restructure its operations without the looming specter of insurmountable debt, bankruptcy is not a “get out of jail free card” for employers. In Ontario, under the Employment Standards Act (the “ESA”) employers must provide enhanced benefits to employees who have been terminated via a “mass termination.” Section 58(1) of the ESA defines a mass termination as a termination wherein more than 50 employees of an establishment are terminated within a four-week period. An establishment can include more than one retailer location and the four-week period is a window of time that begins the moment the establishment terminates 50 or more employees.

The employer must provide the Ministry of Labour (the “MOL”) with notice of the mass termination via a Form 1. The notice of termination period begins the moment the Director of Employment Standards of the MOL receives the Form 1, as such late filing of the Form 1 will have cost implications for the employer. The employer must post a copy of the Form 1 in a visible area of the workplace beginning on the first day of the notice period.

Notice entitlements will depend on the number of employees terminated. Section 74.11 4.3 of the ESA sets out the required notice period based on the number of employees terminated:

  • 8 weeks’ notice if 50 to 199 employees are to be terminated;
  • 12 weeks’ notice if 200 to 499 employees are to be terminated; and
  • 16 weeks’ notice if 500 or more employees are to be terminated.

The notice provided can be in the form of working notice or it can be pay in lieu of notice, where the employees stop working but get paid for the notice period. 

What about Severance?

Employees with more than 5 years of service with the employer will be entitled to severance pay, in addition to notice of termination, if they are terminated because of a “permanent discontinuance.” In mass termination situations, the severance entitlement is triggered even if an employer does not have a payroll of $2.5 million or more.

Final Thoughts

Even with the protections for employees provided by the ESA, it is undeniable that these mass-terminations have a considerable impact on workers in the retail industry.  Many stores are disappearing from the retail landscape – Gymboree and Payless Shoe Source also filed for bankruptcy this year – and it is very likely that we will continue to see this trend of closures as consumer trends shift away from “fast fashion” and more people use online platforms to source goods. 

If you have been involved in a mass termination or are just interested in learning more, we invite you to explore our So You’ve Been Fired e-book or get in touch!

Employers often have questions about what to do with vacation when an employee is on a leave. Do they still earn vacation time? Do they still get vacation pay even if they aren’t getting paid? Vacation is one of the trickiest employment standards, but we will shed some light into its dark corners in this post! 

The Right to Vacation

Under the Ontario Employment Standards Act (the ESA), employees are entitled to vacation both during periods of active and inactive employment. Employees are entitled to a minimum of two weeks of vacation per year if they have been employed for less than five years and three weeks per year after five years of employment. Vacation can be paid time off or additional pay. Employees who work part-time generally earn vacation pay on each paycheque, as opposed to paid time off. 

Inactive Employment

A period of “inactive employment” is a period of time during which the employee is still employed but may not actually be working. Employees on leaves of various types would be considered inactively employed. The ESA sets out a variety of different leaves under Part XIV. The leaves set out the parameters under which an employee can take a leave and have their job held until their return. Generally, the leaves require a period of active employment before an employee is eligible, are only for a set amount of time and are unpaid. The most commonly used ESA leaves are pregnancy leave and parental leave. The ESA also provides job protection for things like organ donor leave, family caregiver leave, bereavement leave and reservist leave – just to name a few.    

Earning Vacation While On Leave

While it may seem counterintuitive that an employee still earns vacation while they are on a leave – aren’t they already kind of on a vacation? – but that’s the way it is. However, while an employee who is inactively employed will always earn vacation time, they may not earn paid vacation time if their contract stipulates that paid vacation is earned through active service. Even where a contract contains this stipulation, an employee’s vacation entitlement (be it paid or unpaid or both) must never be less than the minimum ESA entitlement. Remember ESA vacation is earned through active AND inactive service. The Ontario Ministry of Labour provides some good examples of how this works in their Guide to the ESA, Your Guide to the Employment Standards Act. 

Paid or Unpaid – Vacation Time and Vacation Pay 

Whether an employee earns paid time off while on a leave will depend on the wording of the employment contract. Paid vacation is typically earned on paid time and not on unpaid time. 

The ESA requires that an employee be paid (or earn) a percentage of their wages as vacation – 4% for 2 weeks and 6% for 3 weeks. For employees on unpaid leaves, they will typically not earn paid vacation time (or vacation pay) because they have not earned wages upon which they would earn paid vacation. However, employees on unpaid leaves will still earn vacation time as per their minimum ESA entitlement – it will just be unpaid. For example, if Mark takes an unpaid parental leave of 6 months, and his annual vacation entitlement is 2 weeks, he will earn one week of paid vacation (for the 6 months he worked and earned wages) and 1 week of unpaid vacation (for the 6 months he was on an unpaid leave). 

Your head may be spinning by now – that’s just what the ESA vacation section does to people! If you have an employee on leave and are about to throw your computer out the window trying to figure out what they are entitled to, put that computer down and get in touch! We can help! 

 

This news story was just so wonky, and incorporated many of the crazy things we regularly get questions about, that we had to write about it! This situation took place in Winnipeg, Manitoba. On this blog, we usually focus on Ontario law because we are in Ontario, but other than Quebec, employment law is similar across Canada so the principles discussed here would apply across the common law provinces.

Slacking Inspectors 

Last week, the City of Winnipeg fired eight employees in its Property and Planning department. These employees were unionized, so their terminations are being challenged by their union – they may get their jobs back but they are off for now. 

The terminations followed a City of Winnipeg investigation, which was prompted after an anonymous citizens’ group paid a private investigator to video city inspectors conducting personal business during their work shifts. How crazy is that?

The citizens’ group is anonymous but allegedly consists of business owners and contractors. One can only imagine how frustrated these people must have been by the hold-ups of their building inspections to take the drastic step of hiring a private investigator. But the group found what they were looking for!

17 Property and Planning employees were followed and videoed taking extended lunches and coffee breaks, doing their grocery shopping, spending hours at the gym and running personal errands, all on work time. These employees were followed by private investigators for three months before the group handed over their footage to the City. 

Once the private investigator’s footage was handed over the City, the City conducted its own investigation. This investigation used more conventional workplace investigation methods, including reviewing timesheets and interviewing people. 

Is That Legal?

Videoing and recording are topics that come up a lot in the workplace. If you’re in a public space, like these employees who were being followed were, then filming without sound is generally legal. There are exceptions which we won’t get into here. Surreptitious filming of someone in a place where they do have an expectation of privacy, like a bathroom or their home, is generally not legal. 

Audio conversations can generally be legally recorded as long as one person who is participating in the conversation is aware that the conversation is being recorded. Secretly leaving an audio recorder in a room where you are not participating in the conversation is generally not legal. 

Takeaways

This story raises all sorts of interesting workplace and privacy issues. Our lives are increasingly being surveilled, but using a private investigator to spy on employees is still pretty out there. This is likely not something that the City would have done on its own, but once the footage was in its hands, it had a public responsibility to act. 

Supervisors have hard jobs, especially when it comes to employees working in the field – like these inspectors – and when it comes to remote workers, who could be working (or not working) anywhere. Employers need to be able to trust that their employees are actually working when they are supposed to be. 

Not working on work time constitutes time theft. The employee is accepting pay for time when they were not actually working. Technology provides employers with increasingly numerous ways to keep tabs on remote employees, but the balance always needs to be struck between employee privacy and the employer’s right to manage the workforce. 

If you have questions about workplace privacy or time theft, get in touch. 

Our clients ask a lot of questions about overtime. Despite many workplaces that are trying hard to keep work hours reasonable and limit them to 40 hours per week, in busy workplaces, overtime is very often inevitable – at least once in awhile. 

There is a lot to know about overtime, more than we can cover in this post, but here are some highlights and practical tips. 

The Overtime Threshold

In Ontario, the overtime pay threshold is 44 hours per week. This is set out in the Ontario Employment Standards Act.  In some provinces, the threshold is 40 hours, but we will focus on Ontario in this post. The 44-hour threshold means that any time an employee works beyond 44 hours in a week is overtime. Employees who work overtime receive extra pay (or time off — see below) for that time. The value of overtime is 1.5 times that of regular time. In other words, an employee who works 1 hour of overtime is entitled to 1.5 hours of their regular pay.  

Exemptions: Who Gets Overtime Pay?

Not every type of employee is entitled to overtime pay. Some categories of workers are exempt from aspects of the Employment Standards Act, especially as it relates to hours of work and overtime. These exemptions are set out in a separate regulation, titled O. Reg. 285/01: WHEN WORK DEEMED TO BE PERFORMED, EXEMPTIONS AND SPECIAL RULES. Exemptions from overtime pay are set out in section 2 and 8. Broadly, most regulated professionals are not entitled to overtime pay. This includes workers such as architects, lawyers, doctors, engineers, veterinarians, dentists, massage therapists, physiotherapists, pharmacists etc.  IT professionals, travelling salespeople, commercial fishermen, certain farming and landscaping jobs are also exempt. There are nuances to many of these exemptions and this list is not exhaustive, so we suggest you get legal advice before making any final determinations. 

The most commonly used exemption is for managers. Many employers will use “manager” in a job title and pay the employee a salary, thinking that this will make the employee exempt. This is not always the case, as to meet the exemption criteria, the manager must actually be spending most of their time managing and only perform non-supervisory or non-managerial tasks on an irregular or exceptional basis (section 8.b) of O.Reg 285/01). 

What About Employees On Salary?

Many employers believe that paying an employee a salary means that they do not have to be paid overtime. This is not the case. Salaried workers are entitled to overtime unless they fall under an exemption. 

In order to determine the overtime rate of a salaried worker, divide their weekly salary by 44. This will give you their regular hourly rate. The overtime rate will be 1.5 times the regular rate. 

Averaging: When Work Weeks Are Different 

Employers whose employees only occasionally work over 44 hours per week, or whose workload fluctuates, can take advantage of averaging agreements. This allows the employer to average the employees hours of work over a period of up to four weeks. If the average number of hours per week is less than 44, then the employer will not have to pay the employee overtime pay. 

Averaging requires the employee’s agreement. The employer cannot unilaterally decide that they will use averaging.  

Lieu Time Instead of Pay 

Lieu time is another way that employers commonly deal with overtime. Instead of paying out overtime, employees can take time off. The value of the time or pay is the same. One hour of overtime is 1.5 hours of time off or pay. 

Lieu time requires the agreement of both the employer and the employee. The time off must be taken within three months of the time when it was earned, or if the employee agrees, within 12 months. If lieu time was earned more than 12 months ago, or more than 3 months ago and the employee does not consent to an extension to 12 months, it must be paid out as overtime pay. 

Final Thoughts

Overtime with all its nuances and exemptions is tricky! If you’re unsure about how to classify workers in your workplace get in touch! 

The recent trailer for the upcoming film Bombshell depicts a hauntingly quiet elevator ride between three women who, we will soon discover, have something awful in common. The film, which will be released in December, is based on the real-life sexual harassment case against the founder and former CEO of Fox News, Roger Ailes. The women who are at the heart of this film, were employed at Fox News and brought forward the allegations against Ailes.  

Workplace Sexual Harassment in the Entertainment Industry

The topic of workplace sexual harassment is now at the center of most discussions around workplace safety and workplace culture, but it would be naive to presume that all workplaces are safer since the Me Too movement gained steam in 2017. 

Certain workers, by nature of their professions, are in a particularly difficult position with regard to workplace sexual harassment. While the Me Too movement has made a very deliberate attempt to expand its outreach beyond the entertainment and media industry, often making the point that harassment occurs in all industries, individuals who work in entertainment and media do face particular vulnerabilities.

What Makes the Entertainment Industry Different?

While the Ontario Human Rights Code (OHRC) and the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) protect a variety of workers, including individuals in media, entertainers will fall under certain exceptions. For instance, section 25.1(3) of OHSA, prohibits employers from instituting policies requiring employees to work with high heeled shoes.  However, this same provision exempts employers from the “entertainment and advertising industry.” 

Also, working in the entertainment space may require individuals to behave in ways that would normally be considered unusual in the workplace, such as wearing sexy clothing or performing scenes with simulated sexual activity or intimacy. These circumstances can lead to potentially exploitative situations, particularly for those new to the industry.

Addressing These Gaps

Another challenge for individuals is that many in the industry work outside unions and as such do not benefit from uniform workplace harassment policies. To address this need, the Association of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) created universal guidelines to prevent and respond to harassment, bullying and violence in the workplace. Signatories of the Code of Conduct agree to take appropriate and timely steps to address allegations of harassment, discrimination and violence in the workplace, including taking legal action when necessary. Major players in the entertainment industry, including TIFF and the CBC, have become signatories.

The Directors Guild of Canada (DGC), a labour union that represents various people who work behind the camera, in collaboration with ACTRA, has created HAVEN, a bilingual reporting hotline available to those in the industry experiencing harassment in the workplace. The hotline operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and is completely confidential – a necessary feature in an industry that is so relationship driven.

Final Thoughts

While workers should be able to depend on strong legislative frameworks to protect their interests in the workplace, it is promising to see industry leaders come together to address the gaps that make certain workers more vulnerable. Canada is quickly becoming an important player in the world of content creation and, with the eyes of the world on us, it is critical that the entertainment industry work to create safe and supportive working environments for all workers.

If you’d like to talk more about how to deal with harassment in your organization get in touch! We are passionate about this issue and eager to help.