On November 29, 2023, Prince Edward Island’s Bill 106, An Act to Amend the Employment Standards Act, received Royal Assent. Bill 106 will come into force on October 1, 2024....more
In Dove v Destiny Media Technologies Inc., 2023 BCSC 1032 , the Supreme Court of British Columbia found that an employer had just cause for the dismissal of a full-time employee who worked on a side business during working...more
In Croke v. VuPoint Systems Ltd., 2023 ONSC 1234, Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice decided that an employee’s refusal to comply with mandatory COVID-19 vaccination requirements resulted in the frustration of the parties’...more
3/14/2023
/ Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Frustration of a Common Purpose ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Ontario ,
Vaccinations
In 2022, Canada saw significant statutory and case law developments in labour and employment law, some of which related to COVID-19. This Insight provides an overview of key 2022 developments, with links to more detailed...more
1/5/2023
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Employment Standards Act ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
Non-Compete Agreements
Although arbitrators in Canada have considered whether an employer in a unionized workplace can place an employee on unpaid leave for failing to comply with its mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy, the British Columbia...more
10/7/2022
/ Arbitration ,
Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Unpaid Leave ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
In the spring, Bill 88, Working for Workers Act, 2022, received Royal Assent and became law. Among other things, Bill 88 amended Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) to require certain employers to ensure, within a...more
Since late fall 2021, we have seen a steady flow of arbitration awards emerge in Ontario and British Columbia that consider issues relating to mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies in the unionized workplace. In this...more
4/27/2022
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
In Unifor Local 973 v Coca-Cola Canada Bottling Limited, 2022 CanLII 20322, Arbitrator Mark Wright made another contribution to the “weight of authority” in Ontario labour arbitration awards pertaining to mandatory COVID-19...more
3/25/2022
/ Arbitration ,
Canada ,
Collective Agreements ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On February 24, 2022, Ontario announced that later this month, in an effort to protect the privacy of employees, it will be the first province to introduce legislation requiring employers to tell their workers if and how they...more
2/24/2022
/ Canada ,
Electronic Communications ,
Employee Monitoring ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employee Rights ,
Employee Tracking ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
Notice Requirements ,
Ontario ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda
In Power Workers’ Union v Elexicon Energy Inc., 2022 CanLII 7228 (ON LA) (Elexicon Energy), a union challenged the reasonableness of an electricity distribution company’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy (Policy). ...more
2/17/2022
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitrators ,
Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On November 12, 2021, in Ontario Power Generation and The Power Worker Union (OPG), Arbitrator John C. Murray considered issues relating to a Vaccinate or Test Policy (Policy) that provided, among other things, that if...more
11/18/2021
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
OHSA ,
Ontario ,
Unpaid Leave ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
On October 29, 2021, in Blake v. University Health Network, 2021 ONSC 7139 (Blake), the Ontario Superior Court of Justice discontinued an interim injunction that it had issued on October 22, 2021, staying the terminations of...more
11/10/2021
/ Canada ,
Collective Agreements ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Injunctions ,
International Labor Laws ,
Ontario ,
Stays ,
Unions ,
Wrongful Termination
In EllisDon Construction Ltd. v. Labourers’ International Union of North America, Local 183, 2021 CanLII 50159, an Arbitrator in Ontario decided that when the intrusiveness of an employer’s compulsory Rapid COVID-19 Antigen...more
7/14/2021
/ Arbitration ,
Canada ,
Collective Agreements ,
Construction Workers ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Screening Procedures ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
In Phillips v. Westcan, 2020 ABQB 764, the Court of Queen’s Bench for Alberta denied an employee’s application for a permanent injunction against his non-unionized employer to prohibit the employer from randomly testing its...more
On April 13, 2021, Ontario announced that in Phase 2 of its COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan it will provide vaccines to those 18 and over via mass immunization clinics, mobile teams, and pop-up clinics in highly impacted...more
In Garda Security Screening Inc. v. IAM, District 140 (Shoker Grievance) [2020] O.L.A.A. No. 162 (Garda Grievance), a labour arbitrator dismissed a grievance pertaining to the for-cause dismissal of a unionized employee who...more
In Canada, employers that host holiday parties for their employees could expose themselves to significant common law liability for the actions of an employee or guest who is under the influence of alcohol or cannabis....more
12/3/2019
/ Best Management Practices ,
Canada ,
Cannabis Products ,
Drunk Driving ,
Employee Misconduct ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Harassment ,
Holiday Parties ,
Holidays ,
Human Rights ,
Marijuana ,
OHSA ,
Recreational Use ,
Risk Management ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Wine & Alcohol
Members of the Baby Boom generation often remained in one job throughout their working lives. It is now more common for employers to receive résumés from millennials (born between 1981 – 1996) who have had numerous jobs...more
10/21/2019
/ Appeals ,
Canada ,
Elder Care ,
Employee's Childcare ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Family Status Discrimination ,
Flexible Work Arrangements ,
Judicial Review ,
Ontario Human Rights Tribunal ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Schedules