In Karim v. Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, 2024 HRTO 1231, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) dismissed a probationary employee’s claim that they were discriminated against with respect to employment because...more
2/26/2025
/ Canada ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Discrimination ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Human Rights ,
Ontario ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Termination
In Croke v. VuPoint System Ltd., 2024 ONCA 354, the Court of Appeal for Ontario (OCA) upheld the Superior Court of Justice – Ontario (SCJ)’s summary judgment decision that an employee’s refusal to comply with their employer’s...more
8/20/2024
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Frustration of a Common Purpose ,
Health and Safety ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Ontario ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety ,
Wrongful Termination
In Nelson v. Goodberry Restaurant Group Ltd. dba Buono Osteria and others, 2021 BCHRT 137, the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal found that a restaurant and its managers that refused to use a server’s pronouns, among...more
3/21/2024
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Canada ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Expression ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
LGBTQ ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Transgender
In Van Hee v Glenmore Inn Holdings Ltd., 2023 ABCJ 244 (Glenmore), the Alberta Court of Justice found that an employer’s mandatory vaccination policy was a reasonable, justified and lawful response to the extraordinary...more
12/18/2023
/ Canada ,
Constructive Discharge ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Unpaid Leave ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
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
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
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 Chartwell Housing REIT v. Healthcare, Office and Professional Employees Union, Local 2220, 2022CanLII 6832 (ON LA) (Chartwell), Arbitrator Gail Misra considered a provision in a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy that...more
2/24/2022
/ Arbitration ,
Canada ,
Collective Agreements ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Long Term Care Facilities ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On February 18, 2022, Ontario’s Your guide to the Employment Standards Act (Guide) was updated to include two new chapters that provide guidance on recent amendments to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) that first...more
British Columbia: Eligible Workers Entitled to Five Days of Paid Sick Leave Beginning January 1, 2022 -
New Legislation Enacted -
British Columbia announced that beginning January 1, 2022, workers covered by the...more
2/7/2022
/ Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Human Rights ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
New Legislation ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sick Leave ,
Supreme Court of Canada
On November 19, 2021, in Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 113 v. Toronto Transit Commission and National Organized Workers Union v. Sinai Health System, 2021 ONSC 7658 (TTC/Sinai Decision), the Ontario Superior Court...more
12/1/2021
/ Arbitration ,
Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Policies ,
Grievance Process ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Rights ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Injunctive Relief ,
International Labor Laws ,
Jurisdiction ,
Ontario ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On October 25, 2021, Ontario announced the introduction of Bill 27, Working for Workers Act, 2021 (Act) for First Reading. If passed, the Act would amend Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) and other statutes in...more
British Columbia’s Office of the Human Rights Commissioner (BCOHRC) recently released A human rights approach to proof of vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic (Guidance), which offers general advice on how employers and...more
8/17/2021
/ Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Health and Safety ,
Human Rights ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
In response to the COVID-19 crisis, the governments of a number of jurisdictions in Canada have amended their employment standards legislation to entitle employees to emergency unpaid job-protected leave when they are unable...more
Whether a wrongfully dismissed employee is entitled to damages as compensation for the value of incentives that would have vested during the reasonable notice period is frequently litigated in Canada....more
2/27/2020
/ Ambiguous ,
Bonuses ,
Canada ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Contract Drafting ,
Contract Terms ,
Damages ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Incentive Compensation ,
Incentive Stock Options ,
Ontario ,
Summary Judgment ,
Wrongful Termination
In Teamsters Local Union 847 v Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, 2019 CanLII 95328 (ON LA), a part-time restaurant employee in Ontario, Canada with two years’ seniority was discharged from her employment because her...more
1/28/2020
/ Absenteeism ,
Arbitration ,
Attendance ,
Canada ,
Collective Agreements ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Employment Standards Act ,
Filing Grievances ,
Food Service Workers ,
Labor Regulations ,
Ontario ,
Part-Time Employees ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Teamsters ,
Termination ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
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
When Canada’s Cannabis Act and supporting regulations came into force on October 17, 2018, Canada became the first major world economy to establish a legal framework at the federal level for the adult recreational use of...more
11/26/2019
/ Artificial Impairment ,
Canada ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Act ,
Cannabis Products ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Labor Regulations ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana-Infused Edibles ,
Medical Foods ,
Plant Based Products ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Recreational Use ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Safety Standards ,
Workplace Safety