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
With some Canada Labour Code (CLC) amendments in Bill C-44, the Budget Implementation Act, 2017, No. 1 (Bill 44) having come into force in 2017 and earlier in 2019, some additional amendments in Bill C-44 came into force as...more
10/25/2019
/ Canada ,
Damages ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employee Definition ,
Employee Rights ,
Flexible Work Arrangements ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Holiday Pay ,
Incentive Compensation ,
Independent Contractors ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Regulations ,
Labour Code ,
Leave of Absence ,
Misclassification ,
Over-Time ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
In Manastersky v. Royal Bank of Canada, 2019 ONCA 609, the Ontario Court of Appeal (“OCA”) considered the important question of whether a terminated employee is entitled to be awarded damages in lieu of a lost opportunity to...more
Ontario: Amendments to Employment Standards Act and Labour Relations Act -
New Legislation Enacted -
Bill 66, Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act, 2018, received Royal Assent on April 3, 2019, and amended the...more
7/23/2019
/ Canada ,
Domestic Violence ,
Employment Standards Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Regulations ,
Labor Relations ,
Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Gap ,
Sexual Harassment
As employment lawyers that represent management, we invariably counsel our clients that they must treat complaints of harassment in the workplace seriously, and take immediate steps to investigate them. A recent case,...more
5/28/2019
/ Canada ,
Complaint Procedures ,
Default Judgment ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Harassment ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hostile Environment ,
Internal Reporting ,
Ontario ,
Retaliation ,
Workplace Violence
Among other things, the Fair Workplaces Better Jobs Act, 2017 (Bill 148) significantly amended Ontario's Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA). Most of Bill 148’s ESA amendments came into force in 2018, with the remainder to...more
4/19/2019
/ Adoption ,
Appeals ,
Canada ,
Cannabis Products ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employment Standards Act ,
Harassment ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
New Legislation ,
Parental Leave ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
Securities Fraud ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Undue Hardship ,
Whistleblowers
The Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador rendered a welcome decision in February for employers across Canada that have been struggling to balance their obligations under occupational health and safety and human rights...more
4/11/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Canada ,
Construction Project ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Health and Safety ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Undue Hardship ,
Unions ,
Workplace Safety
In early 2017, in a case about strained relations between a Royal Canadian Mounted Police (the “RCMP”) member and several of his supervisors, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (the “ONSC”) created a new “tort of...more
Bill C-74 Receives Royal Assent-
New Legislation Enacted-
Bill C-74, the Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 1, received Royal Assent on June 21, 2018. Initiatives of interest to employers include allowing part-time...more
10/19/2018
/ Appeals ,
Canada ,
Contract Terms ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employment Contract ,
Equal Access ,
Impairment Rating Evaluations (IREs) ,
Independent Contractors ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labour Code ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana ,
Motor Vehicles ,
Ontario ,
Part-Time Employees ,
Pending Legislation ,
Public Access Laws ,
Termination Clauses ,
Wage and Hour
British Columbia Extends Family Leave Policies -
New Legislation Enacted -
On May 17, 2018, British Columbia amended legislation to give employees in the province pregnancy, parental, and compassionate care leaves. ...more
8/2/2018
/ Appeals ,
Canada ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Rights ,
International Labor Laws ,
Medical Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
Ontario ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Pay Transparency ,
Wage and Hour
The Government of Canada has announced that its proposed data breach notification requirements pursuant to the Digital Privacy Act (the “Act”) will take effect on November 1, 2018. The Act amends Canada’s Personal...more
4/11/2018
/ Amended Legislation ,
Canada ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Hackers ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
PIPEDA ,
Popular ,
Reporting Requirements
The interview process is a time-consuming, planned procedure in which the parties seek to learn as much as possible about each other before determining whether it is a match. In addition to probing the candidate’s...more
3/12/2018
/ Ban the Box ,
Canada ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
New Legislation ,
Ontario ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Wage and Hour
In a lawsuit involving both wrongful dismissal and defamation, Canada's Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Papp v. Stokes et al, 2017 ONSC 2357, has ruled that an employer’s negative review of an employee’s attitude during...more
In Canada, termination clauses in employment agreements are critical tools that allow an employer to avoid providing reasonable notice of termination under the common law. Each year there are numerous court decisions on this...more
As previously reported, the Special Advisors to the Government of Ontario, Canada released their interim report on July 27, 2016 on ways in which the Ontario Labour Relations Act (“LRA”) and Ontario Employment Standards Act,...more
9/23/2016
/ Canada ,
Employees ,
Employment Standards Act ,
Franchisee ,
Franchises ,
Franchisors ,
Independent Contractors ,
Interim Guidance ,
Joint Employers ,
Misclassification ,
Ontario Labour Relations Board ,
Subcontractors
Bill 132, entitled “Sexual Violence and Harassment Action Plan Act (Supporting Survivors and Challenging Sexual Violence and Harassment), 2015” (hereinafter the “Bill”) has now been passed into law in Ontario and will be in...more
A number of employment requirements set forth under the Integrated Accessibility Standards (“IAS”) will become effective on January 1, 2016. This will be the latest phase of the staggered implementation of the IAS...more