On April 11, 2022, Bill 88, Working for Workers Act, 2022 received Royal Assent and became law. As previously discussed, in addition to enacting the new Digital Platform Workers’ Rights Act, 2022 (DPWRA), Bill 88 amends the...more
Bill 10, the Labour Relations Code Amendment Act, 2022, introduced on April 6, 2022, would make significant amendments to British Columbia’s Labour Relations Code (LRC).
Two Possible Paths to Union Certification -
If...more
On April 4, 2022, in Fraser Health Authority v British Columbia General Employees’ Union, 2022 CanLII 25560, Arbitrator Koml Kandola of the British Columbia Labour Relations Board dismissed the union’s grievance respecting...more
4/13/2022
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Arbitration ,
Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Litigation ,
Grievance Process ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On April 4, 2022, in Extendicare Lynde Creek Retirement Residence and United Food & Commercial Workers Canada, Local 175, Arbitrator Stephen Raymond upheld a retirement home’s mandatory vaccination policy as a reasonable...more
4/11/2022
/ Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Essential Workers ,
Health and Safety ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Disputes ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On April 5, 2022, Ontario announced that, in an effort to help workers with rising costs and inflation, it will be raising its general minimum wage by 8% from $15 per hour to $15.50 per hour, commencing October 1, 2022. The...more
In Oostlander v Cervus Equipment Corporation, 2022 ABQB 200, the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta awarded 24 months’ pay in lieu of reasonable notice to a long-term heavy duty mechanic, less mitigation income. The court also...more
On March 28, 2022, British Columbia introduced Bill 19 - 2022, Employment Standards Amendment Act, 2022 (Bill 19) for first reading. Bill 19 addresses issues raised after the province’s Employment Standards Act (ESA) was...more
In The Toronto District School Board and CUPE, Local 4400 (Re: PR734 COVID-19 Vaccine Procedure) (TDSB and CUPE), Arbitrator William Kaplan upheld the Toronto District School Board’s (TDSB) mandatory COVID-19 vaccination...more
In a successful wrongful dismissal claim for $18,647, the Supreme Court of British Columbia in Austin v Kitsumkalum First Nation, 2020 BCSC 2298, awarded the employee an additional $15,000 for aggravated damages because the...more
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
In Reotech Construction Ltd. v Snider, 2022 BCSC 317 (Reotech), the Supreme Court of British Columbia found that the trial court erred when it did not deduct the employee’s $9,000 Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB)...more
In Shalagin v. Mercer Celgar Limited Partnership, 2022 BCSC 112 (Mercer), the Supreme Court of British Columbia dismissed an employee’s wrongful dismissal claim and held that his surreptitious recording of conversations with...more
Fully Vaccinated Travellers -
On March 17, 2022, Canada announced that, effective April 1, 2022, fully vaccinated travellers will no longer be required to provide a pre-entry COVID-19 test result to enter Canada....more
3/21/2022
/ Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
International Travel ,
Public Health ,
Screening Procedures ,
Travel Restrictions ,
Traveling Employee ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
In Currie v. Nylene Canada Inc., 2022 ONCA 209, the Ontario Court of Appeal (OCA) dismissed the employer’s appeal of a lower court decision in which trial judge held “exceptional circumstances” existed to justify making an...more
On March 1, 2022, Ontario moved to the Roadmap Exit Step, as amended. We provided a summary of the restrictions that were eliminated on that date and those that would continue to exist....more
In United Utility Workers’ Association of Canada v Dataco Utility Services Ltd., 2022 CanLII 13414 (AB GAA), Arbitrator John Moreau, Q.C., dismissed 11 grievances filed on behalf of 11 service technicians (Grievors) of Dataco...more
3/9/2022
/ Breach of Contract ,
Canada ,
Collective Agreements ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Grievance Process ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Layoffs ,
Severance Pay ,
Wage and Hour
On the heels of the passage of the Working for Workers Act, 2021, Ontario introduced Bill 88, Working for Workers Act, 2022 (Bill 88) on February 28, 2022, and carried it at First Reading....more
3/3/2022
/ Canada ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Standards Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Ontario ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Wage and Hour
Last May, Ontario released its Roadmap to Reopen, a three-step plan to safely and gradually reopen the province and loosen certain public health restrictions. In July, Ontario filed O. Reg. 541/21, which added a new “Roadmap...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
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
Ontario’s Bill 27, Working for Workers Act, 2021 (Act), became law on December 2, 2021. Among other things, the Act amends the Employment Standards Act, 2000 to prohibit employers and prospective employers from entering into...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
In Bunge Hamilton Canada, Hamilton, Ontario v. United Food and Commercial Workers Canada, Local 175 (Bunge), Arbitrator Robert J. Herman dismissed a union grievance challenging the employer’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccination...more
1/20/2022
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Grievance Process ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Ontario ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety