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 first released its plan to follow a cautious and phased approach to lifting COVID-19 public health and workplace safety measures on January 20, 2022. On February 14, 2022, however, Ontario announced that with key...more
2/16/2022
/ Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Guidance ,
Ontario ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
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
With key public health indicators beginning to show signs of improvement and expected to continue, Ontario announced on January 20, 2022, that commencing January 31, 2022, it would begin to take steps to cautiously and...more
2/1/2022
/ Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Guidance ,
Ontario ,
Public Health ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Remote Working ,
Telecommuting ,
Workplace Safety
In Canada Post Corporation and Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), Arbitrator Kevin Burkett denied CUPW’s cease and desist application filed under the collective agreement (CA), which arose when the employer imposed a...more
1/26/2022
/ Arbitration ,
Canada ,
Cease and Desist Orders ,
Collective Agreements ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Labor Relations ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
With key public health indicators beginning to show signs of improvement and expected to continue, Ontario announced that commencing January 31, 2022, in the absence of concerning trends, it would begin to take steps to...more
1/21/2022
/ Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Guidance ,
Ontario ,
Public Gatherings ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Relief Measures ,
Seating ,
Vaccine Passports ,
Workplace Safety
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
Due to high infection rates from the Omicron variant and an increase in hospitalizations, on January 7, 2022, British Columbia’s Provincial Health Officer (PHO) announced an order (not yet available) requiring employers to...more
On December 17, 2021, Bill C-3, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Canada Labour Code (Bill C-3), received Royal Assent. Bill C-3’s intention is to provide support, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, to workers in...more
1/12/2022
/ Bereavement Leave ,
Canada ,
Criminal Code ,
Federal Employees ,
Harassment ,
Healthcare Workers ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
Labour Code ,
Leave of Absence ,
Medical Leave ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Regulatory Agenda
In response to the recent rapid increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations caused by the highly transmissible nature of the Omicron variant, and as the province continues to accelerate its booster dose rollout, Ontario announced...more
1/5/2022
/ Business Closures ,
Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Ontario ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Remote Working ,
Social Distancing ,
Telecommuting
In 2021, 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 2021 developments, with links to more detailed...more
12/17/2021
/ Canada ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
New Legislation ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Harassment Guidance ,
Workplace Violence ,
Wrongful Termination
On December 15, 2021, the Public Health Agency of Canada issued a Level 3 COVID-19 Global travel advisory, which advises Canadians, regardless of their vaccination status, to avoid non-essential travel internationally (Travel...more
On December 7, 2021, Ontario announced it would extend the availability of Paid Infectious Disease Leave (Paid IDEL) until July 31, 2022, and the temporary relief measures from the termination and severance provisions of the...more
On November 30, 2021, Ontario announced that it had passed Bill 27, Working for Workers Act, 2021 (Act). The Act received Royal Assent on December 2, 2021, and came into force on that day. Bill 27 requires employers to...more
12/6/2021
/ Canada ,
Employment Standards Act ,
Foreign Nationals ,
International Labor Laws ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Off-Duty Employees ,
Pending Legislation ,
Popular ,
Recruitment Policies ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Temporary Employees
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
Eligible Workers in British Columbia Entitled to Five Days of Paid Sick Leave Beginning January 1, 2022 -
On November 24, 2021, British Columbia announced that beginning January 1, 2022, workers covered by the province’s...more
On November 19, 2021, the Government of Canada announced the following amendments to its travel requirements...more
In Hucsko v. A.O. Smith Enterprises Limited, 2021 ONCA 728 (A.O. Smith), a long-term senior employee’s co-worker alleged that the employee sexually harassed her. After a workplace investigation that determined the co-worker’s...more
11/22/2021
/ #MeToo ,
Canada ,
Damages ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hostile Environment ,
International Labor Laws ,
Ontario ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Termination for Cause ,
Wrongful Termination
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 November 11, 2021, only two days after Arbitrator Von Veh upheld a mandatory vaccination policy in United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Canada Local 333 v. Paragon Protection Ltd. (Paragon), Arbitrator Stout struck...more
11/17/2021
/ Canada ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
OHSA ,
Ontario ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
On November 9, 2021, in United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Canada Local 333 v. Paragon Protection Ltd. (Paragon), Arbitrator Von Veh in Ontario dismissed a union’s policy grievance and upheld a mandatory COVID-19...more
11/15/2021
/ Canada ,
Collective Agreements ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dismissals ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
OHSA ,
Ontario ,
Statutory Violations ,
Unions ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety