We are pleased to announce that Thomas A. Roper Q.C. has been selected for inclusion in The 2017 Lexpert®/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada (Lexpert®/ALM 500).
Click here to view the complete guide.
Employment Insurance Changes Coming
December 2016Effective January 1, 2017, changes are coming to the Employment Insurance (“EI”) scheme that will reduce the waiting period for EI benefits from two weeks to one week.
This change will apply to regular and special benefits, including pregnancy, parental, compassionate care, and sickness benefits. The total number of weeks of available benefits is not impacted by the legislative changes.
The reduction in the waiting period may have an impact on employers who offer supplemental or top-up payments that coordinate with EI pregnancy, parental, sickness, or other special benefits. The change may also affect employers whose disability benefits are payable only after employees have exhausted all available EI sickness benefits.
If you require assistance regarding the impact of these legislative changes on your workplace or any workplace policies or benefit plans, please contact us.
Roper Greyell is Listed in the 2017 Edition of The Legal 500 Canada
November 2016Roper Greyell is proud to be recognized as a leading firm in the 2017 edition of The Legal 500 Canada. In addition, Thomas A. Roper, Q.C. was also recognized individually as a leading employment and labour practitioner in Canada.
Click here for complete rankings.
The Legal 500
One of the world’s largest legal referral guides, The Legal 500 has been analyzing and ranking the capabilities of law firms across the world for 27 years. Its comprehensive research programme is based on feedback from 250,000 clients worldwide, submissions from law firms and interviews with leading private practice lawyers.
Roper Greyell Lawyers Named to Who’s Who Legal: Canada 2016
November 2016We are pleased to announce that seven Roper Greyell lawyers have been ranked in the 2016 edition of Who’s Who Legal: Canada.
Meet our lawyers who have been recognized for their expertise:
Thomas A Roper Q.C.
Gregory J Heywood
Delayne Sartison Q.C.
Michael Wagner
Sandra Guarascio
Gavin Marshall
James D Kondopulos
About Who’s Who Legal
Since 1996, Who’s Who Legal has identified the foremost legal practitioners in business law based upon comprehensive, independent research. It is impossible to buy entry into this publication.
Roper Greyell Featured on BCBusiness.ca
October 2016James D. Kondopulos highlights five critical mistakes to avoid in the lead-up to labour arbitration. For more details, please read our article on BCBusiness.ca or click here to register for our 2016 Labour Arbitration Update.
Roper Greyell Ranked in the 2017 Edition of Chambers Canada
September 2016We are pleased to announce that Roper Greyell has been ranked as a leading employment and labour law firm in the 2017 edition of Chambers Canada. Thomas A. Roper Q.C., Delayne Sartison Q.C. and Gregory J. Heywood were also ranked individually.
Meet the Roper Greyell lawyers who have been recognized for their expertise:
Thomas A. Roper Q.C.’s “reputation in Vancouver and beyond is of the highest standing.” One source commented: “He is very efficient and very sound in his approach – a leading lawyer.”
Delayne Sartison Q.C. was first ranked by Chambers Global in 2012 and in this year’s guide moved to a Band 2 ranking in British Columbia. Chambers Canada refers to Delayne as a lawyer who “inspires confidence in peers and clients alike” and clients “pinpoint her as ‘a clear leader’ in British Columbia.”
Gregory J. Heywood “earns praise for his skills in litigation and arbitration, and for his flexible approach.” One source described him as “top-notch” and commented: “He understands the industrial relations climate in BC.”
All quotes are from Chambers Canada 2017.
Click here to view the 2017 Chambers Canada Guide.
About Chambers Canada
Chambers Canada is a well-respected legal publication that ranks the world’s best lawyers and law firms. Rankings are based on in-depth research and interviews conducted by over 150 highly qualified researchers.
Roper Greyell Featured on BCBusiness.ca
September 2016Jennifer Russell shares five important tips business owners need to keep in mind before moving forward with any workplace investigation. For more details, please read our article on BCBusiness.ca.
Best Lawyers Recognizes Roper Greyell Lawyers
August 2016We are pleased to announce that six of the firm’s lawyers have been listed in the 2017 edition of The Best Lawyers in Canada. Lawyers were selected based on feedback from peers within their region and legal practice areas.
Join us in congratulating the following lawyers:
- Thomas A Roper Q.C.
- Delayne Sartison Q.C.
- Gabrielle Scorer
- Kim Thorne
- Sandra Guarascio
- James Kondopulos
Click here to view the Best Lawyers website.
About Best Lawyers
Since 1983, Best Lawyers has become a definitive guide to legal excellence. The peer-review publication is based on a confidential survey in which thousands of leading lawyers rank the legal abilities of other lawyers in specific practice areas.
James D. Kondopulos Publishes Article in The Advocate
July 2016James D. Kondopulos co-authored the article “The Butterfly Effect: Small Perturbation Can Have Big Impact on Employment Relationship” found in the July 2016 issue of The Advocate.
Read James’ complete article here.
BC Government Expands Employment Standards Exemption for Accountants
July 2016Effective July 19, 2016, the BC Government has expanded the exemption for accountants from the Employment Standards Act to cover all professional accountants now practicing as Chartered Professional Accountants (CPAs) or enrolled as CPA students. Previously, only the minority of accountants holding the predecessor designation of Chartered Accountant (CA) were exempt while the larger group of accountants holding the predecessor CMA and CGA designations enjoyed full protection under the ESA. This change means that, in B.C., both accountants working in accounting firms and the larger number of accountants working in industry are not entitled to any of the basic employment rights protected by the Employment Standards Act. These range from the minimum wage to vacation, statutory holiday, overtime and termination pay, as well as statutory leaves such as maternity leave. Employers who currently provide ESA-based terms of employment to their accountants will no doubt continue to do so, but have greater flexibility in setting employer policies. Because changing some employment policies may have legal implications, employers should get legal advice before making any changes to take advantage of this expanded flexibility. Employers should be aware that other provinces such as Ontario offer much more limited exemptions from hours of work and overtime employment standards only.