Resources: Employment
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Good Accommodation Gone Wrong
July 10, 2024
In United Nurses of Alberta v. Alberta Health Services (MacKinnon Grievance), [2023] A.G.A.A. No. 10 (Asbell), the majority of an arbitration board awarded $10,000 in injury to dignity (human rights) damages for an employer’s failure to consistently and proactively accommodate a neurodivergent employee.
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Illness and Injury Leave Under the Employment Standards Act in the Unionized Context
July 3, 2024
Section 49.1 of the B.C. Employment Standards Act (the “ESA”) addresses illness or injury leave (sick leave) and provides as follows: after 90 consecutive days of employment, an employee is entitled to paid leave for up to the prescribed number of days, and unpaid leave for up to 3 days, in each calendar year due to illness or injury.
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Bots in the HR Department: Recruitment in the Age of Generative AI
March 13, 2024
Although artificial intelligence (AI) tools have been available to human resources (HR) departments for many years, the November 2022 release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT prompted HR professionals and their legal advisors to take a fresh look at how generative AI chatbots can support and improve HR work, including recruitment.
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Estopped in the Name of Benefits: Past Practice Prohibits Dismissal of Employees on Long-Term Disability
March 5, 2024
In the unionized workplace, an employer may dismiss an employee for non-culpable absenteeism (also known as “innocent absenteeism” or “non-culpable cause”) where the circumstances and medical information confirm that there is no reasonable likelihood the employee will return to work for the foreseeable future.
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Wage-Fixing and No-Poaching Agreements
February 20, 2024
The federal government has introduced legislation aimed at maintaining and encouraging competition among employers for employees. This new legislation prohibits agreements between employers to fix wages or other terms and conditions of employment, and to restrict job mobility.
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Watch Your Back: Employee Ordered to Pay $112,320 in Damages for Soliciting His Employer’s Client
February 2, 2024
In Catch Engineering Partnership v. Mai, 2023 ABKB 279, the Alberta Court of King’s Bench awarded $112,320 in damages against a former employee who breached the non-solicitation provisions in his employment agreement.
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Update on Five Paid Sick Days Under Employment Standards Act
January 26, 2022
The New Year brought employers in British Columbia a requirement to provide their employees with five paid sick (illness or injury) days. Since the requirement came into effect on January 1, 2022, we have been fielding questions about the implementation of the five paid sick days in the workplace. Below we highlight some of our more frequently asked questions.
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