Resources: Employment
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B.C. Human Rights Tribunal Rules that Employer’s Decision to Dismiss College Instructor for “Deeply Intolerant” Videos on YouTube was Not Discriminatory
In Glebov v. Fraser International College, 2024 BCHRT 19, the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) dismissed the human rights complaint of a college instructor who was terminated from employment after he posted YouTube videos expressing his views about religion, women, gender, homosexuality, abortion and sexual assault.
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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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ESA: Five Days Paid Personal Illness or Injury (Sick) Leave, as of January 1, 2022
November 25, 2021
On May 28, 2021 we issued an update regarding Bill 13 Employment Standards Amendment Act (No. 2), 2021 (“Bill 13”), which amended the British Columbia Employment Standards Act (the “ESA”). Bill 13 added temporary paid COVID leave (ending December 31, 2021) and added paid leave for personal illness or injury commencing January 1, 2022 (“Paid Sick Leave”), with the amount of days to be determined.
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Vaccination Status and the “New Normal”
August 13, 2021
As governments and businesses seek to avoid closures that have so heavily impacted the economy and everyday life, many are looking to vaccine passports and/or considering mandatory vaccination in the workplace to facilitate a return to “normal” operations.
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The BC Human Rights Commissioner Weighs in on Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination Policies
August 6, 2021
As vaccination rates increase, and the province continues to progress through each phase of its reopening plan, one of the biggest questions facing employers is whether to implement a mandatory vaccination policy for employees and, in some cases, customers. This is a complex and highly context-specific question that engages human rights issues, privacy issues, and workplace safety considerations.
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