Resources: Employment

Leading Labour and Workplace Law Cases of 2020

With the upheaval and significant challenges and difficulties of 2020, some important labour and workplace law cases may not have been front of mind for employers and HR practitioners.

The following are what we consider to be among the top five cases of the last 12 to 18 months.

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Attention Federal Employers: The Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations Are Now In Effect

On January 1, 2021, the Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations, SOR/2020-130 came into force (“Regulations”), replacing Part XX of the Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations. The Regulations impose a number of new requirements on employers in the federal sector, some of which must be undertaken in order to develop and implement a Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Policy compliant with the Regulations.

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Matthews v. Ocean Nutrition Canada Ltd. – Roper Greyell Update

Keeping the faith, for now: the Supreme Court of Canada maintains the status quo on the duty of good faith, but leaves the door ajar for future claims.

This past fall, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) released a much anticipated decision dealing with a number of important employment law issues: Matthews v. Ocean Nutrition Canada Ltd., 2020 SCC 26 (“Matthews”).

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Bill C-11: Federal Government Proposes Overhaul of Canada’s Federal Privacy Laws

On November 17, 2020, the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, tabled Bill C-11, the Digital Charter Implementation Act, 2020 (the “Act”), which aims to overhaul Canada’s federal data privacy law. If passed, the bill would repeal the privacy provisions of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and introduce new obligations for private-sector organizations and new enforcement regimes.

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B.C. Human Rights Tribunal Confirms No Family Status Discrimination When Employee is Required to Travel to Work: The End of the Suen v. Envirocon Environmental Services Saga

In what is expected to be the final chapter of the Suen v. Envirocon Environmental Services saga, the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal has followed the lead of the B.C. Court of Appeal and dismissed the complaint of discrimination in employment on the basis of family status which Brian Suen filed against his former employer, Envirocon Environmental Services, ULC, a number of years ago.

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Forum Selection Clauses

Earlier this year, the BC Court of Appeal released Schuppener v. Pioneer Steel Manufacturers Ltd., 2020 BCCA 19, a decision which clarifies the law regarding forum selection clauses. Although not an employment or labour law decision, Schuppener is a case of particular relevance to employers which conduct business across provincial or international borders and want certainty as to the jurisdiction in which any litigation regarding those employment contracts will occur.

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Employer Obligations on General Voting Day: 2020 Provincial General Election

A Provincial General Election will take place in British Columbia on Saturday, October 24, 2020 (“General Voting Day”).

The B.C. Election Act imposes certain obligations on employers to ensure that their employees have sufficient time free from work to exercise their right to vote.  As a service to our clients and other interested parties, we are publishing this bulletin to help employers understand the scope of these obligations.

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A New Framework for North American Labour Rights: The Future Impact of Chapter 23 of the USMCA

While Canadian businesses are still reacting to changes wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic, the coming into force of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (the “USMCA”) on July 1^st, 2020 may have an equally significant impact on recovery and expansion goals throughout this decade.

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Changes to the Workers Compensation Act Now in Effect

Bill 23, which introduces significant changes to the Workers Compensation Act (the “Act”), received royal assent on August 14, 2020. The Act contains 34 provisions including changes relating to compensation, assessment, and occupational health and safety matters. Bill 23 was tabled by Minister of Labour, Harry Bains, on  July 14, 2020, and was previously discussed in our July 21,2020, update.

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B.C. Government Proposes Significant Changes to the Workers Compensation Act

On July 14, 2020, the Minister of Labour tabled Bill 23, Workers’ Compensation Amendment Act, 2020 which proposed a number of significant changes to the Workers Compensation Act, RSBC 2019, c. 1 (the “Act”).  The Act itself was already revised significantly earlier this year in an organizational revision which primarily reorganized the provisions and made minor alterations to wording.

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