Resources: Employment

Terminating Post-Train Wreck?  Let’s Talk Training — Failure to Train Someone Other than Plaintiff Can Erode Just Cause for Dismissal

Richard Tymko was discharged from employment when the train on which he was working as a switchman derailed in the internal rail yard of a pulp mill in northern British Columbia.  His employer, 4-D Warner Enterprises, terminated his employment because it alleged he failed to tell his co-worker, the trackmobile operator, to apply the train’s brakes and that caused the derailment.

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Unconscionability in the Gig Economy:  Ontario Court of Appeal Tackles Uber’s Mandatory Arbitration Clause

The Ontario Court of Appeal recently issued a decision in Heller v. Uber Technologies Inc., 2019 ONCA 1 and found that the mandatory arbitration clause in Uber’s form of services agreement was unconscionable.

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Statutory Changes to Collective Bargaining Framework in British Columbia

The laws that govern both unionized and non-unionized workplaces in British Columbia are changing. Bill 8, the Employment Standards Amendments Act, 2019, received its first reading in the B.C. Legislature on April 29, 2019. On the following day, Bill 30, the Labour Relations Code Amendment Act, also was tabled for its first reading.

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What Could Go Wrong When an Employer Rehires a Former Employee It Previously Terminated, Without Cause, But Under the Cloud of a Sexual Harassment Complaint?

It’s surprising that the question in the title of this article even needs to be asked.  However, in the case of Colistro v. Tbaytel, 2019 ONCA 197 the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld a lower court decision that considered just that scenario.  The Court of Appeal’s distaste for the Employer’s conduct is apparent from the opening words of the decision:

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Summary of Changes to the B.C. Employment Standards Act

On May 30, 2019, the Provincial Government passed changes to the B.C. Employment Standards Act (the “ESA”). The ESA is the law that sets minimum standards for workplaces in the province, and has not been significantly updated for 15 years. The changes are overwhelmingly employee-friendly.

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Advancing Unfounded Just Cause Defence Leads To Large Damages Award

The B.C. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Bailey v. Service Corporation (Canada) ULC,  2018 BCSC 235 highlights the perils of advancing unfounded just cause allegations and a court’s willingness to sanction such conduct with substantial aggravated and punitive damages awards.

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Father’s Family Status Denied by BC Court of Appeal

With its 2004 Campbell River decision, the BC Court of Appeal articulated the BC test for family status discrimination involving family obligations in the context of employment.  It essentially held that employers cannot impose workplace rules that seriously interfere with the substantial family obligations of its employees, unless doing so would cause the employer undue hardship.

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Summary of Proposed Changes to the B.C. Employment Standards Act

B.C.’s Employment Standards Act is the law that sets minimum standards for workplaces in the province.  On April 29, 2019, Labour Minister Harry Bains announced plans to amend the Employment Standards Act. Highlights of the proposed changes are below:

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The Benefits Of Proactive Responses To Complaints Of Workplace Discrimination: Lessons From The Alberta Human Rights Commission

A recent decision out of Alberta[1] details the value of proactive employer responses to claims of workplace discrimination as a defence to human rights complaints.

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Deconstructing Constructive Dismissal:  An Analysis of Rampre v. Okanagan Halfway House Society, 2018 BCSC 992

A recent B.C. Supreme Court decision provides a helpful refresher on the legal principles underpinning constructive dismissal.

The plaintiff, Ingo Rampre, worked for the defendant, the Okanagan Halfway House Society, for almost 23 years.  In 2016, he alleged that he was constructively dismissed.

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