Resources: Employment
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Right to Refuse Unsafe Work – Federal Developments
March 2017
In BC, a worker has a right to refuse work if he/she “has reasonable cause to believe that to do so would create an undue hazard to the health and safety of any person” pursuant to Section 3.12(1), of the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Regulations. There is no general definition of the term “danger” in the OHS Regulations.
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Right to Refuse Unsafe Work – Federal Developments -
Court of Appeal Brings Clarity to Termination Clauses
March 2017
The Ontario Court of Appeal has just released a significant decision regarding the interpretation of termination clauses in employment contracts. The decision in Wood v. Fred Deeley Imports Ltd., 2017 ONCA 158 (“Wood”) reaffirms that courts in Ontario will take a strict approach to interpreting these clauses and even potential inconsistencies with the Employment Standards Act (the “ESA”) will be sufficient to invalidate a clause.
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Court of Appeal Brings Clarity to Termination Clauses -
Is This the New Standard For Family Status Discrimination?
February 2017
It is now accepted that “family status” protections under human rights legislation cover persons who are in a parent-child relationship, as well as the obligations which flow from that relationship, such as child or elder care.
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Is This the New Standard For Family Status Discrimination? -
Ontario Court Holds Employer Must Pay Over 3 Years of Severance Under Fixed Term Contract
February 2017
In its recent decision, Howard v Benson, the Ontario Court of Appeal has dramatically increased the potential severance liability for employers of using fixed term employment agreements by holding that the employer must pay compensation over the full balance of the term with no reduction for re-employment income earned by the employee.
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Ontario Court Holds Employer Must Pay Over 3 Years of Severance Under Fixed Term Contract -
Discrimination Based On Religion In Not Hiring Unqualified Applicant
January 2017
On March 2, 2016, the BC Human Rights Tribunal issued the last of four decisions involving a complaint of discrimination against Amaruk Wilderness Corp. because it refused to hire the complainant, Bethany Paquette, as an assistant guide intern. Paquette alleged that she was denied employment on the basis of ancestry, religion and political belief. Her claim was brought against Amaruk and one of the company’s representatives.
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Discrimination Based On Religion In Not Hiring Unqualified Applicant -
Yet Another Turn in the Saga of “Family Status” Discrimination
January 2017
Nothing worries clients more than to be told that the subject matter for which they require advice is “interesting”. Interesting is often a synonym for expensive. If that is the case, the issue of child and elder care in the context of human rights is likely to generate more expense in the coming year and beyond. The risks are made more common with an aging population and a workforce that requires busy people to juggle family commitments with work.
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Yet Another Turn in the Saga of “Family Status” Discrimination -
Breach of Duty of Good Faith results in Award of Punitive Damages and Sends Message to Employers
December 2016
A recent decision of the Ontario Superior Court saw the court award $50,000 in punitive damages to a plaintiff in a wrongful dismissal action. The court concluded that the defendant employer breached its duty of good faith to its former employee by asserting cause for dismissal when there was no reasonable basis for such an assertion and by engaging in behaviour calculated to financially impact the plaintiff.
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Breach of Duty of Good Faith results in Award of Punitive Damages and Sends Message to Employers -
Getting with the Times – The “Modern” Approach to Determining if an Employment Relationship Exists
November 2016
The modern workplace includes all sorts of working arrangements, and it is not always clear whether a person is an employee, an independent contractor, or somewhere in between. In TCF Ventures Corp. v. The Cambie Malone’s Corporation, the B.C. Supreme Court applied some “modern” thinking to the parties’ relationship and determined that an employment relationship existed despite the non-exclusive, non-traditional working arrangement in place.
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Getting with the Times – The “Modern” Approach to Determining if an Employment Relationship Exists -
A Bad Termination Meeting Could Lead to an Unenforceable Release
October 2016
Employers often rely on signed releases after termination to ensure that employees cannot later sue them for wrongful dismissal. It has always been the law that in certain limited circumstances a release may not be an effective defence (for example, due to unconscionability, lack of consideration, or duress) but those situations are rare.
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A Bad Termination Meeting Could Lead to an Unenforceable Release -
Bartender Claims his Termination for Smoking Marijuana at Work was Discriminatory
September 2016
Darin Burton alleged that his employer, Tugboat Annie’s Pub (the “Employer”), discriminated against him on the ground of physical disability when he was discharged for smoking marijuana at the workplace. Burton claimed that the Employer had been aware since the outset of his employment that he used medical marijuana to deal with chronic pain from degenerative disk disease.
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Bartender Claims his Termination for Smoking Marijuana at Work was Discriminatory