Resources: Employment
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Are Your Bullying and Harassment Policies and Procedures in Good Shape?
February 2018
It seems like every day a new story surfaces about allegations of sexual harassment against Hollywood elites and other celebrities. Each time, the online world erupts and anyone with a computer can have their say. Reputations can be destroyed in hours.
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Are Your Bullying and Harassment Policies and Procedures in Good Shape? -
Settling Human Rights Complaints – What Not To Do
January 2018
When an employee makes a human rights complaint to the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal, the employee and the employer are permitted and even encouraged to settle such complaints. In some cases, complainants may agree to a settlement and then pursue the complaint anyway. In these circumstances, the Tribunal retains jurisdiction to hear the complaint if it determines that it would further the purposes of the B.C. Human Rights Code to do so. Such was the case in The Employee v. The Company and the Owner, 2017 BCHRT 266.
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Settling Human Rights Complaints – What Not To Do -
The Scope of Human Rights in the Modern Workplace
December 2017
At a time when the #metoo movement continues to galvanize, the Supreme Court of Canada has issued a landmark decision in British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal v. Schrenk, 2017 SCC 62 that expands protection from discrimination in the workplace so that it now can potentially include within its scope harassment perpetrated by co-workers, even if they have different employers.
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The Scope of Human Rights in the Modern Workplace -
Human Rights Tribunal Confirms Employers Continue to Drive the Bus
December 2017
In Adair v. Forensic Psychiatric Services Commission (No. 2), 2017 BCHRT 147, the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal revisited what accommodation looks like in the employment context. The key reminder for employers and counsel is that the proposed accommodation need not be perfect – when there is more than one reasonable option for accommodation, “the employer is entitled to choose among them”.
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Human Rights Tribunal Confirms Employers Continue to Drive the Bus -
The Zellstoff Trilogy- Privacy v. Technology
December 2017
In the age of technology and data collection, there is, or can be, a digital footprint and record of virtually all employee activity.
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The Zellstoff Trilogy- Privacy v. Technology -
Executive’s Self-Dealing Can Lead to Rescission of Employment Agreement
November 2017
The focus of this article is a case arising out of Ontario: UPM-Kymmene Corp. v. UPM-Kymmene Miramichi Inc., [2002] O.J. No. 2412 (S.C.J.), affirmed [2004] O.J. No. 636 (C.A.).
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Executive’s Self-Dealing Can Lead to Rescission of Employment Agreement -
Boilerplate Non-Competition Clauses Are No Protection At All
November 2017
The B.C. Court of Appeal recently clarified the analytical framework regarding the enforceability of non-competition clauses in the employment context. In IRIS The Visual Group Western Canada Inc. v. Park, 2017 BCCA 301, the Court questioned the use of boilerplate language and reminded employers that restrictive covenants must be drafted with care.
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Boilerplate Non-Competition Clauses Are No Protection At All -
Be Wary of Ambiguity: A “Bonus” Lesson for Employers
November 2017
The recent BC Supreme Court case of Kenny v. Weatherhaven Global Resources Ltd., [2017] B.C.J. No. 1510 (S.C.) illustrates the perils of poorly drafted employment agreements.
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Be Wary of Ambiguity: A “Bonus” Lesson for Employers -
A Crack in the Dam? Merrifield v. Attorney General (Ont.) and the Undead Tort of Harassment
October 2017
For many years, workplace law has generally proceeded on the assumption that remedies for harassing behaviour and civil “harassment” were, except in rare cases, outside the purview of the courts. Harassment, as a civil wrong, had developed within the administrative structure of human rights tribunals and grievance processes under collective agreements but there was no generally recognized common law “tort” of harassment.
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A Crack in the Dam? Merrifield v. Attorney General (Ont.) and the Undead Tort of Harassment -
BC Court of Appeal Restores Human Rights Tribunal Decision to Dismiss Complaint
October 2017
In Francescutti v. Vancouver (City), 2017 BCCA 242, the British Columbia Court of Appeal restored a human rights tribunal decision to dismiss a complaint brought by a former City of Vancouver employee. The decision provides useful support for the ability of a respondent to succeed on an application to dismiss a complaint, despite the presence of some conflicting facts raising issues of credibility.
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BC Court of Appeal Restores Human Rights Tribunal Decision to Dismiss Complaint