Resources: Employment
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Arbitrator Confirms Precautionary Approach Appropriate in Times of Scientific Uncertainty
October 26, 2022
On July 11, 2022, Arbitrator Randy Noonan released his decision in Coca Cola Canada Bottling Inc. -and- Teamsters Local 213, B.C.C.A.A.A. No. 69 (Noonan). It concerned the reasonableness of Coca Cola’s mandatory vaccination policy (the “Vaccination Policy”). Although the policy is a national one, the dispute before the arbitrator related to the unionized hourly employees working out of four sites in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia.
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BC Supreme Court Weighs in on Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination Policies
September 29, 2022
On September 27, 2022, the BC Supreme Court released its decision in Parmar v. Tribe Management Inc., 2022 BCSC 1675 (“Parmar”). This is the first time the BC Supreme Court has directly weighed in on the validity of mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies in non-unionized workplaces and was a much-awaited decision for many employers and employees in British Columbia who are involved in similar litigation.
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Refusal of Unsafe Work
September 27, 2022
The right to refuse unsafe work is one of the core protections extended to workers in BC by Occupational Health and Safety Regulation (“OHS Regulation”) pursuant to the Workers’ Compensation Act (the “WCA”). Effective August 22, 2022 amendments to Part 3 of the OHS Regulation introduced new employer responsibilities relating to the reassignment of work following a refusal of unsafe work.
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Federal and BC Governments Announce Day of Mourning on September 19, 2022: What Does this Mean for Employers?
September 14, 2022
In a statement released yesterday, the federal government announced that September 19, 2022 will be a National Day of Mourning in Canada. This follows the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on September 8, 2022 and coincides with the State Funeral being held in London. The federal government also encouraged provinces to provide similar direction for provincially regulated employers.
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Union Ordered to pay $500,000 for Making Defamatory Statements About Employer
September 13, 2022
In Civeo Corporation v. Unite Here, Loc. 40 (Employer Defamation Grievance), [2022] B.C.C.A.A.A. No. 39 (Glass), Civeo Corporation (the “Employer”) filed an employer grievance alleging that Unite Here, Loc. 40 (the “Union”) made defamatory statements and committed other breaches of the collective agreement.
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British Columbia Exemption from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act: Considerations for Employers
August 16, 2022
As of January 31, 2023, an exemption to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, S.C. 1996, c. 19 (the “Act”) will allow adults in B.C. to possess small amounts of certain controlled substances without the risk of criminal charges.
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Test for Employee Not Necessarily Limited to Single Test
July 29, 2022
Some legal questions are never “answered” — no matter how frequently they are litigated, they come up again and again. In the world of employment law, few questions are as timeless (or important) as whether an individual is an employee or independent contractor.
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Unexpected Costs of Employee Relocation
July 26, 2022
Recently, in Nowlan v. Canada (Attorney General) 2022 FCA 83, the Federal Court of Appeal considered an employer’s duties towards employees in the event of employee transfers.
In that case, the court reviewed a decision of the Federal Public Service Labour Relations and Employment Board in which the board determined that a government employee who had requested a transfer for personal reasons was owed relocation expenses pursuant to a collective agreement directive.
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