Resources: Employment
-
Illness and Injury Leave Under the Employment Standards Act in the Unionized Context
July 3, 2024
Section 49.1 of the B.C. Employment Standards Act (the “ESA”) addresses illness or injury leave (sick leave) and provides as follows: after 90 consecutive days of employment, an employee is entitled to paid leave for up to the prescribed number of days, and unpaid leave for up to 3 days, in each calendar year due to illness or injury.
Read More +
Illness and Injury Leave Under the Employment Standards Act in the Unionized Context -
When an E-Mail Does Not “Find You Well”: Just Cause Termination Not a Proportionate Response To Employee’s Heated E-Mail
June 13, 2024
Employers can be quick to assert that a single instance of employee misconduct is enough to discharge an employee for just cause.
Read More +
When an E-Mail Does Not “Find You Well”: Just Cause Termination Not a Proportionate Response To Employee’s Heated E-Mail -
Jurisdictional Issues in Maritime Employment Law
The Federal Court of Canada’s recent decision in Konteft v. Lower Lakes Towing Ltd., 2024 FC 96 (CanLII) confirms that maritime employment law requires careful consideration of jurisdictional issues.
Read More +
Jurisdictional Issues in Maritime Employment Law -
Bots in the HR Department: Recruitment in the Age of Generative AI
March 13, 2024
Although artificial intelligence (AI) tools have been available to human resources (HR) departments for many years, the November 2022 release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT prompted HR professionals and their legal advisors to take a fresh look at how generative AI chatbots can support and improve HR work, including recruitment.
Read More +
Bots in the HR Department: Recruitment in the Age of Generative AI -
Estopped in the Name of Benefits: Past Practice Prohibits Dismissal of Employees on Long-Term Disability
March 5, 2024
In the unionized workplace, an employer may dismiss an employee for non-culpable absenteeism (also known as “innocent absenteeism” or “non-culpable cause”) where the circumstances and medical information confirm that there is no reasonable likelihood the employee will return to work for the foreseeable future.
Read More +
Estopped in the Name of Benefits: Past Practice Prohibits Dismissal of Employees on Long-Term Disability -
Wage-Fixing and No-Poaching Agreements
February 20, 2024
The federal government has introduced legislation aimed at maintaining and encouraging competition among employers for employees. This new legislation prohibits agreements between employers to fix wages or other terms and conditions of employment, and to restrict job mobility.
Read More +
Wage-Fixing and No-Poaching Agreements -
Watch Your Back: Employee Ordered to Pay $112,320 in Damages for Soliciting His Employer’s Client
February 2, 2024
In Catch Engineering Partnership v. Mai, 2023 ABKB 279, the Alberta Court of King’s Bench awarded $112,320 in damages against a former employee who breached the non-solicitation provisions in his employment agreement.
Read More +
Watch Your Back: Employee Ordered to Pay $112,320 in Damages for Soliciting His Employer’s Client -
Mind Your Manners: B.C. Human Rights Tribunal Orders Complainant to Pay $3,000 in Punitive Costs for Improper Conduct in the Complaint Process
January 10, 2024
In Dr. A. v. Health Authority, 2023 BCHRT 10, the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal ordered the complainant, Dr. A, to pay $3,000 in punitive costs for contravening the rules and orders of the Tribunal and also for engaging in improper conduct during the complaint process.
Read More +
Mind Your Manners: B.C. Human Rights Tribunal Orders Complainant to Pay $3,000 in Punitive Costs for Improper Conduct in the Complaint Process -
No Evidence that ‘Contact High’ is a Disability: B.C. Tribunal
December 15, 2023
In Gendron v. Koppert Canada Ltd., 2023 BCHRT 173 the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal (the Tribunal) dismissed a complaint from an individual who alleged that she experienced a “contact high” from cannabis plants. The Tribunal held that the complainant failed to provide any evidence capable of proving that the symptoms she was experiencing were the result of a disability. As a result, the complaint had no reasonable prospect of success and did not warrant the time and expense of a hearing.
Read More +
No Evidence that ‘Contact High’ is a Disability: B.C. Tribunal -
No Free Lunch: Just Cause Dismissal Upheld in the Case of Misconduct and the Employee’s Dishonesty in the Investigation of that Misconduct
December 5, 2023
In Mechalchuk v. Galaxy Motors (1990) Ltd., 2023 BCSC 635, the B.C. Supreme Court upheld the just cause dismissal of an employee who had: (1) submitted receipts which he suggested to be business-related but he knew to be personal expenses; and (2) perpetuated his dishonesty during the employer investigation which ensued.
Read More +
No Free Lunch: Just Cause Dismissal Upheld in the Case of Misconduct and the Employee’s Dishonesty in the Investigation of that Misconduct