Resources: Employment

What’s Stopping Me From Moving to Costa Rica and Not Telling My Boss?

Imagine you are on a nice sunny beach, feeling the warm ocean breeze on your face, and listening to the soothing sound of … an Outlook e-mail notification!?!? Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, remote work has become the norm for many, particularly for those in the tech sector. With Canadian travel restrictions easing and many seeking to improve their mental well-being by escaping their home offices, employees are thinking about working from abroad for short and extended periods.

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Issue Estoppel

Employment litigation is rarely straightforward and employers must be prepared to deal with claims in multiple forums, including in civil court and before administrative tribunals responsible for interpreting and applying human rights, workers compensation and privacy law (to name a few).

When faced with a volley of different but related claims, it can be tempting to focus all of your attention on the claim which represents the biggest threat.  That would be a mistake — while you should strategically allocate resources, it is crucial to keep all actual or potential claims in mind because decisions in one forum could be relied upon in another.

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There’s an App for That!

Many of us use applications (apps) in our daily lives – but what happens when an employer uses an app to manage its workforce?

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Is a Complainant No Longer Required to Show that Conduct was “Objectively Unwelcome” to Substantiate a Claim of Sexual Harassment?

In the recent decision of Ms. K. v. Deep Creek Store and another, 2021 BCHRT 158, the BC Human Rights Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) declined to follow a long line of human rights case law which requires a complainant to show that conduct was “objectively unwelcome” to substantiate a claim of sexual harassment.

This decision represents a break from the established jurisprudence and should be of interest to employers faced with a claim of sexual harassment in the workplace.

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Campbell River Test Affirmed Once Again: It is the Test in BC When Determining Entitlement to Accommodation on the Basis of Family Status

In Gibraltar Mines Ltd. v. Harvey, 2022 BCSC 385, for the second time in three years, the BC courts have reaffirmed the two-part test for determining whether an employee is entitled to accommodation based on family status (caregiving obligations).

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Is This Thing On?: Surreptitious Recording Can Constitute Just Cause for Dismissal

Your employee places their cellphone on the table as they sit down for the meeting, angling it slightly towards you. You wonder – is this meeting being recorded?

The ubiquity of cellphones means that HR professionals should assume all conversations with employees are being recorded. But are there any consequences for employees who secretly record conversations with colleagues?

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Insolence, Insubordination and After-Acquired Evidence of Just Cause

On November 9, 2021, the B.C. Supreme Court released its decision in the case of Golob v. Fort St. John (City), 2021 BCSC 2192.

The case concerned a wrongful dismissal claim against the City of Fort St. John by its former Deputy Fire Chief.

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Clarification to Law of Employee Surveillance

Elevator law, according to one colleague and despite our best attempts to intervene, has its ups and downs. It has a unique set of characteristics, including its own elevator union (the International Union of Elevator Constructors (IUEC)), industry-specific collective agreements and a workforce of largely independent technicians.

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Labour Law in the Time of Cholera

2020 was full of surprises, and 2021 continued to bring new challenges for the profession. Our corner of toil in the legal vineyards was not immune. For labour and employment lawyers, 2021 at times felt like a treadmill of legislative change, workplace vaccination policies (do not call it a mandate unless employers are forcibly injecting employees…), and helping employers plan to keep their workplaces safe.

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Through the Looking Glass: 2022 BC Labour Law Forecast

It is the start of a new year and we are ready to look ahead. In B.C., we are anticipating some significant labour decisions in 2022, which could be consequential for unionized workplaces. Join us as we fall down the rabbit hole of Charter challenges and vaccination policies.

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