Resources: Human Rights

Employer Response to Racial Slur Found Reasonable by Human Rights Tribunal

A recent BC human rights case demonstrates the importance of employers taking meaningful action in response to complaints of racial harassment.

In Raul Martinez Johnson v. Whitewater Concrete Ltd. and Matias Pacheco and Miguel Pacheco and Nicolas Pacheco (No. 2), 2022 BCHRT 129, the employer’s response to a complaint eliminated an award of lost wages, despite a finding of discrimination.

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Ontario Court of Appeal Finds School Board Breached Section 8 of the Charter When Disciplining Grievors for Personal Document Left Open on School Computer

In Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario v. York Region District School Board, 2022 ONCA 476, the Ontario Court of Appeal held that a school principal and the school board for which he worked had breached the employee right to be free of unreasonable search and seizure under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the “Charter”) when the principal went through a teacher’s personal document on a school laptop.

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Show Me The Money – Pay Transparency Act

British Columbia’s Minister of Finance introduced Bill 13, the Pay Transparency Act on March 7, 2023 (“Bill 13”). Bill 13 received its third reading in the BC legislature on April 25, 2023 and received Royal Assent on May 11, 2023 with the exception of section 2 of the Act, which will pass into law on November 1, 2023. Regulations are expected to be drafted over the summer of 2023.

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Modern Family (Status): Court of Appeal Clarifies Test for Family Status Discrimination in B.C.

A five-justice division of the B.C. Court of Appeal has just issued an important, unanimous decision on the applicable test to address claims of discrimination in employment with respect to family status (caregiving obligations).

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Just Cause “Cancellation”?

Ever since the #MeToo movement, “cancel culture” has gained momentum, seeking to hold individuals accountable for abuses of power as well as sexual harassment and assault – in both the past and present. The decision in Ottawa Jewish Community School Teachers’ Assn. v. Ottawa Jewish Community School (Cianni Grievance), 2022 O.L.A.A. No 113 (Tremayne) examines the trend of “cancelling” individuals for past misconduct in the context of a just cause termination.

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Lessons from Selling Sunset, Part Three: Workplace Relationships

What better way to end our three-part series on employment law lessons learned from watching Netflix’s Selling Sunset than to talk about romantic relationships in the workplace. As always, there are spoilers ahead.

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Sex and Family Status Discrimination Substantiated by Employer’s Preference for Replacement Employee

In LaFleche v. NLFD Auto Ltd. dba Prince George Ford (No. 2), 2022 BCHRT 88, the BC Human Rights Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) awarded $78,625 to a complainant after finding that she suffered a work-related disadvantage because she was pregnant.

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Arbitrator Confirms Precautionary Approach Appropriate in Times of Scientific Uncertainty

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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Calculating Damages for Unjustly Dismissed Federally Regulated Employee

The Canada Labour Code is a unique creature. Unlike non-union provincially regulated employees in most Canadian jurisdictions, federally regulated employees who have more than 12 months’ service and who are not managers, are protected from without cause termination in most circumstances. How then to calculate an entitlement to damages for an employee who is unjustly dismissed in contravention of the Code, given the breach of that added protection?

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BC Supreme Court Weighs in on Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination Policies

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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