Resources: Human Rights

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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The Anti-Racism Data Act and the Changing Approach to Data Privacy

B.C.’s privacy legislation has typically meant that employers have avoided or limited the collection of demographic data from applicants and employees. However, the Province’s recent introduction of the Anti-Racism Data Act signals that change is coming, specifically at the intersection between privacy and human rights law. Employers in British Columbia will want to monitor this evolving approach to privacy and data management.

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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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