Resources: Human Rights

The Benefits Of Proactive Responses To Complaints Of Workplace Discrimination: Lessons From The Alberta Human Rights Commission

A recent decision out of Alberta[1] details the value of proactive employer responses to claims of workplace discrimination as a defence to human rights complaints.

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B.C. Court of Appeal Unequivocally Affirms Test For Family Status Discrimination

In my opinion, [the concept of family status] cannot be an open-ended concept … for that would have the potential to cause disruption and great mischief in the workplace ….

Whether particular conduct does or does not amount to prima facie discrimination on the basis of family status will depend on the circumstances of each case ….  I think that in the vast majority of situations in which there is a conflict between a work requirement and a family obligation, it would be difficult to make out a prima facie case.

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Oh No That Is Our Employee In the Headlines!

Reputation is only a candle, of wavering and uncertain flame, and easily blown out, but it is the light by which the world looks for and finds merit. – James Russell Lowell

Imagine one day you were reading the weekend newspaper and discover one or more of your employees is engaged in activities that are not consistent with the good standing of the employer. What do you do?

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“It Don’t Matter If You’re Black Or White”*… It’s Illegal to Discriminate

In 1991, Michael Jackson’s hit single, “Black or White”, topped the Billboard Hot 100 just three weeks after its release.  Perhaps it was the universally positive anti-racism message, as much as the music itself that propelled its popularity.  Regardless, one would have thought that by 2018 it would have been well understood that the fact that an employee was white/Caucasian does not create a defence for an employer’s racist conduct.  Sadly, Spruce Hill Resort and Kin Wa Chan must not have been Michael Jackson fans.

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Resolving Complaints in Multiple Forums

Mr. Sebastian was employed by Vancouver Coastal Health Authority (“VCHA”) as a medical imaging technologist. He was represented in his employment by the Health Services Association of British Columbia (the “Union”).

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“Investigation is the New Arbitration”: Thoughts on Our Changing Workplaces

Every seasoned human resources professional is aware that “investigation is the new arbitration”. When addressing issues of all but the most serious and blatant misconduct, employers are now routinely counselled that if they shoot first and ask questions later, they do so at their peril.

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Introducing The Smell Test: Disciplining An Employee For Body Odour

Summer is here. And with it comes the awkward but very real workplace issue of employee hygiene. The question is, what can employers do about an employee with body odour and hygiene issues? A recent decision of the BC Human Rights Tribunal, Southwell v. CKF Inc., 2017 BCHRT 83 (“Southwell”) provides guidance.

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Perception of Retaliation Does Not Breach the Human Rights Code

In Gichuru v. Pallai, 2018 BCCA 78, the most recent decision in the long-running saga between an individual and his former landlord, the BC Court of Appeal clarified the test for retaliation under section 43 of the BC Human Rights Code, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 210 (the “Code”).

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Termination for Failure to Comply with Attendance Policy Not Discriminatory

In Rajuc v. Omega Tool Corp., 2017 HRTO 818, the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal provided employers with valuable guidance regarding how to deal with workplace attendance problems.

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Failing a Breathalyzer Test in a Company Vehicle: Just Cause for Dismissal?

The B.C. Supreme Court recently determined in Klonteig v. District of West Kelowna, 2018 BCSC 124 that an assistant fire chief was wrongfully dismissed when his employer terminated his employment after he failed two breathalyzer tests while driving his employer’s vehicle.

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