Resources: Human Rights
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Introducing The Smell Test: Disciplining An Employee For Body Odour
July 2018
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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Introducing The Smell Test: Disciplining An Employee For Body Odour -
Perception of Retaliation Does Not Breach the Human Rights Code
June 2018
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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Perception of Retaliation Does Not Breach the Human Rights Code -
Termination for Failure to Comply with Attendance Policy Not Discriminatory
June 2018
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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Termination for Failure to Comply with Attendance Policy Not Discriminatory -
Failing a Breathalyzer Test in a Company Vehicle: Just Cause for Dismissal?
June 2018
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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Failing a Breathalyzer Test in a Company Vehicle: Just Cause for Dismissal? -
Protection from Patrons: Protecting Employees from Sexualization in the Workplace
April 2018
Employers have a duty to protect employees from sexualization in the workplace by patrons and customers, even if that means removing or banning individuals with an alleged mental disability from their facilities or place of business.
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Protection from Patrons: Protecting Employees from Sexualization in the Workplace -
Protection from Patrons: Protecting Employees from Sexualization in the Workplace
April 2018
Employers have a duty to protect employees from sexualization in the workplace by patrons and customers, even if that means removing or banning individuals with an alleged mental disability from their facilities or place of business.
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Protection from Patrons: Protecting Employees from Sexualization in the Workplace -
Law Professor’s Human Rights Complaint Against University of British Columbia Dismissed
February 2018
More than a year after the merits of Ms. McCue’s complaint were heard, the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) has dismissed this case in its entirety. The 300+ page decision contains important discussion about various topics including the Tribunal’s jurisdiction, prima facie discrimination, workplace accommodation, cultural obligations, complainant obligations, and the duty to inquire.
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Law Professor’s Human Rights Complaint Against University of British Columbia Dismissed -
Are Your Bullying and Harassment Policies and Procedures in Good Shape?
February 2018
It seems like every day a new story surfaces about allegations of sexual harassment against Hollywood elites and other celebrities. Each time, the online world erupts and anyone with a computer can have their say. Reputations can be destroyed in hours.
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Are Your Bullying and Harassment Policies and Procedures in Good Shape? -
Settling Human Rights Complaints – What Not To Do
January 2018
When an employee makes a human rights complaint to the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal, the employee and the employer are permitted and even encouraged to settle such complaints. In some cases, complainants may agree to a settlement and then pursue the complaint anyway. In these circumstances, the Tribunal retains jurisdiction to hear the complaint if it determines that it would further the purposes of the B.C. Human Rights Code to do so. Such was the case in The Employee v. The Company and the Owner, 2017 BCHRT 266.
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Settling Human Rights Complaints – What Not To Do -
The Scope of Human Rights in the Modern Workplace
December 2017
At a time when the #metoo movement continues to galvanize, the Supreme Court of Canada has issued a landmark decision in British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal v. Schrenk, 2017 SCC 62 that expands protection from discrimination in the workplace so that it now can potentially include within its scope harassment perpetrated by co-workers, even if they have different employers.
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The Scope of Human Rights in the Modern Workplace