Resources: Labour
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Jail Sentences for Worker Fatalities: Will They or Won’t They?
October 2019
Most employers are aware that the health and safety of their workers is one of the most important considerations on a worksite. Across Canada, warnings have been issued to employers and their directors that accountability for workplace accidents and especially fatalities is increasing. However, in the recent decision of Ontario (Labour) v. New Mex Canada Inc., 2019 ONCA 30, the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld a lower court‘s decision to overturn two jail sentences for directors following a workplace fatality.
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A Most Canadian Caper: The Tale of the Vaping Zamboni Driver
August 2019
The legalization of cannabis has and will continue to affect a great number of things in our country — from policing to residential leasing to the air quality. Notwithstanding this significant shift in public policy, the legalization of cannabis has not impaired the rights of employers in this country to insist that employees report for work unimpaired by the use of drugs. The legalization of cannabis has also brought about more stringent restrictions on driving after using cannabis. This would presumably also apply to operating a Zamboni.
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Sober Second Thought Key to Proving Reasonable Cause for a Drug Test
August 2019
Drug and alcohol testing has become both more common, and more accepted, in safety sensitive workplaces. When an employee’s appearance, behaviour, speech, motor skills, or body odour suggest recent drug or alcohol use, an employer will have reasonable cause to require a drug and/or alcohol test to determine whether it is safe for the employee to be at work. When an employee is involved in an accident or a near miss, post-incident drug and alcohol testing is appropriate to rule out impairment as a cause of the safety incident.
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Statutory Changes to Collective Bargaining Framework in British Columbia
June 2019
The laws that govern both unionized and non-unionized workplaces in British Columbia are changing. Bill 8, the Employment Standards Amendments Act, 2019, received its first reading in the B.C. Legislature on April 29, 2019. On the following day, Bill 30, the Labour Relations Code Amendment Act, also was tabled for its first reading.
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Final Amendments to the B.C. Labour Relations Code, Now in Effect!
May 2019
Further to our May 2, 2019, update, on May 30, 2019 the Provincial Government passed Bill 30-2019, Labour Relations Code Amendment Act, 2019. Everything in the First Reading was accepted, save for a change to the construction industry raid period.
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Proposed Amendments to the B.C. Labour Relations Code, First Reading
May 2019
In late-2018, the Panel appointed by the Provincial Government issued a Report recommending amendments to the Labour Relations Code.
On April 30, 2019 the Minister of Labour, Honourable Harry Bains, tabled Bill 30-2019, Labour Relations Code Amendment Act, 2019 for first reading. The Bill contains most of the recommendations in the Panel’s Report, including:
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Combative Conduct in the Workplace and the Duty to Inquire
April 2019
Tomasz Rutkowski, a unionized painter in the employer’s engineering department, filed a human rights complaint against his employer concerning its treatment of him in dealing with his mental disability. In Rutkowski v. Westin Bayshore Hotel and another, 2018 BCHRT 235, the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) dismissed the complaint.
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Safety v. Privacy: Finding the Balance with Video Surveillance
March 2019
Arbitrator Ken Saunders’ recent decision in Lafarge Canada Inc. v. Teamsters, Local Union No. 213 (In-Cab Camera Grievance), [2018] B.C.C.A.A.A. No. 51 (Saunders) is instructive for employers considering the use of video surveillance in their workplace.
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